[bogginhead]

I'm trying to reterminate a cable made by Periapt Cables. It's their Type-8 cable, and for whatever reason the male XLR connector that came on the cable (bought second-hand) had an end on it that flaired out like a bell and was too big to fit either of my amps. So I've got a new male XLR 4-Pin connector (Neutrik), and have gotten to where I'm actually going to be tinning and soldering (this is absolutely my first time soldering ANYTHING lol, but I want to learn so I can hopefully make cables for myself in the future) and I've run into an issue:

What do I need to solder the braided shield to? As far as I could tell, it wasn't soldered to anything originally. The new Neutrik connector has a ground plug; should I solder it to the ground plug? If I can leave it unsoldered I will, but if it needs to be connected I definitely want it done right.

 

[cobyatch]

I've re-terminated two Periapt cables to Neutriks XLR connectors and I didn't solder the braided shield to anything, have had no problems with either and both sound fine. As long as you get the L & R grounds right, you'll be fine. I actually ended up cutting off the excess shielding to prevent it from shorting any of the other wires inside.

 

[bogginhead]

Gotcha; thanks so much! Helps a lot. So you'd recommend just going ahead and cutting off almost all or all of the braided shield?

 

[cobyatch]

Yup, I just twisted whatever was coming out that end then cut it off.

Theoretically speaking, that shield should only be soldered at one end to prevent any EMI from coming into the cable and introducing noise. However since I don't know how Periapt wired it on the other end to the headphones, it's a safer bet to not solder it at all. Plus it's really only an issue with longer runs of cable and at a source level.

 

[bogginhead]

Thanks, man!

 

[tomb]

I would recommend soldering the shield to the ground connector on the XLR connector. You're ruining a major part of the cable's performance without it. It's not hard or difficult. Assuming the shield is made up of small wires (as opposed to a foil), simply grab them altogether and twist them into a single cable and tin it to keep the twisted end from un-raveling. If it's too much, cut some of them away. You'll still get the same benefit, because they all touch throughout the length of the cable.

If you have a four wire cable plus shield, there's no way the shield is soldered at the headphone.