ipod lineout cable

I'm sick of having to use 3.5mm jacks whenever it comes to an ipods lineout.
So in my (pathetic) attempt to improve ipod sound, I'm about to make my own lineout cable. I've sacrificed an old USB lead ( a freind had their ipod pinched) and pulled the plug apart (btw, the wires leading from the pin connections are something special, I reckon about 1/100th of a hair thick).
I'm planning on carefully soldering a couple of strands from a cat5 wire to each respecting pin. Then running them out in a co-axial plastic core or something.
Now, the question comes to shielding. Obviously I want to shield it. Can I put the copper plaited sleeve back on when I've put the cat5 in the core? If so which end (if not both) do I solder it to the ground? If not, what should I do for shielding?
Or, is this silly, should I buy some ready shielded cable? If so what type?
OR, is this a total waste of time - as in would a plain lineout + 3.5mm jack to RCA offer no loss compared to this. Even considering the crappy hair like strands, basic cable formation, and 3.5mm jack?
My my, how did so many words end up in this, sorry guys. Anyone still with me?

 

why do you want to shield it ?

most rfi/emi can be eliminated by tightly twisting the conductor pairs.

I've a feeling that the need to make screened cables is driven more by what commercially available wire can be bought on the cheap ..rather than any actual need on the part of the user.

I built identical cables that are shielded and unshielded ...everytime the unshielded cable sounds better with no obvious rfi/emi problems.

I'd look on fleabay and buy a ipod stand and socket combo ...then work your new cables into that .

do you have the connectors pin outs ?

I thought that the 3.5mm connector provided the same output as the connector block ?

 

ok, so maybe i'll do it TNT shoestring style? Or just leave the cat5s twisted...
Found the pinouts.
I suppose I could pull a dock apart, was hoping I wouldn't need to do that but maybe that'd be best all round.

not the actual headphone socket on the ipod you mean? I thought it passed through some sort of amplification

 

The 3.5 mm analogue line out from the ipod stand is said by many to sound better than to use the headphone jack on the ipod itself. I suggest you save yourself some grief and get one of them if you want a bit better sound, then simply use a 3.5 mm jack to RCA stereo lead, which one can buy off the shelf from many places.

 

yes, that would seem the best option, and I agree about the headphone socket as a crap lineout. But I was hoping to eliminate 3.5mm jack, and now I've seen the construction of the ipod lead, I'm wondering if the dock also uses the same sub-atomic wires.
But maybe this is all a stupid procrastination and I should just get a dock and use it how it's been designed for