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DIY - Sennheiser 600/650 Cable

Timbo2

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I wanted a shorter cable for my Sennheiser 600s. In the process I also wanted to be able to use the balanced output on my Sabaj DA3 DAC. The Sennheisers are nominally 300 ohms so every bit of power helps!

I'd read that the stock Sennheiser cable is four conductor and folks converted it to balanced operation by cutting the 1/4 inch plug off and adding 4 pin XLR. Although I found little other detail. You can purchase either a 600 cable or a 650 cable. On Amazon the thicker and better engineered 650 cable is half the price of the thinner and more prone to breakage 600 cable. Both will work on either set of cans.

So I figured I'd give everyone the heads up. Good news - yes, the factory cable is four conductor. Bad news - it's litz wire with epoxy insulation. It's a pain in the neck to work with and you are either going to have to heat it on high with the soldering iron or use a lighter to burn off the insulation.

Neutrik 4 pin XLR conductors are about $5US each so I got an assortment of females and a male plug for the headset. I was able to get a Rean 3.5mm (get the bigger size!), but for a 2.5mm TRRS 4 conductor plug for my Sabaj DA3 I had to resort to an oddball Chinese made one on Amazon. It was not a fun to work with and it didn't want to screw together with the thick Sennheiser wire.

I gave up and used a pre-manufactured male to male 2.5mm cable and cut off one end. Problem is the pre-manufactured cables is 3 conductor + shield. So it is 4 separate insulated conductors, but not balanced. After screwing with the other connector for so long I didn't care - I cut it as short as I possibly could, about 3 inches, and soldered it together. Subjectively I can't hear any issues with the high impedance Sennheisers - no noise, interference, channel imbalance or the like. The extra power with the Sabaj DA3 is a huge help!

For anyone that wants to try this at home I'd say you need "intermediate" soldering skills and a decent iron. The connectors will soak in a lot of heat so you need to have an iron that will stay hot. The litz wire is also difficult to work with. But if you've got the need, roughly two hours to burn and about $40 you will wind up with a headphone that can plug into 2.5mm balanced, 4 pin XLR balanced, 3.5mm single ended and 1/4 inch single ended.

It was the first time I worked with Neutrik connectors. I can see why they are so popular in professional use. Nicely made, easy to work with and reasonably priced.

IMG_20180526_172929.jpg
 
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amirm

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Bad news - it's litz wire with epoxy insulation. It's a pain in the neck to work with you are either going to have to heat it on high with the soldering iron or use a lighter to burn off the insulation.
Pain indeed. When I used to repair electronics back in 1970s, I hated running across Litz wire. We had a big hunking Weller gun that would help but it still was a pain to do.

Thanks for the write-up by the way. This is on my Todo list as well.
 
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Timbo2

Timbo2

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I should probably add a multimeter is also really useful. I used it to make sure everything was wired correctly and check my connections. For example, one of my connections had higher impedance compared to all the others. After I reflowed that connection the problem went away.
 

RayDunzl

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RayDunzl

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The pots are not very economical just to solder a wire or two.

No, but it shows what you need - a little puddle of molten solder.

I'm sure I could accomplish that with stuff I have laying around here already.

Propane torch and a little stainless condiment cup comes immediately to mind...
 
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Timbo2

Timbo2

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Now I did have to do this 20 times... :)

My problem was just how fine that wire was. Given that I’m part of the over 50 crowd I was wearing my geeky magnifying glasses. You don’t get much relief (distance) with those. Dipping tiny wires into a pot of molten solder with my face inches away doesn’t sound fun.
 

maxxevv

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L0rdGwyn

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Nice write-up, I make headphone cables myself, here is a 650 cable I put together with some Moon Audio bulk cable:

DmTicVMlSDqjAtnmMYYz_IMAG0021.jpg

I've used the Moon Audio cable quite a few times now and although it is a little pricey (around $14 per foot), it is high-quality and easy to work with.

