I made up a stereo pair of interconnects using the products as shown below. I hope this tutorial help other out there who want to do the same:
2 meters of Furutech Alpha μ-P2.1-50:
2 pairs of Furutech FP 106 R: Filament central pin, locking collet, rhodium plated RCA plug:
The cable is balanced, meaning it has two central conductors as well as a braided shield. RCA plugs only accept termination 2 termination points, being the central pin, and the body.
I opted to implement a pseudo balanced connection where I use the central two cables to carry the signal, and use the braided shielding on the outside to connect to the source side. I am not 100% sure whether this way of connecting the cable is better than any other method, but out of all the meaningless hype out there, this option makes the most sense to me.
Next important consideration here is that the RCA plug has screw down connection points. There is so much metal on these plugs that you will not be able to solder your cable to it - you will not be able to get the plug hot enough and it will heatsink your soldering iron completely.
Now we have that out of the way, let's discuss some options for non-solder connections:
You could use bare wire, give it some twist, then secure it with the grub screw in the plug. My worry doing it this way is that the grub screw may damage the copper strands of the cable, and it may be nearly impossible to make good contact with each strand as the screw will tend to push some of the cable strands out of the way.
A better way (IMO) is to use a ferrule. It looks like this:
The ferrule is crimped around the bare strands of copper on your cable end. This keeps the strands together and will also allow us to use a grub screw without damaging the copper strands of your cable.
Next, I will show you step-by-step how I terminated my cables. You may have a different way of doing this, however these pictures will help to guide you.
Steps 1 to 16 will show the termination at the source end. This means it is the side of the cable which plugs into your source component (DAC, CDP, etc). Steps 17 to 19 will show the termination at the receiving end (your pre amp, etc).
Step 1
Remove about 2.5 cm (one inch) of the outer plastic sleeve from the end of your cable. Do this carefully so as not to damage the braided shielding just beneath it. Next, unbraid the copper shielding. Your cable end should look like this:
Step 2
Fold the braid back. This will expose the assembly underneath it. You will find some paper tape which is wound around two pairs of cotton filler and the wires. Carefully cut the paper tape and the cotton fillers off such that you are left with only the braided sleeve (folded back), and the two cables. Your cable end should look like this:
Step 3
The RCA plug has one terminal behind the other. This means we will need to cut one of the cable cores a bit shorter than the other. I use the red wire to connect to the central pin on the RCA plug, therefore I CUT THE WHITE wire shorter by about 12mm:
Step 4
I strip about 5mm from the end of the red wire:
Step 5
I place a non insulated ferrule over the exposed cable end:
Note: You can get nice gold plated ferrules from Furutech. I don't have these, so I just use standard Ferrules.
Step 6
I crimp the ferrule to the cable end. I have a special pair of crimping pliers that do this, but you could use a standard crimping tool or similar to do the job.
Step 7
I strip the end off the white wire. Do NOT crimp a ferrule on it at this stage!
Step 8
I wrap the shield over the exposed end of the white cable. Take care to twist in the same direction as you the natural direction of the exposed end of the white wire. Be sure to wrap the shield tightly around the white cable - you don't want it loose and hanging around!
Step 9
I place an insulated ferrule over the twisted assembly. This ferrule is of a larger diameter than the one used on the red cable because it has a lot more copper going through it. I make sure to push the ferrule on as far back as it will go which twisting in the same direction as the cable twist.
Step 10
I cut the excess wire protruding from the tip of the ferrule:
Step 11
And crimp it in place:
Step 12
Next, I place the parts of the RCA plug over the cable end. You need to do this now before connecting anything else!
The easiest way to figure this out is to put the two barrels over the cable in exactly the same order AND ORIENTATION as they come off the RCA plug when you disassemble it.
Step 13
Insert the cable end into the RCA plug. The white wire + shield will go into a terminal space at the back, and the red wire end will go into a terminal space towards the front of the plug:
Step 14
Insert and tighten the grub screws which hold the cable ends to the plug. Take care to ensure a good connection between the cable end and the grub screw. Also, you are not building a oil drilling well, so don't overdo it with the torque on the grub screws. Tight enough so they hold on and deform the ferrule a little bit is plenty.
Step 15
Place the barrel over the RCA plug. The barrel has thread on the inside wall which mates to some thread on the RCA plug itself. Thread it onto the plug, and turn it all the way to the end. Should be around 4 or 5 full turns.
Step 16
Finally, place the back stop over the RCA plug. It is held in place by a small grub screw:
------
Right, that brings us to the end of the source side connection. You will do this on the left and right cable, and be left with a free and un-terminated end on each cable.
Connecting the receiving end of your cable is similar to what we have done above, with the exception that the braided shielding is not used. Again, this is one way of doing it - I am sure there are other ways as well.
Step 17
Follow step 1 and 2 (above). With this end of the cable, we need to remove the braided shield, leaving only the white and red cables. When done, your cable should look like this:
Step 18
Next, cut the WHITE wire 12mm shorter. Strip the ends of the white and red wire, and crimp a ferrule onto each end. Your cable should look like this:
Step 19
Follow step 12 through to 16 to connect the RCA plug, and finish off the assembly.
-------
With everything done, you should have two cables which look like this:
Sounds great & looks great! A job well done!
Regards,
Ian.
------
I ordered all the parts to make up this set of interconnects from Jeandr? at http://www.avcables.co.za/.
The service I received from Jeandr? was excellent, and my items were shipped and delivered quickly. Highly recommended.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation whatsoever to Jeandr? or AVCables.co.za other than purchasing my parts from him.
