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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
3,082 posts
 
Can anyone throw some light on this conundrum  please
- it's bugging me :-)

I decided to replace the Live conductor inside my power distribution box.
- the neutral wires are the same 2 x 12 gauge Mil-Spec wire I use in the power cables
- the wire being replaced was 12 gauge Duelund Tinned Copper.with PolyCast insulation
- the wire replacing the Duelund is 4 x 18 gauge Mundorf Solid Silver/Gold with cotton sleeve insulation

The length of the wire is approximately 12"
- I was very surprised to hear any improvement at all
- but I observed an audible improvement in dynamic response. 

The method of connection of the wire inside the distribution box was the same - only the actual wire changed.

Here are the different wires I use in the cables connecting the electrical pathway...
- Duelund Tinned copper - let's call it wire type "A"
- Solid copper VH Audio - lets call it wire type "B"
- Solid Silver VH Audio - let's call it wire type "C"
- Solid Silver/;gold MUNDORF - let's call it wire type "D"
- And the neutral throughout the entire system is 2 x 12 gauge Silver plated Mil-Spec and all cables have the Helix Geometry

The change occurred only in the electrical pathway of the Source components, which consists of...
-  an extension cable - 11 ft of wire type "A"
- a power cable to the distribution box- 5 ft of wire type "B"
- Distribution box - 1 ft of wire type "D" - previously 1 ft of wire type "A"
- a power cable - 4 ft of wire type "C"

SO - originally I thought that Dynamic performance was related to the conductivity of of the various wires in the electrical pathway i.e. how fast the power propagates through the wire 

If that was the case, then the "limiting factor" should be the wire used in the extension cord - wire type "A" 
However, replacing just a small piece of wire type "A in the distribution box with wire type "D" , i.e. a wire that has better conductivity properties, resulted in improved dynamic response, even though the wire in the electrical pathway preceding it is slower.

So my question is - why does that small piece of wire make any difference at all?

Any thoughts would be appreciated

Cheers











williewonka
3,082 posts
 
@tomic601 - A friend of mine made a 24 ft long Helix cable

He actually used a 24ft long piece of COAX 
- stripped the outer sleeve and the shielding. 
- wound transformer wire around the outside of the insulation for the helix coil
- added RCA's - not sure if he used Harmony RCA's

He was very impressed with the resulting sound, but it took him and his wife to fabricate the cable.

Hope that helps
mawe
34 posts
 
My experience in general with cables, but more on ICs than PCs is, that the lower the dielectric of the insulation, the more “open” and “dynamic” it sounds.
Could be the reason, why you “hear” more dynamic  after replacing the cable with cotton sleeves.
I think, the VH Audio silver cable in cotton sleeve is one of the most open and dynamic wire and
can only be “topped” with bare wire in an oversized cotton sleeve, where the contact area is even more reduced.However, on PCs I think the conductor material is not that important. Using solid core, ideally not bigger than 18AWG ( and than multiple of them to get total required size) twisted in low dielectric insulation with minimum contact area and a good connection is key.
rego
378 posts
 
@williewonka, 'conundrum' the Extension Cord is obvious weak link in the chain because of Voltage Drop Concerns (contact points etc.).
A dynamic gain is a gain ... suggesting the use of 'Type D' Cable as a replacement for existing  One) Cable 'Type A' and Two) 'Type B' the lesser of the three cables.
Tinned Copper seems to me to be an Ideal choice though ... 
williewonka
3,082 posts
 
@mawe - thanks - I was NOT taking into consideration the implications associated with the number of strands and the width of each strand, together with the dielectric constant of the insulation - I was merely looking at the relative conductivity of the metal in each wire type in the electrical pathway.

@rego - thanks also - I forgot to take into consideration the impact of the connectors and the voltage drop across each "section" of the electrical pathway.

Thanks guys - much appreciated

Regards  - Steve
  


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