My first DIY project

The Nad S300 integrated defaults to the CD input at power on, which requires an XLR balanced interconnect. As I had no XLR cables, I initially connected the CDP to the Aux. inputs using the supplied RCA cables, but that meant changing the input selection at each power up.

As high-end audio store gold-plated, star-dust sprayed snake oil cables are not exactly my cup of tea, I looked for inexpensive XLR cables but all I could find were 5- or 10-m long microphone cables. The only dealer who had 1-m long cables was charging as much for shipping as for the actual cables.

So I decided to go DIY. I found at a local store all I needed:



As connectors were all the same color, I used red heat-shrinkable tubing to tell R from L.

Here are the completed 50-cm cables. I used angled connectors at the amp. end as I have very little space at the rear.



Success comes at a cost though: 11 € (£7.70)

 

Well done............
So how does it sound?

Remember the sound you hear can be significantly changed by the cable u use. Often but not always the better the cable the better ther sound.

 

Well, the system sounds just as good. I certainly can tell no difference w/r to the cables supplied with the amp. I just find them practical, as I no longer have to change the default source selection at power on.

I posted this half-jokingly, as it's certainly no major technical achievement, and my purpose was definitely not to start an umpteenth debate on the compared merits of different cables.

A friend of mine owns a very expensive set of interconnects which we'll try on my system out of curiosity.

Cheers

 

Ahhhh, that's how you're avoiding heat problems with the S300....

I keep mine powered on full time. Can get a little toasty, although the room is current sub 10C, so it's actually cool to the touch at the moment.

 

If you leave it on standby with the remote (which I do quite a lot), it doesn't default to CD every time you turn it back on - I don't have any XLR interconnects so I'm on AUX at the moment too.

 

Hi Isaac,

I switch it on first thing in the morning (I work at home) and switch it off at bed time.

Yes, it gets quite hot, and we have no snow here (at the moment)

Cheers

 

Hi Pete,

The problem is my system runs from a switched outlet. When I switch all lighting off in the room at bed time, my kit goes off as well (was not intended that way originally though). So I can't keep it on standby.

Cheers