Cable Survey

@toddverrone - tag team sales force eh? - sounds like a plan :-)

Another fellow audiophile up here in the Toronto region is going to give them a try - I think he will be very happy also.

On the plus side - they are probably the last set of cables you will ever acquire (unless you build a set with better conductors)

On the negative side - the resale value is perceived to be about $0.50 - it really puts people off trying them unfortunately.

As for any other readers that may be sitting on the fence - this happened to me recently...

I took the cables down to Georgian Audio Video (a large audio store) for the owner to try.
- I'd previously demoed just the power cable and he was on the fence also
- we started by just replacing the power cable on a receiver and he was amazed at the improvement
- he then connected the speaker cables
- what followed was a frenzied swapping of cables and components to determine if the improvements applied to all components equally.
- the staff there are now believers that cables do make a difference for any components

If you are sitting on the fence I would suggest you try the cables in the following order...
1. Speaker cables  - they will let you hear the improvements of the other cables more clearly
2. Interconnects - these will provide better imaging and clarity
3. power cables - these will provide more speed to the dynamics and more space around the performers

If you are not into DIY, the only other cables I am aware of that comes close to the Helix are the gZero line of cables from KLE Innovations of Melbourne Australia

Give either of them a try - you will not regret it :-)

Regards - Stee

Some interesting input

@lalitk I take your point about system details and had intended listing but ran out of time during op.

So this is my best system as it stands at the moment (please read in conjunction with op)

Boenicke W11 speakers with Bybee speaker bullets
Mola Mola Makua pre/dac and Mola Mola Kaluga Power amps
fidata NS10 server
Lumin S1 (digital out) streamer
Aqvox switch

Inserting the HiDiamond cables into the system really brought the system to life, more energy, more musicality. USB, I would like to experiment with other cables, any suggestions? My weak point at the moment is probably the BNC/BNC studio grade cable to Neutrik 75/110 ohm BNC/AEB adaptor for use with the Lumin. The pending U1 will enable me to use AEB straight through. Having had success with HiDiamond I would choose their cable.

I found that both the Aqvox and Vovox Ethernet cables really helped open up the sound and reduced the noise floor in a similar way the introduction of the Bybee Signal Enhancers produced. Any other makes recommended?

I’m looking at Shunyata power products and cables at the moment, is there anybody that has had experience of these that would like to comment?

@lak Thanks for your comments about Furutech, I’ll take a look.

@grannyring Dueland make very fine components. The distributor here in the UK has had very good feedback on their cotton covered cables. It’s based on an old WE wire. What system are you using it with?

@williewonka Your helix cables sound interesting, I’ll follow that up.

@toddverrone Sonarguest looks good

@toetapaudio - if you have any questions about the helix cables ask away - Todd and I are always willing to assist a fellow DIYer.

Re: Sonarquest - they are not like some other connectors from the far east...
- The prongs of the mains plug are very flat - providing maximum contact area
- the silver plating is very heavy compared to competitors
- the IEC connector clamps like a vice - I plug mine into an old component a couple of times before connecting to an active component - just to relieve that initial tightness.

I have compared Sonarquest to a couple of established brands and they performed better - but I have not compared them to the likes of Furutech and Oyaide - that would be interesting, but I’m not about to splurge just for the sake of curiosity.

Vanguard also produces a more reasonably priced silver plated copper connector, but the Sonarquest is definitely of a higher quality and their IEC’s clamp more securely.

What about connectors with gold or rhodium plating?
- Silver has the highest conductivity of all metals - copper is second
- Silver can be plated directly onto the copper
- metals such as Gold and Rhodium (both have lower conductivity ratings) requires an intermediary plating material which also lowers the overall conductivity of the connector.

If you are constantly plugging/unplugging the connectors - perhaps rhodium is the toughest plating - but I’ve probably connected my cables over 200 times over the course of my "experiments" and the silver plating is still good

Hope that helps - Steve - a Brit-turned-Cannuck hybrid :-)

Have you measured any of these cables? If not, then please do us a favor, go back to a workbench, measure them and kindly report the results. Thank you in advance.

I have previously discussed my use of MG Audio Design interconnects and speaker wires.  First I fond out about MG Audio Design from the writings of Arnie Nudell.  I latr found outthat Paul McGowan of PSAudio also used them.  But at $1600 for a one meter pair of their top of the line interconnects were too much for my budget, but that theysold half meter pairs for $900.  Far, far better than $1800 Audioquest and also Audience AU24se interconnects.  Not just better, but much, much better.  Spposidly the Colorado Society compared them to top of the line Nordhost, and Nordhost came in second.  As for MG Audio Design speakerwires, they are another story.  Previously I was using a single Jenna Labs 18 gage hook up wires for speaker wires.  At the time I also obtained a one foot pair of then Shunyata's top of the line speaker wires.  I connected the Shunyata speaker wires to my speakers and four 18 gage Jenna Labs hook up wires betweeen the Shunyata wires and my Rega Orisis integrated amplifier.  It worked.  The Jenna Labs 18ngage hook up wires-MG Audio Design combination really worked.  The Jenna Lab wires allowed the Shunyata wires to do their work.  I later doubled up on the Jenna Labs hook up wires and the sound was again even bettr.  Finally I added 4 more Jenna Labs hok up wires to the total.  That is 12 of them total.  With the third Jenna Labs hook p wire attached to each of the four MG Audio Design wires I was then able to have a sound that is close to what I would have if I only was using the MG Audio Design wires alone.  BY the way,  the one foot MG Audio Design topof the line speker wires goes for $900.  Considerably less than the $4800 for a six foot pair.  The Jenna Lab Wires are $6 a foot.  I have the equilivant of a 14.5 foot pair of speaker wires.  Total price under $1800.  In conclusion. these are not just an affordible pair of good speaker wires.  To achieve their equal would be cost wise out of the question or most.  I have been involved in high end audio for over 45 years.  Oh yes, I have positively no financial or other involvement with these products.  And I also know that Jenna Labs and John Curl are very good friends and have even worked on projects together over the years.