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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
3,071 posts
 
@mawe - Glad to hear you are also having success with the Helix design. Sounds like you have been busy :-)

My goal in sharing the helix design via my web site was to have other DIYer's run with it and try their own adaptions, which is exactly what you have done.

The information you have provided is valuable and I will certainly consider your findings when looking at a possible "next version"

Although I have not tried 2 x 24 gauge Helix IC, this is what I have tried...
- a few versions ago I used a single 24 gauge solid Silver wire in side a Teflon tube 
- I then tried 20 gauge with teflon insulation and it sounded better.
- other DIYer's tried the 1mm (18 gauge) Mundorf Solid Silver/Gold wire in  a cotton sleeve and it again improved the sound. So I then tried that  
- Following that I tried the 18 gauge VH Audio copper and it was as good as the Mundorf Solid Silver.
- Then @grannyring tried the 2 x 18 gauge OCC copper from VH Audio and again the sound improved.

So that has been the more recent "evolution" of the current Helix IC.

It's been a real "team effort" that I could not possibly have accomplished alone.

But at this time, I am very happy with the IC's current design listed in this thread and right now I just need some time to just sit back and listen :-)

But I will keep your adaptions in mind for future versions :-)

Perhaps someone would like to try @mawe's adaptions?
- be sure post your findings here please.

Again - many thanks for sharing your adaptions - it's great that people are trying different things with the Helix design. 

Regards - Steve

 





grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
My experience with ICs has always been 16-18 gauge sounds better than 24-20 gauge.  Just my experience. 
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
All this hype coming from people whose ears and brains I've grown to trust has me thinking.  A few years ago I made my own speaker cables from Duelund tinned copper and they are the best wires I've ever had.  So natural and so tonally correct!   But it sounds like this VH Audio OCC is worth a try.  My ICs are all XLR, and they are all silver.  I wouldn't mind getting a little more copper into the system, so it might be worth a diy project making an IC to go from source to preamp.
aniwolfe
755 posts
 
@brownsfan

I have made a few pairs of the DIY Helix IC’s with VH Airlok Copper and its far superior to a Double run of Duelund IC’s I once owned. Its like comparing a Honda to a Ferrari. The DIY Helix also surpassed a pair of $2800 HFC IC’s that I proclaimed as the best cable I had heard under $3k. The people that don’t try these are missing out big time.
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
Thanks @aniwolfe for the encouragement.   I'm going to get some materials ordered and get to work on 1-2 ICs, speaker cables, and maybe even a power chord.   This seems like a stone that cannot go unturned.
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