HELP: How to make my own interconnects with Belden 8422 cable

[Audiophile NewB]

I am new to this site, and I can already tell this place is a godsend!

I stumbled on this site looking for some advice on interconnects. Based on the many suggestions here I went and ordered some Belden 8422 cable and will try to make my own interconnects.

Does anyone here have tips for how to do it?

First, what type of RCA plugs should I get, and where?

I am thinking of getting some heat shrink tubing to cover the ends of the cables where they connect to the RCA plugs. Is that a good idea, or is there a better option?

I also was looking at some braided sleeves. Is braided sleeving a good thing, neutral, or bad? ... Does it help? Is it just for looks? Or, could it actually hurt performance somehow?

Lastly, is this something that someone like me -- with very limited "hands-on" experience in electronics -- can do? I should have thought about this BEFORE I bought the Belden 8422 cable (100 feet of it), but my impulsive tendencies got the better of me.

 

[j_garcia]

Techflex adds little besides protection.

IMO, if you haven't done something like this before, it may not be all that simple, but it should be doable if you are handy. I'd use the shrink wrap, but that is going to depend on the type of connector you choose.

For the RCAs, check Parts Express .com Nice stuff would be WBT, though also at the top end of the cost spectrum.

 

[Audiophile NewB]

J Garcia,

Thanks for the advice.

I am just now getting into audiophile territory. As you can see from my current equipment, nothing really hi-fi, and much of it is not even mid-fi. [Although I am already saving up for a DENON AVR-4806! And someday I would love to have a premium pair of front speakers ... Magnepan 3.6s if I can ever save up enough dough and win the wife over to the idea of $4,000 speakers with monolithic dimensions sitting in our family room.]

I used to be skeptical of the benefits of premium cables, but am finally coming around to the idea that there is a difference between good cables and bad cables. So I am finally ready to add better cables (if not "premium" cables) to my system.

But yikes! ... up to $49 per plug for the WBT RCA plugs?!?! I am sure they are excellent quality, but that is well over what I am prepared to spend on just the RCA plugs.

I looked at Parts Express's inventory of RCA plugs and they have quite a selection. Are there any of their more affordable RCA plugs that could be deemed good or at least acceptable? Are there any more reasonably priced RCA plugs that you could recommend?

I really do appreciate your advice, but I clearly am not playing in the same league (in terms of investing $$$ in my cables) as most of you guys.

Thanks again!

 

[Tom Andry]

I really do appreciate your advice, but I clearly am not playing in the same league (in terms of investing $$$ in my cables) as most of you guys.

You must be thinking of a different website. We don't do expensive cables here. Read this, this, and this. You know what... just read everything under cables and interconnects here.