Braided audio cable

[Waxx]

I need to make some new interconnects for my systems, and thought why not make them look fancy "snake oil" like in stead of just plain boring. Not that i don't believe that a simple well build rca cable can do the job right, it's just why not doing something different just for fun.

So i studied what kind of cables that exist, and found that some say braided cable is better to filter out noise. I doubt that it is an real issue or needed, but those cables look nice.

So my question is, are there disadvantages on doing it braided like in this picture. And if yes, give me the science please why i should not do that. I know it's more complicated and a bit more expensive to do, but that is not an issue for this.

Off course they won't sound better than my actual ones, but they look better and i make them myself, so no snake oil prices...

The id is still rough, so no specifics on the cables and the connectors yet. But it will be cheap decent stuff that i use. It's just about the system

 

[staticV3]

A while ago I made a cable for my ER4XR with dual twisted pair layout instead of the usual braided cables you see online, and found that it reduced the amount of interference noises that I got from cellular internet on my phone, compared to the 8core braided cable that I used before.

Before:


After:


So in my case, the braided cables had the disadvantage of higher susceptibility to EMI. YMMV.

 

[Killingbeans]

Possibly lower inductance(?). Would only makes sense with speaker cables... and even then probably only a measurable benefit.

It doesn't have any shielding? Makes the whole "filter out noise" thing a moot point, if you ask me.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

For unbalanced interconnects (e.g. DAC to amp), use a quality shielded coax.

Braided non-coax will have greater susceptibility to noise than shielded coax.

 

[Waxx]

For unbalanced interconnects (e.g. DAC to amp), use a quality shielded coax.

Braided non-coax will have greater susceptibility to noise than shielded coax.

And if I braid coax cables, it won't make a difference then. It's just for the looks i would braid, but i don't want disadvantages...

 

[Speedskater]

For speaker and headphone cables, the advantages of braiding are all mechanical. It won't unwind like a twisted cable might. It has flexibility and human comfort for headphones.
RCA analog & digital interconnects should use a coax cable.
XLR interconnects should use a manufactured Shielded Twisted Pair (STP). No need for a Star-Quad in a home.

 

[staticV3]

It won't unwind like a twisted cable might

If done right, a twisted pair will only (slowly) unwind if you cut off the termination at one end.
The trick is to twist the two individual wires in the opposite direction that you twist them around each other:

That way, there's no tension between the wires, making the twisted form their natural resting state.
Once fixed at both ends, there's no way for the pair to unwind.

 

[Waxx]

It seems that my question is not understood. So again.

What if i braid, with coax cable, like the first picture, for a fancy looking rca interconnect. Are there disadvantages outside overkill, expense and time wasting... I do it for fun and to have a different look, not for better sound (normal coax is enough, i know). So i take 3 coax cables, and braid them and connect to one connector on each end.

 

[Martini]

It seems that my question is not understood. So again.

What if i braid, with coax cable, like the first picture, for a fancy looking rca interconnect. Are there disadvantages outside overkill, expense and time wasting... I do it for fun and to have a different look, not for better sound (normal coax is enough, i know). So i take 3 coax cables, and braid them and connect to one connector on each end.

Generally coax is fairly large in diameter, I'm guessing 7-8mm, so a braided interconnect would be damn big!

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[mhardy6647]

If done right, a twisted pair will only (slowly) unwind if you cut off the termination at one end.
The trick is to twist the two individual wires in the opposite direction that you twist them around each other:
View attachment 251726
That way, there's no tension between the wires, making the twisted form their natural resting state.
Once fixed at both ends, there's no way for the pair to unwind.

I find myself thinking of DNA and chromatin for some reason...

 

[Killingbeans]

Generally coax is fairly large in diameter, I'm guessing 7-8mm, so a braided interconnect would be damn big!

Mogami W2330 is only 3mm. But still a chunky braid.

 

[DonH56]

Braided (woven) cables should reduce inductance, increase capacitance, and improve common-mode rejection over a simple pair (zip wire). It does not provide the high-frequency shielding and CMRR (common-mode rejection ratio) of shielded coax, but unless you have a severe EMI/RFI problem it should work just fine for audio signals. How high and how much rejection depends upon the number of wires and number of turns (twists per inch).

No math, sorry, busy day - Don

 

[DVDdoug]

What if i braid, with coax cable, like the first picture, for a fancy looking rca interconnect.

That wouldn't hurt anything but soldering the connections seems like to would be a mess and the connector cover/housing might not fit.

You would be increasing capacitance by paralleling but that won't be an issue unless you have very-long runs, or if you are using it as a phono cable.

 

[DonH56]

It seems that my question is not understood. So again.

What if i braid, with coax cable, like the first picture, for a fancy looking rca interconnect. Are there disadvantages outside overkill, expense and time wasting... I do it for fun and to have a different look, not for better sound (normal coax is enough, i know). So i take 3 coax cables, and braid them and connect to one connector on each end.

Oops, I missed the "braiding with coax cable" part... I don't see any particular advantage, or disadvantage, with that approach from a technical standpoint. From a practical standpoint, dealing with all of the centers and shields at the connectors may be messy.

Edit: @DVDdoug beat me to it.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I don't think braided coax would look as neat as the OP's picture of teflon and silver cable. I'd probably just use regular coax and put my favorite TechFlex braid on it for looks.

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www.techflex.com

Something like this. They have lots of color combinations to choose from.

 

[jschwender]

braided coax cables have longer wire length than effective cable length. Therefore the inductance and resistance is somewhat higher. This is even measurable but for this application also completely irrelevant, as the resistance is in any case very very low compared to impedance of signal input. So you balance "nice look" with a signal level loss of like 0.0000001 dB

 

[izeek]

A while ago I made a cable for my ER4XR with dual twisted pair layout instead of the usual braided cables you see online, and found that it reduced the amount of interference noises that I got from cellular internet on my phone, compared to the 8core braided cable that I used before.

Before:
View attachment 251701

After:
View attachment 251703View attachment 251702

So in my case, the braided cables had the disadvantage of higher susceptibility to EMI. YMMV.

 

[Wolf]

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[Philbo King]

If it is just for looks, a foil shield beneath the braid would still give you 100% shielding. If using braid alone it needs to be quite dense to achieve full shielding. Cheap braided shields often only offer 80% (or less!) shield coverage, so the foil shield just inside the braid avoids that problem.

Terminating the braid at the ends is best done with solder sleeves applied with a heat gun, with a short wire lead (1 or 2") from the sleeve to the shield/ground connection point on each end. These also provide an air/water-tight hermetic seal on each side of the connection, preventing any future oxidation. It is a very robust connection, used in making maritime and aerospace grade cable shield terminations. I built thousands of these when I worked in an aerospace company.

Note: if you do use solder sleeves, first verify center lead does not have 'hot-melt' insulation. Teflon insulation, not vinyl...

I can't vouch for these Amazon ones but it gives you an idea of what to look for.

.https://www.amazon.com/140-Solder-Seal-Wire-Connectors/dp/B07JJ6YYKL/ref=asc_df_B07JJ6YYKL?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80264466527755&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583863993137894&psc=1

Youtube video that illustrates the assembly process:

 

[kongwee]

Only good if you can twist near theoretical 90 degree than it is comparable to shield. Coaxial is still my favourite due to subjective, objective and cost.