I recently purchased the ZMF Auteur, going to be building a custom cable for them as well. Thought I'd try a different conductor this time, so purchased some Cardas 4x24 bulk cable. Realized after-the-fact that it is litz :( never worked with it before but I have a feeling I am going to regret it since I do not own a soldering pot. We'll see if my 40-watt Weller can get the job done!
 
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Timbo2

Timbo2

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I recently purchased the ZMF Auteur, going to be building a custom cable for them as well. Thought I'd try a different conductor this time, so purchased some Cardas 4x24 bulk cable. Realized after-the-fact that it is litz :( never worked with it before but I have a feeling I am going to regret it since I do not own a soldering pot. We'll see if my 40-watt Weller can get the job done!

A cigarette lighter will also work. But after burning the insulation you will need to clean of the burned residue. Fine wet / dry sandpaper works.
 

L0rdGwyn

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A cigarette lighter will also work. But after burning the insulation you will need to clean of the burned residue. Fine wet / dry sandpaper works.

Thanks! I'll give it a shot. I have some sandpaper on hand if necessary, we'll see.
 

pkane

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I wanted a shorter cable for my Sennheiser 600s. In the process I also wanted to be able to use the balanced output on my Sabaj DA3 DAC. The Sennheisers are nominally 300 ohms so every bit of power helps!

I'd read that the stock Sennheiser cable is four conductor and folks converted it to balanced operation by cutting the 1/4 inch plug off and adding 4 pin XLR. Although I found little other detail. You can purchase either a 600 cable or a 650 cable. On Amazon the thicker and better engineered 650 cable is half the price of the thinner and more prone to breakage 600 cable. Both will work on either set of cans.

So I figured I'd give everyone the heads up. Good news - yes, the factory cable is four conductor. Bad news - it's litz wire with epoxy insulation. It's a pain in the neck to work with and you are either going to have to heat it on high with the soldering iron or use a lighter to burn off the insulation.

Neutrik 4 pin XLR conductors are about $5US each so I got an assortment of females and a male plug for the headset. I was able to get a Rean 3.5mm (get the bigger size!), but for a 2.5mm TRRS 4 conductor plug for my Sabaj DA3 I had to resort to an oddball Chinese made one on Amazon. It was not a fun to work with and it didn't want to screw together with the thick Sennheiser wire.

I gave up and used a pre-manufactured male to male 2.5mm cable and cut off one end. Problem is the pre-manufactured cables is 3 conductor + shield. So it is 4 separate insulated conductors, but not balanced. After screwing with the other connector for so long I didn't care - I cut it as short as I possibly could, about 3 inches, and soldered it together. Subjectively I can't hear any issues with the high impedance Sennheisers - no noise, interference, channel imbalance or the like. The extra power with the Sabaj DA3 is a huge help!

For anyone that wants to try this at home I'd say you need "intermediate" soldering skills and a decent iron. The connectors will soak in a lot of heat so you need to have an iron that will stay hot. The litz wire is also difficult to work with. But if you've got the need, roughly two hours to burn and about $40 you will wind up with a headphone that can plug into 2.5mm balanced, 4 pin XLR balanced, 3.5mm single ended and 1/4 inch single ended.

It was the first time I worked with Neutrik connectors. I can see why they are so popular in professional use. Nicely made, easy to work with and reasonably priced.

View attachment 12890

I’ve now made 4 different headphone cables for HD650 and HE560 headphones. All balanced, with various termination. Used Canare 4E6S cable for all, including two that were 5m in length. I can recommend this cable — inexpensive, easy to work with, good noise rejection due to shield and conductor geometry and low signal loss.
 
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Timbo2

Timbo2

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Hello Timbo2

How did you connect the wires from the Sabaj 4 pin TRRS?
According to this site:
http://www.diyaudioblog.com/2016/02/headphone-connectors-pins-pinouts-for.html
there are two different pinouts:
- A&K: R-R+L+L-
- Hifiman: L+R+L-R-

Which one did you use?

I also like DA3, especially when fed with clean power.

A&K

Take a look at the documentation’s PDF. On the actual unit there is a silicon pad and nothing engraved.

http://www.sabaj.com.cn/Upload/download/20170725095004367.pdf
 
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