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Duelund conversion to DIY Helix Geometry Cabling

I have been an avid user of the Duelund cabling for over two years now and have used them exclusively in my system with great results. I have built many for friends and have used a full loom of interconnects, speaker cables, power cords and an extensive wiring modification for a previously owned balanced power conditioner utilizing Duelund 600V PolyCast wiring which was transformative. My cabling desires can be a little addictive as I have owned and evaluated 40+ brands of cabling costing more than an entire stereo system!

Over the past six months I stumbled upon a thread here on Audiogon in regards to a Helix designed cabling and as you probably already know, I just had to look a little deeper into this cable design…After a month of studying and sourcing parts, I decided to reach out to the designer/architect, Williewonka who gave more insights and philosophy on how the cable came into existence.

That conversation got the ball rolling in converting one of my KLE Duelund interconnects to Steve’s Helix designed which only entailed replacing the neutral with a Mil-Spec 16 AWG silver-plated copper wire with the neural wire being 3 times longer than the signal wire and of course the “Coiling” of the neutral wire : )

After the modification was complete, I was not sure what to expect from the Helix cabling but I was quite shocked with the results with “ZERO” burn-in time…The sound stage became much wider/deeper with a much tighter/focused image and clarity/transparency is like nothing I have ever heard in any cabling regardless of cost. In fact, I just sold a full loom of a commercially designed Helix Cable that’s renowned around the world and has more direct sale than any cable manufacturer; these $200 DIY Helix Cables walked all over them…

I believe you will hear the same results as I have and have heard back from friends who have already modified their Duelunds with the same results; WOW! Remember the cables will need 200+ hours to burn-in and settle into your system. My system is now 90% DIY Helix to include IC, SC, PC and Coax with each cabling adding its beauty of an organic and natural presentation that draws you into the fabric of the music.

You can tailor the sound of your cables using Duelund, Mundorf silver/1% gold, the outstanding Vh Audio OCC Solid Copper or Silver with Airlok Insulation or your favorite wiring and you can change it at any time…

 

http://www.image99.net/blog/files/category-diy-cables.html

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/difference-in-sound-between-copper-and-silver-digital-cables

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/adding-shielding-to-existing-cables

 

Enjoy,

Wig


128x128wig
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
Question: has anyone tried the double barrel approach on a Helix XLR cable?

If yes - was it beneficial (i.e. worth doing) or did it degrade Sound Quality

Many Thanks
mawe
34 posts
 
@ aniwolfe & williewonka

thx a lot for your feedback on SonarQuest plugs.

I’m surprised, that the Platinum should be more Dynamic and detailed compared to the Silver plated version. Always thought, Platinium plating is less conductive compared to Silver (best) and Gold (2nd best).
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
Granted - Silver is the best conductor - theoretically...
- It could be related to how the outlet clamps onto the pins 
- if the pins on one plug were flatter than the pins on the other plug it would make a different mechanical connection that could affect dynamics
- it could be how the wires are clamped into the plug.

Remember there are a few "mechanical interfaces" at play which can affect performance

I'll stick with the Silver plated, but I do not dispute Aniwolfe's observations under his conditions and setup.

Regards
whacky's avatar
whacky
53 posts
 
Wanted to add to this

made my first helical power cord this evening. Following the most updated recs. 

I ran into just a few hiccups although the process went pretty smooth. Couple little things which I knew might me an issue but I was too impatient to start. 
For example, I used a wooden 5/16 rod to do the winding on my drill. Worked great until I tried to get the final assemble to slide off. Too much friction from the wood. Gotta find a proper fiberglass rod for the next one. 
And next time I may braid the 4 signal cables in a more organized fashion as opposed to my completely random and patternless braid. 
I also had to sort out some interference I was getting initially. The helical PC picked up a lot of interference that a Signal Cable Co power cord was causing. Removed that from the system and bam. Problem solved. 

Quiet. Clear. Wow.  I will say that I am extremely impressed by the sound that resulted. 

It’s currently feeding my PL Integrated tube amp and it opened things up very nicely for me. The sound definitely felt bigger. Wider. More relevant. A touch more clarity. A touch more forward. But all in all, a very noticeable improvement.  

In fact, I just got yelled at by the significant other for listening to to a random string  album of Lana Del Ray covers too loud at 1:30 am haha. 
It seems my next room improvement is gonna have to be soundproof windows . 
I have wire on order to create my first double double IC and a set of speaker cables. 

Great stuff. 

aniwolfe
760 posts
 
@whacky
I used a wood rod on a drill and no issues. I put all 3 12 gauge wires on the rod at the same time and coiled it up that way. I used duct tape to hold the 3 wires in place. So much easier and so much time saved. The coil looked much cleaner.

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