I made a custom low-profile balanced XLR adapter for my Schiit Stack. Just wanted to share!

[Quinton595]

Hello everyone,

I have a Modius E and Jotunheim 2 stack, and although low-profile XLR connectors already exist on the market for a lot of Schiit stacks, they don't cover this specific paring, and its offset plugs.

I quickly made a walnut Z, cut a top off it, and hollowed out the inside with some forstner bits, then drilled the holes to accept some Neutrik XLR plugs. Put a few coats of Tung oil on, wired everything up with some 20 Ga. wire, and it works perfectly!

It's never really going to be seen, being up against a wall and all, so this was just some rough-and-tumble carpentry, with little care paid to the fit and finish.

Still, I saved myself about four or five inches of depth over the shortest pair of XLR interconnects out there. The whole thing takes up less than two inches of depth, so I can keep my units right up against the wall now. Just gotta find a low-profile power plug to match.

In the future, I'm going to use the same approach to make a matching 4-Pin XLR to TRS plug, so I can use my Sennheiser HD800s in a balanced way.

 

[kemmler3D]

Nifty and very well finished, nice! I am sure you could sell a few of these if you felt like it.

 

[Quinton595]

Thank you! Without a CNC, though, they're not up to the level of quality I'd want if I were to sell them. I could slow down and make them nicer manually, but it wouldn't be cost-effective then. Hopefully, it just serves as a quick dimensional guide / inspiration for someone else who might find themselves in a similar situation.

 

[Berwhale]

I like this! I considered making something similar, but with RCA connectors, for my Topping D50s/A50s as the cables sticking out the back are half as deep as the units themselves.

 

[Somafunk]

That’s a very neat and novel solution,

 

[Jim Taylor]

Excellent! And more space-efficient than these, too! https://www.ebay.com/itm/371049465831?chn=ps

 

[Berwhale]

Excellent! And more space-efficient than these, too! https://www.ebay.com/itm/371049465831?chn=ps

The right angled cables I made for my D50s/A50s worked well when they were hidden behind my monitor, but not so well on my bedside table (I reverted to some short straight cables when the stack was there)...

 

[Quinton595]

The right angled cables I made for my D50s/A50s worked well when they were hidden behind my monitor, but not so well on my bedside table (I reverted to some short straight cables when the stack was there)...

View attachment 478931

Ahahaha, ahh yes, the ol' Cardiod Interconnect.

 

[Haflermichi]

Wow. That's a slick solution. Nice woodwork! Kudos.
My only suggestions would be maybe using black screws for the cover. And perhaps, perhaps not twisting the signal leads.
It's such a short run twisting may not be needed. But currently your signal leads are not shielded... No need to add the ground to the twist.

I really like that your design eliminates the back shells for reduced depth. I wouldn't have thought of that!

 

[Quinton595]

Wow. That's a slick solution. Nice woodwork! Kudos.
My only suggestions would be maybe using black screws for the cover. And perhaps, perhaps not twisting the signal leads.
It's such a short run twisting may not be needed. But currently your signal leads are not shielded... No need to add the ground to the twist.

I really like that your design eliminates the back shells for reduced depth. I wouldn't have thought of that!

Thank you! And Yeah, I wasn't thrilled about having to twist them, but it's unavoidable. The male xlr pinout is, naturally, the mirror reflection of the female, so pins 1 and 3 are on opposite sides. The twist is inescapable.

I'm gonna swap the screws for some brass ones when I get some

 

[Haflermichi]

What I meant was you want to twist them...

 

[Quinton595]

What I meant was you want to twist them...

Ohhh wow, you just brought back a grade-11 understanding of the right-hand rule of electromagnetic induction i forgot I had. You're right, we twist things to CANCEL interference, not create it.... hmm.

 

[Haflermichi]

Yes, that's what I meant.
It doesn't so much cancel as provide the opportunity to reject common mode interference at balanced inputs.
But we're talking about maybe 3.5 inches?
So you're probably fine.