Hello, I just joined, primarily for the audiophile products. Looking at purchasing the NHT C3 speakers for our new living room. Space is about 15 feet wide by 33 long and they will fire long ways. Space is just for general listening, music room with all equipment is downstairs, so hoping they will fill it with sound nicely. Cheers.
Mar 18, 2024
Oh yeah I forgot often iems use special resistive solder that I read a little about(forgot exactly what they called it) but I have yet to source any. IEMs are actually much brighter than what you have heard and they use this resistive solder to calm them down and smooth them out. I know on some of mine they use this both on where the wires connect to the drivers and in the TRS jack(Ive repaired TRS jacks on headphones and it changed and made them way brighter and more aggressive when i resoldered it with silver solder) Maybe you just want to use regular non silver containing solder for this job and it shouldnt color them too much assuming the trs jack of the cable off Ali has it on there and its still inside the iem. Another caveat why this job might be kind of risky for someone new. I was thinking of doing this myself but risk analysis of this makes it a bit trickier than I originally thought.
Oh I did find someone who did this on Head-Fi these pics should help you visualize what I was saying. That resistive solder might be tricky tho I need to find that asian page where I saw them talking about it. I think it was on an iem page but I dont remember the model now.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/727595/installing-mmcx-connectors-on-iems-that-dont-come-with-them
You will need voltmeter continuity tester to see where the electricity is going and use pinout diagrams for trs jacks(just search trs pinout on google)(so you can match the wires to what signal is supposed to be on them) so on so forth but the mccx connector is fairly basic there are only 2 conductors the inner pin insulated with plastic and the metal housing so likely one is signal and one is ground the signal should be inner pin(the ground pin or return pin should always be the heavier gauge wire and the outside of mmcx connector has more metal mass and likely lower resistance(the point of having the ground or return heavier gauge)which is standard practice of cable design in headphones). Also some people say 2 pin is better because mmcx loosens over time then dirt can get in there and you have to clean it out to get good connection again plus they can spin which loosens them over time as well but it depends on the setup sometimes methods are employed to stop the spinning also people say not to pop the cables on and off all the time cause they wear and loosen. Theres also the what is often referred to as the westone 2 pin connectors those have cables on aliexpress as well like below but I havent searched out the jack connectors yet or ever know what they are called......
Dont make your own mmcx cables there are plenty OCC(study this term and learn what it is then demand it really every voice coil and audio component should have a standardized law requiring it especially tube amp output transformers) Silver plated copper and full silver(maybe u would want to make these but your not on that level yet). Just get OCC silver plated copper iem cables off aliexpress with mmcx connectors for 7-20 bucks and use those. Sure are pretty they may turn green over time but will still work if it eats through tho you might have to switch it out hopefully in the future they get the quality control down this doesnt happen(in my experience this only happens if the ends of the jackets are not sealed and moisture can get inside so you migh look into that when you get yours and seal them with some kind of glue) if the ends are sealed right. Here are some examples on ali always click free shipping and lowest price first those are the best deals. Go read the ChiFi threads if you want to learn the horror stories of shopping on Ali(still its very minimal but chinese can be shisty and Ali Chinese workers often obtusely take their side but chances you have problems are very remote). https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-mmcx-cable.html?site=glo&groupsort=1&SortType=price_asc&g=y&SearchText=mmcx+cable&tc=af&initiative_id=QRW_20170125111343&needQuery=n&isFreeShip=y Get the pretty shiny silver ones. Thats not all of them either you need to play around with variations on search terms to find more. For Iems its just better to buy Ali cables then try to make them yourself they have motorized jigs that braid the wires and you dont have to fiddle with soldering the components and they have those clear plastic vulcanized stress reliefs which no one has that equipment in their house....... Allot of the chinese cables dont say OCC but I think allot of them are because its more standard in the asian market(the asian wire market is higher tech and way cheaper than ours and it looks better). There is higher quality in the west but its super ripoff prices.
I wrote a long soldering guide on the HD6XX thread. It lets you link comment lets see if this works. Man this is the greatest forum I have ever used(this comments section also something simple and straightforward about it and works great typing into it with high quality music blaring :)) and very little moderation too which I like. https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-sennheiser-hd6xx/talk/613545
Soldering is not cheap but if you are going to be in audio for awhile it will pay itself off in the long run especially if you make your own cables like I do.
