Fixing your cable problems forever.

Here are some links to my own cable making designs and fabrication techniques, complete with the wire/connectors that I use.

They may look a little "fussy" to construct, but after the first couple of pairs you get the hang of it.

The easiest and most affordable to construct are the speaker cables...
http://image99.net/blog/files/category-002ahelix-speaker-cable.html

For me they provided the biggest bang for the buck.

There is also a bi-wire version built by another Agon member on the same page towards the end

The Interconnects are a little more fussy, but offers excellent performance...
http://image99.net/blog/files/category-002ahelix-interconnect-cable.html

There is also details (and pics) on a Balanced version.

The power cables requires a little more effort due to the heft of the wire being used, but provide a very black background while providing fast dynamics and better control of the speakers
http://image99.net/blog/files/category-002ahelix-power-cable.html

There are some other DIY tips and tricks on the site and several reviews of KLE Innovations products, including their RCA and Banana connectors.

The cables have been built by other DIYer’s from USA, Canada, Austria, Bulgaria, China, who have found them to exceed their expectations.

The components they have been installed on range from those in my own frugal $11,000 system, to systems costing upwards of $65,000. One friend found his $80 DVD rose to new levels of performance by using the IC’s.

I have even had great success with my own mini system costing a mere $350 and my Bluesound Pulse Mini streamer/speaker upped it’s game with a Helix Power Cable that even impressed the guy in the audio store.

I have personally compared them to some of the commercially available high end cables from Cardas (IC;s and Speaker), Kimber(Balanced IC’s), Neotech (Power Cable), DH Labs (IC’s and Power), Signal Cables (Power), Furutech (Bulk wire), Stager (IC;s), Tara Labs (IC’s and speaker), and Van den Hul (IC’s and speaker) and found them to be superior in every respect.

One person even surprised me by replacing his Nordost cables with the Helix. Although I have not auditioned Nordost products on my own system I had heard them at an audio show and I was very impressed

The Helix Cables are very dynamic, spacious, focussed, neutral, offer a high level of clarity and extremely quiet. The power cables are also very good for tightening up the bass performance of Sub’s

The only real drawback is:
- They take up to 300 hours burn in to sound their best
- after 20-24 hours they can sound a little distorted and harsh, but after around 60 hours they start to come out of "the doldrums" and by 120 hours they are sounding very smooth.

If you have any questions just ask here - OR - there is an email link on my web site if you prefer

To address the question of Cost raised above...
- Speaker cables - around $220CDN for a 10 ft pair
- IC’s - around $250 CDN for a 1 meter pair
- Mains - around $180 CDN for a 5 ft cable

Since I had reviewed cables costing over $2000 CDN
- I think the Helix DIY cables are definitely in the "affordable" snack bracket

The materials I have selected are what I have found to offer exceptional performance, but I do encourage all DIYer’s to use the parts/materials of their choice. 

The Helix geometry addresses the internal noise aspects of a cables performance regardless of the materials used - e.g. I started making the IC’s using CAT5 and developed them form there.

Hope you find the links useful.- Steve

Lack - I removed it because the phrasing and timing could be misconstrued to be against a particular culture, especially during the holiday season.

No one asked me to. I just realized that the wording, which on it's face was perfectly sound, in a historical context could be less than welcoming.

No one should see a thread of mine and wonder if I might be committing an underhanded slur.

Best,
Erik

I diy’d my speakers from scratch and I’m very satisfied with how they turned out, so diy’ing my speaker cables was a natural step.  There’s a “White Lightning” design on the web that got a lot of attention some years ago- asymmetrical design (2 conductors +, one -).  I added to that design by using 14 AWG, wrapped in teflon, then shielded with carbon fiber braid and tinned copper braid over that.  Finished with TechFlex and some decent banana plugs.  In my system (NuForce STA-200, CEntrance dac, Luminous Audio PP, the results were stunning.  Maybe $200.00 invested.  I’d be hard pressed to go the mega-buck route on cables after this.

DIY anything is a permanent fix to that particular consumer Merri-go-round. Now, if only I had the courage to make my own MC cartridge ...