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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
pindac's avatar
pindac
2,864 posts
 

Thanks Steve

                      The info helps a lot, as I am encouraging others to consider this design for their future cable projects, I am on boards as well, and have nearly all the materials to start.

The Power Amps are still to undergo conversion to Balanced, hence my slow to start performance.  

mawe
34 posts
 

@williewonka 

Steve, just a comment on your proposal for power cords:

 

According safety regulations in Europe you need to have the ground wire minimum the same size as the “life” and “neutral “ conductors. 
Something you might have to mention in your spec sheets.

I’m not sure how this is in US, but would guess it is the same as well.

dbass
29 posts
 

@williewonka 

Thank you very much for the clarification!  I will search out vendors for the materials.  My first goto is usually partsconnexion as long as they have the item in stock.

And again thank you so much for this cable receipe - I have made a set of rca interconnects 2 years ago and they are very nice.  I have built a new system in my great room and now am ready to replace all the cables with your helix design.  So I will finally get to hear it to it's full effect.

Best wishes.

williewonka
3,075 posts
 

@mawe - There appears to be some interesting articles on the web on this topic

  • some say yes - all three have to be the same size
  • some say the neutral can be bigger than the Live wire
    • but definitely NOT the other way around
  • some say the ground wire can be larger or smaller than either Live or Neutral

So the Helix basically has

  • the Live wire being smaller than the neutral wire
    • which appears to be acceptable
  • The Ground wire is smaller than both the Live Wire and the neutral wire...i.e.
    • 12 gauge ground (for HD cables)
      • with an 11 gauge Live and a 9 gauge neutral
    • 14 gauge ground (for source cables)
      • with a 15 gauge Live and an 11 gauge neutral
  • both of which appears to be acceptable

I do think this is where common sense has to be applied to the ground wire.

It’s purpose is to carry electrical current only under short circuit or other "conditions" that would be potentially dangerous.

However - that ground is not there to allow the component to continue functioning normally.

  • in the event of a catastrophic failure somewhere within the component
    • it is designed to prevent the case/chassis of the component from becoming "LIVE"
    • Generally, if this occurs with a properly connected ground wire, then the current draw should exceed that of the fuse in the component,
      • which will break the live feed to the component
    • OR trip the breaker on the supply panel.
    • I believe the ground wire in either of the Helix cables should be sufficient to protect from electric shock and be of adequate gauge such that the breaker will trip (or the fuse will blow) long before the ground wire is compromised to the point of physical failure

The only other instance I am aware of where wire sizes of all three wires MUST BE IDENTICAL is

  • In those countries, such as Norway, that has a balanced power distribution network where both live and neutral carry the same voltage, with a 180 phase difference
  • or balanced power supply/conditioners popular with the audiophile community
  • My web site warns of both of these situations and recommends NOT using the Helix cables.

Having said all of that - it you are concerned about the different gauges used

  • then please make all three conductors the same gauge
  • There may be a very slight impact to performance, but it would be minimal

Regards - Steve

wyan001
29 posts
 

How about simply using braided copper shield as ground wire for the power cable? I don't think it play a critic role other than protection. It meets the gauge requirement as well. Regards.

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