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Adding shielding to existing cables

So I have some interconnects that are picking up all sorts of RFi. I know this for two reasons, one, as I move them around the noisy/buzz sound changes, and two, when I switch them out for shielded interconnects the noise goes away.

so, I bought some tinned copper shielding and some new RCA plugs. I’m going to cut the existing RCA plugs off the existing cable and install the new shielding and new plugs. The thing is the new plugs have a plastic body so there is nowhere to easily connect the shielding to ground.

I was thinking of running a pigtail from the shielding and attachIng an eyelet to ground it to my preamp since there is a grounding lug. Would this work or is there a better way given what I intend to use?


last_lemming
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,798 posts
 
@last_lemming,

Thanks for clarifying, hope it works out for you. If not, then you have an solid recommendation to try it out that won’t break the bank.
erik_squires
16,898 posts
 
To be clear I have an existing Decware cable that sounds great, but is unshielded. I’m not trying to DIY a new cable from scratch. I just want to add shielding to see if that solves my noise problem.



Right, so .... if you like your cables, don't hack them yet.

Use inexpensive shielded first. That is, use the Belden as a prototype. If you like your results, then you know what direction you want to go in.  The goal here is not sublime purity of essence, but to prove/disprove your ideas of noise elimination. Do it cheaply with cables you don't mind throwing away before you hack things you love.

Best,

E
dgarretson
2,623 posts
 
I use a tinned copper braid shield for DIY ICs, PCs, & speaker cables.  Solder a short round wire to the braid and sneak it through the RCA barrel to ground at the source end only. Cover the braid with tekflex, and seal the tekflex to the RCA barrel with heat shrink tube-- just like many commercial cable manufacturers do it.
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bigkidz
3,445 posts
 
So your cable is picking up noise. I would suggest trying different ways to shield and ground the existing cable without hacking it up. I would then suggest going to your local audio store and trying out different cables first to see if they make any difference.

Happy Listening.
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