John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

I'm about to solder up a few xlr wall panels. Do I need to use any heat shrink tubing for the back of the connectors? If so, where does it go? A separate piece for each conductor, including the drain wire? Would the tubing go around the stripped wire AND around the tab it's being soldered to? I'd definitely rather not do it, but if it's necessary, I will.

I've done some soldering before, but never for audio equipment.

Thanks in advance.

If you'd rather not do it, I wouldnt! Seeing as these connectors are not going to see much movement, you would be fine without. IF anything goes wrong with the connection, it will be easier to modify without the heat shrink on it.

If the drain wire/shield is short enough, I wouldn't worry about the shrink wrap on the plates. If you were doing snakes or cable end connectors, then I would say Yes.

However, if you do decide to shrink wrap, you'll need 2 different sizes. One to cover the shield, and one that goes over the section you stripped the outer layer/jacketing off the cable and where the 3 wires come out of the jacketing. Being sure to leave yourself a enough wire to work with of course for soldering.

And I'm assuming your doing XLR's. If your doing multipin connectors, wrap each one as mentioned above.