Have decided to venture into DIY cables for my system.
Looking into compression fittings vs. crimp ?
I do have a problem with my current Dayton cables. Top many times I've had speaker dropout, or off colors on my monitor.It's been a continual nightmare for some time.
I'm here to ask what makes of RCA connectors, cables, and tools do I need.?
Is it worth the effort to build? Is there a cost benifit ?

I've made my own RCA cables. This thread, http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/14/t/000152.html describes the process I used. I found the process rewarding because I was able to make the precise length I needed and greatly reduce the "spaghetti" behind my equipment. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks.This is the best info I seen on the subject.

There's another thread around here with a link to a good illustrated tutorial on cable termination, but it's neither compression fittings nor crimp. The local thread is eluding me, but the link itself (which is the important part) is right here .

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99932&highlight=rca+cables
The above link is a great source for any body else into DIY projects.

I made most all my own cables to the lenghts I desired. I started by ordering 50 feet of bulk snake cable, triple conductor, 8 pairs, from parts express. I already had some heat shrink tubing and a heat gun, but I purchased some colored heat shrink from parts express also, since it was on clearance, blue, yellow, red, green, black, white. This allowed me to match both the cable and the connector with color. Then I purchased the parts express rca and svideo connectors they have which are very good connectors (used them in my past life as an AV installer/sound reinforcement).

Now I have 5 done and one I may do eventually. I run 3 component, 1 svideo, and 1 analog audio pair on 4 of the snakes and then the other is all analog audio pairs for my pre-amp 990 to amp 770 connection. The last snake I need to finish is for the analog dvd to pre-amp which I have with standalone pairs right now.

The snakes cleaned up a ton of the cable clutter in my system installation and because I took care in building them, they are very sturdy. I solder each connector, add slack prior to closing the strain relief, then put the first layer of heat shrink, black, then the colored heat shrink, so that each pig tail is strong enough to be tugged without breaking. And I leave about 6-9 inches on the pig tails final destination, like the 770 amp requires a longer tail since the inputs are spread across the width of the unit.

The process took me about 4-5 hours per snake cable with the svideo connectors being the hardest to make since their connectors have very tiny receptacles and you have to use 4x the heat shrink to build up a solid connector.

So if you want a clean install that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, diy with a snake cable is my recommendation.

any pictures ?

No Pictures yet. I made these 2-3 years back and was more interested in getting my set up done than documenting for prosperity. Two small children lends to limited time in the evening for daddy dabble time