Connector Guide https://moon-audio.com/media/wysiwyg/iem-connection-guide.jpg
Good Cheap Cables sorry I had french cookies stuck in aliexpress when I searched these https://fr.aliexpress.com/wholesale?ltype=wholesale&d=y&origin=y&isViewCP=y&initiative_id=QRW_20170114233342&SearchText=tingo+cable&productId=32718958325&blanktest=0&tc=af https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/MMCX-Detachable-Silver-Plated-Cable-for-Shure-SE215-SE315-SE425-SE535-SE846-Replacement-Upgrade-Cable/32759782974.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/MMCX-Detachable-Silver-Plated-Cable-for-Shure-SE215-SE315-SE425-SE535-SE846-Replacement-Upgrade-Cable/32759782974.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/store/product/Upgrade-Silver-Plated-Cable-14-Core-Detach-Cable-For-Shure-SE215-SE315-SE425-SE535-SE846-UE900/519064_32561309428.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/2017-upgrade-Earphone-Silver-plated-mmcx-cable-for-shure-se846-se215-se535-IE8-IE80-headphone-cable/32788101223.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Poyatu-Silver-Plated-Cable-For-Shure-SE215-SE535-SE315-Moxpad-X6-Earphones-Replacment-Detachable-MMCX-Cables/32722567502.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1-2m-8-Core-5N-OCC-Teflon-Silver-Plated-Earphone-Cable-for-Shure-SE215-SE315-SE425/32699370892.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/High-quality-Soft-Upgrade-Silver-Plated-7N-Detachable-MMCX-Cable-for-SE215-SE315-SE425-SE535-SE846/32734613290.html?isOrigTitle=true&aff_platform=aaf&cpt=1485382479194&sk=6mia6uv&aff_trace_key=a7cc2453dceb4963b303bcfed3faf357-1485382479194-08753-6mia6uv https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1-2m-DIY-Replacement-Cable-3-5mm-Silver-plated-5N-OCC-Copper-Upgraded-Wire-4-strand/32687532254.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/C35-Replacement-Earphone-Silver-plated-copper-wire-earphone-mmcx-cable-for-shure-se846-se215-se535-IE8/32778532733.html?isOrigTitle=true&aff_platform=aaf&cpt=1485382466468&sk=6mia6uv&aff_trace_key=a7cc2453dceb4963b303bcfed3faf357-1485382466468-06069-6mia6uv https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1-2m-8-Core-5N-OCC-Teflon-Silver-Plated-Earphone-Cable-for-Shure-SE215-SE315-SE425/32699370892.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/MMCX-Detachable-Silver-Plated-Cable-for-Shure-SE215-SE315-SE425-SE535-SE846-Replacement-Upgrade-Cable/32759782974.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/2017-upgrade-Earphone-Silver-plated-mmcx-cable-for-shure-se846-se215-se535-IE8-IE80-headphone-cable/32788101223.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/5N-99-999-OCC-Single-Crystal-Copper-Silver-Plated-Wire-Pin-Line-Upgrade-Cable-For-Shure/32724901909.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/High-quality-For-Shure-SE215-315-425-535-SENFER-UE-DIY-Earphone-Upgrade-Silvered-Cable-With/32692241970.html?isOrigTitle=true PreBraided Cable for DIY https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Headphone-Wire/32767554889.html?isOrigTitle=true Interconnects https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-5N-OCC-single-crystal-copper-silver-plated-Cable-For-HD598-HD558-HD518-Headphone-cable/32460675783.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-High-Performance-OCC-Silver-Plated-3-5mm-to-3-5mm-Male-Earphone-Cable/946436861.html?isOrigTitle=true Supposedly Oyaide(japanese high end) TRS plug probably fake but still the wire is good and the TRS is probably fine just not a real Oyaide https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Oyaide-Metal-Plug-8-Core-5N-Teflon-OCC-Silver-Plated-Earphone-Cable-for-Shure-SE215-SE315/32783107376.html?isOrigTitle=true BlueSheath https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Newest-1-2m-5N-OCC-Single-crystal-silver-plated-copper-Earphone-Cable-HiFi-Headset-Line-for/32731559764.