MarkPAman wrote:Connecting pin 1 to the barrel of the plug often creates more problems than it solves - I certainly have removed that link far more times than I've had to add it.
I agree -- linking pin 1 to the outer shell is mandated in the AES spec, and it does make technical sense... but it's not necessary for the vast majority of applications and, in the real world of legacy and badly designed gear, it does tend to cause more problems than it fixes. So I'd advise leaving it out!
Pinching the connector round the wire - never seen that before. I guess it may make the connection slightly stronger physically but it's also going to make any future repair more tricky, though if you've done it correctly those should be few!
I was always taught that a connection should be mechanically sound without solder... and hence the idea of crimping the connector terminals... However, in the real world again, there is a risk of damaging the pin by crimping in that way, and it makes future repairs all but impossible... it's another unnecessary step. A better option, in my view, would be to use either a Hellerman rubber sleeve or a heatshrink sleeve over the joint to provide some extra mechanical security and insulation against stray wires!
If you're really doing the job properly, the braid screen wire should be sleeved, too, which he omitted. (I don't usually bother either, but if we're talking about doing the job properly...)
And a last word about cables. Star-quad cables as shown in the video do have better rejection of very near-field interference sources than standard twin-core cables. But it's rare to need that level of rejection outside of a very electrically hostile environment where the mic cable is laid alongside nasty lighting cables and such like. So a TV studio, yes fair enough... for a typical home studio it's a waste of money and makes the cable-making job longer and harder.
Also, while the video is right that a braided screen gives a high percentage of shielding cover, it's a pain in the back end to have to shred and sort out. And, I've found over the years that braided screen cables can kink and the braid opens out in a way that doesn't happen with lapped cables.
Some lapped screens certainly are poor, as he showed in that example, but not all by any means. Buy a decent cable from a reputable manufacturer and a lapped screen is absolutely fine. Best option by far is actually a double-lapped screen, sometimes called a Reussen screen!
Anyway, most modern cables now supplement the screen with either conductive foil or conductive plastic too, and usually provide a simple drain wire for the connector, which makes life easier still.
Finally, use a reasonably large chunky bit on the soldering iron to transfer a big chunk of heat quickly, and use a temperature-controlled iron rather than a stand-alone cheap one. leaded multicore solder is easier to work with if you can get it and is fine for use in cable connectors. Unleaded solder needs a slightly higher temperature iron.
And 'tin' both the wires and the connector solder cups before trying to solder them together (he didn't appear to tin the screen braid which is probably why he had to keep the iron on the terminal for so long and go back to it two or three times!
by 
), I really think that it would be fun to try out. It seems like "high quality cables" are pretty expensive, and I haven't really been able to figure out how much the price actually matters. Of course it does when we are talking about distance, but it's easy to find a 15 ft TS cable for $10 and another for $50. I do understand there will most definitely be a difference in the price range that I just used as an example, but how far does that go? 
The design/build of the connectors makes a big difference. Putting quality aside I'd still happily pay for the likes of Neutriks in most situations just for the ease of working with them. I think this is probably quite important if you're new to soldering as well, it'd be quite easy to get frustrated and put off of the idea entirely if the first connectors you ever had to do were a pain to work with.
