DIY Speaker Cable Tutorial

[trevordj]

DIY Speaker Cable Tutorial

Tools:

Heat gun
Soldering iron and solder
Third hand soldering clamp
Wire cutters
Wire strippers
Scissors
Propane torch (for heating scissors before cutting techflex)
Ruler
Super Glue (CA glue) and activator

Parts:

Monoprice RCA connectors (connector body only, I save the connector tip for future use)
Monoprice 16 gauge CL2 speaker wire
Blue Jeans Cable locking banana plugs
Techflex
Heatshrink (2:1 does just fine here, 1/2" and 1/8" both black)

Step 1: Cut the cable to size



Step 2: Strip the outer jacket 4.5 inches



Step 3: Inch the techflext onto the cable. For this 16ga cable I use 3/8" techflex.



Step 4: Tape the techflex down and thread a 1.5" length of the 1/2" heat shrink over the end of the techflex. Also thread a 1" length of 1/8" heat shrink over each of the wires.



Step 5: Shrink the heatshrink. Thread the barrel of an RCA connector over the heatshrink. Center the barrel so the heatshrink underneath looks symmetrical. It will be tight getting the RCA connector barrel in place but it will go (as long as you do not go overboard with the tape).

[trevordj]

Step 6: Use super glue to glue the RCA connector barrel in the desired location making sure it is straight.



Step 7: Use black silicone to fill the inside of the RCA connector barrel and smooth it with your finger. Also use some silicone to smooth out where the super glue was used to secure the connector barrel. I also zip tie the wires together so silicone doesn't build up between them. I found if I did not do this it is very difficult to remove the excess silicone between the leads. I let the silicone cure overnight as it completely fills the barrel of the RCA connector and thus needs quite a bit of time. You will curse yourself if you screw things up at this point.



Step 8: Strip 5/8" of insulation from each lead. Thread them into the barrel of the banana plug after being sure to thread the outer barrel of the banana onto the cable first. I am not a big fan of the little screws that are used to secure the wire into the banana. As an alternative I only use one screw, and I screw purposefully onto he end of the insulation of the wire.



Step 9: In the observed gap (see above picture) of the banana. I solder the wire in place.



Step 10: Screw the barrels in place over the bananas and you are done!





That is it! Please let me know if you have any questions about either the speaker cables or the RCAs

[LuisV]

Again... nice job! Great tutorial.

[bub]

I'm always looking for cable pants/ splitter.... Love the RCA connectors. Very smart. Thanks