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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
 
Bruno - Winding the neutral and ground in opposite directions will complicate the build process and will make the cable much thicker.

But - Will it make an audible difference?

If you wound the ground around the Live wire and then would the Neutral wire(s) around the Ground/live wire assembly in opposite directions it would provide a greater gap between the Live wire and the Neutral wire. This should provide some benefit.

However, the power cables I have made are all 120v and not 230v, so the higher voltage may cause more interference., which means the additional space would be an advantage.

Could you please post a link to the site where you read this  - I would be very interested in seeing related information before providing a definitive YES or NO answer

Many Thanks. - Steve


williewonka
3,071 posts
 
Bruno - just re-reading your post and was wondering which of the wires you mentioned do you intend to intend to use for the LIVE conductor, and which wire you intend to use for the neutral and ground wires?

Either the VH Audio wire or Duelund will be a good choice for the LIVE conductor..

For a 230v cable - if you are using the VH Audio wire for the LIVE I would recommend using a cotton sleeve over the LIVE conductor for added safety

I would NOT recommend either of these two wires for the neutral or ground conductors because they are not robust enough to maintain the helix coil effectively and the VH Audio wire will not withstand any prolonged handling activity.

Mil-spec is still my wire of choice for Neutral.

I would even use Mil-Spec for the ground because of it's superior ability  to maintain the helix coil shape and it's tough Teflon insulation

Regards - Steve
b_mueller
45 posts
 

Thank you very much for your answers, mawe and Steve.

@Steve, actually I got this idea of using opposite helix directions for neutral and ground from you website. 

http://www.image99.net/blog/files/b4d5249616a56bdabfd28b5580db6cec-79.html

However, after re-reading, I realize I may have misinterpreted. The mixture of two winding directions is not described actually. 

I was planning to use Chris Airlok wire for the LIVE conductor (three runs), and admittedly the Duelund wire for the neutral and ground. But I can see that this stranded wire may not be suited to maintain the helix winds. The thing is that shipping charges from Canada to Europe are prohibitive, especially compared to the cost of the Mil-Spec wire.

Now, I am not sure whether there is an European alternative to the Mil-Spec wire. 


tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,831 posts
 
Great thread ! Amazing cross borders collaboration- fun

has anyone built a 4 m ( ish ) interconnect ? If so to Configuration and with what results ?

best to all

jim
mawe
34 posts
 
@ Bruno,
an alternative to the Milspec wire would be the Jantzen Audio 2x2,5sqmm or 3x 1,3sqmm copper silverplated PTFE wire, which you can order from audiophonics.fr.
There you can order as well the Neotech solid core OCC 18AWG in PTFE. Much more cost effective than the VH Audio wire.
I am a Long Time User of VH Audio wires, mainly the solid silver in cotton for interconnects.
But shipping cost, Tax and VAT make them really expensive when landed at your place.
This is the reason, why I swopped to the french site. Their prices are the most attractive in Europe.
 For a power cord I think the Neotech is as good as the VH Audio wire, specially in PCs as the solid PTFE insulation is more robust.
I put the 3 runs 18AWG Neotech in a 6mmx0,6 Teflon tube (ordered from Conrad) and this into a 10mm PVC tube to keep a certain space to the outer neutral coil.
The coiling obviously keeps best with solid core wires. Therefore you can use for the neutral as well some solid core wires. For ground wire I used standard yellow/Green 1,0 or 1,5sqmm solid core wire from the Home Depot market. 
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