2 meters of Furutech Alpha μ-P2.1-50:
2 pairs of Furutech FP 106 R: Filament central pin, locking collet, rhodium plated RCA plug:
The cable is balanced, meaning it has two central conductors as well as a braided shield. RCA plugs only accept termination 2 termination points, being the central pin, and the body.
I opted to implement a pseudo balanced connection where I use the central two cables to carry the signal, and use the braided shielding on the outside to connect to the source side. I am not 100% sure whether this way of connecting the cable is better than any other method, but out of all the meaningless hype out there, this option makes the most sense to me.
Next important consideration here is that the RCA plug has screw down connection points. There is so much metal on these plugs that you will not be able to solder your cable to it - you will not be able to get the plug hot enough and it will heatsink your soldering iron completely.
Now we have that out of the way, let's discuss some options for non-solder connections:
You could use bare wire, give it some twist, then secure it with the grub screw in the plug. My worry doing it this way is that the grub screw may damage the copper strands of the cable, and it may be nearly impossible to make good contact with each strand as the screw will tend to push some of the cable strands out of the way.
A better way (IMO) is to use a ferrule. It looks like this:
The ferrule is crimped around the bare strands of copper on your cable end. This keeps the strands together and will also allow us to use a grub screw without damaging the copper strands of your cable.
Next, I will show you step-by-step how I terminated my cables. You may have a different way of doing this, however these pictures will help to guide you.
Steps 1 to 16 will show the termination at the source end. This means it is the side of the cable which plugs into your source component (DAC, CDP, etc). Steps 17 to 19 will show the termination at the receiving end (your pre amp, etc).
Step 1
Remove about 2.5 cm (one inch) of the outer plastic sleeve from the end of your cable. Do this carefully so as not to damage the braided shielding just beneath it. Next, unbraid the copper shielding. Your cable end should look like this:
Step 2
Fold the braid back. This will expose the assembly underneath it. You will find some paper tape which is wound around two pairs of cotton filler and the wires. Carefully cut the paper tape and the cotton fillers off such that you are left with only the braided sleeve (folded back), and the two cables. Your cable end should look like this:
Step 3
The RCA plug has one terminal behind the other. This means we will need to cut one of the cable cores a bit shorter than the other. I use the red wire to connect to the central pin on the RCA plug, therefore I CUT THE WHITE wire shorter by about 12mm:
Step 4
I strip about 5mm from the end of the red wire:
Step 5
I place a non insulated ferrule over the exposed cable end:
Note: You can get nice gold plated ferrules from Furutech. I don't have these, so I just use standard Ferrules.
Step 6
I crimp the ferrule to the cable end. I have a special pair of crimping pliers that do this, but you could use a standard crimping tool or similar to do the job.
Step 7
I strip the end off the white wire. Do NOT crimp a ferrule on it at this stage!
Step 8
I wrap the shield over the exposed end of the white cable. Take care to twist in the same direction as you the natural direction of the exposed end of the white wire. Be sure to wrap the shield tightly around the white cable - you don't want it loose and hanging around!
Step 9
I place an insulated ferrule over the twisted assembly. This ferrule is of a larger diameter than the one used on the red cable because it has a lot more copper going through it. I make sure to push the ferrule on as far back as it will go which twisting in the same direction as the cable twist.
Step 10
I cut the excess wire protruding from the tip of the ferrule:
Step 11
And crimp it in place:
Step 12
Next, I place the parts of the RCA plug over the cable end. You need to do this now before connecting anything else!
The easiest way to figure this out is to put the two barrels over the cable in exactly the same order AND ORIENTATION as they come off the RCA plug when you disassemble it.
Step 13
Insert the cable end into the RCA plug. The white wire + shield will go into a terminal space at the back, and the red wire end will go into a terminal space towards the front of the plug:
Step 14
Insert and tighten the grub screws which hold the cable ends to the plug. Take care to ensure a good connection between the cable end and the grub screw. Also, you are not building a oil drilling well, so don't overdo it with the torque on the grub screws. Tight enough so they hold on and deform the ferrule a little bit is plenty.
Step 15
Place the barrel over the RCA plug. The barrel has thread on the inside wall which mates to some thread on the RCA plug itself. Thread it onto the plug, and turn it all the way to the end. Should be around 4 or 5 full turns.
Step 16
Finally, place the back stop over the RCA plug. It is held in place by a small grub screw:
------
Right, that brings us to the end of the source side connection. You will do this on the left and right cable, and be left with a free and un-terminated end on each cable.
Connecting the receiving end of your cable is similar to what we have done above, with the exception that the braided shielding is not used. Again, this is one way of doing it - I am sure there are other ways as well.
Step 17
Follow step 1 and 2 (above). With this end of the cable, we need to remove the braided shield, leaving only the white and red cables. When done, your cable should look like this:
Step 18
Next, cut the WHITE wire 12mm shorter. Strip the ends of the white and red wire, and crimp a ferrule onto each end. Your cable should look like this:
Step 19
Follow step 12 through to 16 to connect the RCA plug, and finish off the assembly.
-------
With everything done, you should have two cables which look like this:
Sounds great & looks great! A job well done!
Regards,
Ian.
------
I ordered all the parts to make up this set of interconnects from Jeandr? at http://www.avcables.co.za/.
The service I received from Jeandr? was excellent, and my items were shipped and delivered quickly. Highly recommended.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation whatsoever to Jeandr? or AVCables.co.za other than purchasing my parts from him.
