Duelund conversion to DIY Helix Geometry Cabling

Well - since we were having another day of bad weather and since I had found enough spare wire to try the full Helix "Double Barrel" as per @grannyring ’s formula, I figured what the heck and gave it a whirl

The cables I changed had a single strand of Mundorf Solid Silver/Gold for the signal with a single strand of 16 Gauge Mil-spec Silver plated stranded copper, as per the recipe on my web site. The cables were 27" long.

I completely de-constructed the mundorf cable and doubled up on the Mundorf Solid Silver/gold for the Signal and doubled up on the 16 gauge Silver plated Mil-spec as per grannyring’s modified version.

Verdict...
- well the full Double Barrel edged out the Double Signal cable that I tried yesterday.
- the fullness improved and the imaging was more spacious and accurate
- all tracks were more articulate.
- both cables seem to lessen the amount of compression that is a generally present in most recordings.
- the guitar work on Dire Straights tracks now seem to leap out of the speakers whilst maintaining a suitable balance with the rest of the instruments and vocals. This goes for most other well recorded rock tracks
- classical tracks seemed to now be performed in a larger venue thanks to the better imaging and I noticed more echoes and reverberations from the sides of the venue, which made the send of space more realistic 
- all tracks seemed to have a little more "body" compared to the Double Signal

The improvement between these two cables over the Single Cable made the upgrade well worth while.

Since the neutral wire is the more reasonably priced piece of wire, it makes upgrading to the full Double Barrel version a no brainer.

I could not really tell the difference between the Mundorf Wire and the VH Audio Solid COPPER wires, both provide stunning fidelity, so I would recommend using the solid copper at this time

The "Double Barrel" really is the best version of the Helix Interconnect cable to date.

I know that Grannyring has himself tried several versions of the Double Barrel Helix, so I would like to thank him for his efforts in coming up with a winning formula, it is very much appreciated.

If you already have the single wire version, then upgrading to the Double Signal wire version is the easier of these two upgrades and you will achieve about 60% of the benefits obtained from a full Double Barrel rebuild.

But - If you are pursuing Nirvana, then you’ll need Go for the full Double Barrel upgrade !
- so perhaps relegate that single cable to a second system, or sell to a friend - and start from scratch,
- it is so much easier than de-constructing an existing cable :-)

Again - "Thanks again Gran" :-)

Regards Steve

Adding to my threads for future reference. A good and interesting read. Thanks.

Well done Steve. Yes the Double Helix is simply amazing and is to this date the finest IC I have heard in my system. Just wonderful! 

So, I answer questions from DIYer’s from all over, with vastly differing skill levels of building experience.

As such, I often get the feeling that some of them might be biting off more than they can chew.

I got to thinking about the questions I answer (almost daily) and thought it might be good to take a more "tempered view" of these three latest versions of the Helix cable - sort of a "sanity check".

Also, I know @wig , @grannyring and myself have logged hundreds of hours building and listening to cables over the years and we each have a specific approach when it comes to comparing cables - i.e. things to listen for.
- I know I have trained my ears over the past 10 years and now have over 70 audition tracks I regularly use for auditions
- From a listening perspective, I believe the improvements between these three versions might prove more difficult to discern for a more "casual listener".

Another concern is that less proficient DIYer’s may find some aspects of Building #3 to be challenging, even for a more experienced builder.
- Helix IC cables are more complicated to build than your average DIY IC cable and good soldering skills are definitely a requirement.

The wires used in all three builds are...
- SIGNAL WIRE - 18 gauge Solid Copper with AirLok insulation from VH Audio
- NEURAL WIRE - 16 gauge Cryo Silver Plated stranded Mil-Spec wire with Teflon insulation from Take Five Audio

So here are my "more tempered" thoughts on these three builds.

#1 -Single Wire for both signal and neutral coil

• this is the original cable currently listed on my web site
• provides excellent performance that rivals or betters most TOTL cable brands on the market
• the easiest cable of the three to build, even for a novice DIYer.
• It’s also the most affordable option

#2 -Two wires for the signal wire and One wire for the neutral coil

• by comparison to #1, this cable is a little more articulate, with improved clarity and a more detailed and expansive image
• a little more challenging to build, but even a novice could build with a little determination and thought
• it’s also pretty easy to upgrade to this version from #1

#3 Two wires for both the the signal wire and neutral coil

• by comparison to #2, this cable provides some additional improvements in articulation, clarity and image
• The audible difference between #2 and #3 is actually quite small and the increased difficulty of the build I believe makes previous cable building and soldering experience a must.
• But if it’s Audio Nirvana you are after? - #3 is the cable to build :-)

Opting to build #1 or #2 is definitely easier and still results in a cable that provides exceptional audio performance - so don’t think you have to opt for #3 simply because it was found to offer the very best sound quality.

As I get older I find myself "tempering" my expectations with a solid dose of "reality". Saves me a lot of frustration - and money :-)

I plan to keep all three cables in my system for future reference purposes, but I will not feel I am "missing out" when listening to sources that use #1 or #2, to me they are just a little different

Hope that helps - Steve

The cumulative effect of the Helix cables is quite arresting. I now have Double Helix ICs, USB and jumpers. In addition, all my power cables are now Helix. I can say that the more the better. Each new cable I added increased the realism and resolution of my system.

Only thing left is a couple of DC power cables for my LPS’s.