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/4-core-earphone-upgrade-silver-plated-cable-for-Shure-SE425-SE215-SE315-UE900-W40-HD598-earphones/32474992569.html?isOrigTitle=true Colors https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1-2m-Length-5N-99-999-OCC-Single-Crystal-Copper-Silver-Plated-Wire-Pin-Line-Upgrade/32725794542.html?isOrigTitle=true&aff_platform=aaf&cpt=1485382129769&sk=6mia6uv&aff_trace_key=a7cc2453dceb4963b303bcfed3faf357-1485382129769-09124-6mia6uv https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Hot-Sales-1-2m-5N-OCC-single-crystal-silver-plated-copper-Earphone-Cable-HiFi-Headset-Line/32730364499.html?isOrigTitle=true
Copper Silver Plate Mix I assume https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/7N-OCC-Silver-Mixed-Headphone-Cable-For-Sennheiser-HD25sp-HD265-HD535-HD222-HD224-HD230-HD250-Lin/32652179569.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/LZ-Custom-Made-High-Quality-Silver-Plated-Cable-Earphone-Upgrade-Cable-With-MMCX-Ues-For-Shure/32646582591.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Wooeasy-4-Core-Single-Silver-Plated-Cable-2-5-3-5mm-Balanced-Cable-With-MMCX-Connector/32782009629.html?isOrigTitle=true&aff_platform=aaf&cpt=1485382359792&sk=6mia6uv&aff_trace_key=a7cc2453dceb4963b303bcfed3faf357-1485382359792-00224-6mia6uv Black https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Replacement-MMCX-SE215-Cable-Single-Crystal-Copper-Wire-Detachable-Cords-for-Shure-SE215-SE315-SE425/32755725932.html?isOrigTitle=true&aff_platform=aaf&cpt=1485382305669&sk=6mia6uv&aff_trace_key=a7cc2453dceb4963b303bcfed3faf357-1485382305669-09607-6mia6uv https://fr.aliexpress.com/store/product/AK-8-Core-Gold-Plated-Cable-3-5mm-Balanced-Cable-With-MMCX-Connector-For-Shure-LZ/119089_32784932404.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/Pure-Silver-Cable-8-Core-Upgrade-Silver-Sterling-Cable-for-Shure-LZ-A4-A3S-SE846-UE900/32784401210.html?isOrigTitle=true&aff_platform=aaf&cpt=1485382611363&sk=6mia6uv&aff_trace_key=a7cc2453dceb4963b303bcfed3faf357-1485382611363-01189-6mia6uv 2pin Cheap as Dirt https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-ZS3-Dedicated-Cable-0-75mm-2-Pin-Upgraded-Plated-Silver-Cable-2-PIN-Upgrade-Cable/32776533749.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-ZST-Cable-2pin-0-75-mm-Upgraded-Silver-Plated-Cable-Earphone-Upgrade-Cable-for/32742751243.html?isOrigTitle=true&aff_platform=aaf&cpt=1485382654277&sk=6mia6uv&aff_trace_key=a7cc2453dceb4963b303bcfed3faf357-1485382654277-09950-6mia6uv https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-ZS3-Silver-Upgrade-Earphone-Cable-Detachable-Audio-Cord-3-5mm-3-pole-Jack-for-KZ/32754762826.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-ZST-Silver-Upgrade-Earphone-Cable-Detachable-Audio-Cord-3-5mm-3-pole-Jack-for-KZ/32783925219.html?isOrigTitle=true https://fr.aliexpress.com/store/product/KZ-ZS3-Silver-Upgrade-Earphone-Cable-Detachable-Audio-Cord-3-5mm-3-pole-Jack-for-KZ/1358152_32754762826.html?isOrigTitle=true
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Tingo-1-25m-16-Shares-5N-Silver-Plated-Earphone-Cables-Headphone-Line-Wire-HIFI-Headset-Line/1052764_32618214603.html
https://fr.aliexpress.com/wholesale?ltype=wholesale&d=y&origin=y&isViewCP=y&initiative_id=QRW_20170114233342&SearchText=tingo+cable&productId=32718958325&blanktest=0&tc=af
These tingos come in 2 pin both ie80 and tf10 and also mmcx shure se215 type connector. You have to look closely at the sale pages cause they list all 3 connectors but no choice... do you send them an email? thats always risky and they might send a random one read closely below and see which one its for or send them a chat and ask(before you buy). Tingos tho look like the best 7 dollar cable. I think in french it shows more selection than aliexpress does to the usa likely because of the way the chinese set their shops up(which is odd they prefer to sell to French).