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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
3,081 posts
 
@wig + @grannyring - Glad you are still finding improvements :-)

POWER CABLE UPDATE...

So I had some Neotech 12 gauge left over and decided to upgrade the live conductor on one of my A/V power cables.

NOTE: I did NOT remove the insulation of the Neotech wire as I have with other PC’s

But before installing it in my A/V system, I figured I would try it out on my Bluesound Node 2i streamer - which originally had a PC with a 1 x 18 gauge Solid Silver wire from VH Audio.

One again, the 12 gauge Neotech outperformed the VH Audio wire...
- larger more spacious and accurate image
- improved bass detail and texture
- improved clarity and details

It seems there was no impact to clarity and details, so for safety and longevity I will be using the Neotech wire WITH its Teflon Insulation from now on.

What about the existing cables with bare Neotech wire?
- the copper seems to be holding up very well on the cables where I have removed the insulation
- I keep a piece of bare wire on my audio stand to see how it tarnishes
- my cables have a clear PVC tube over the bare wire so I can see it
- the bare wire on the audio stand has started to darken
- the bare wire inside the tube is still very bright

It seems that provided you seal the ends of the tube using heat-shrink (with adhesive) it will slow the oxidizing process.

But since it appears to make very little difference in sound quality - leave the Teflon in place :-)

Regards


williewonka
3,081 posts
 
I forgot to mention - the PC (above) was ultimately for my 200 watt A/V system subwoofer.

Now - the internal 200 watt amp grabs the voice coil and controls the 8" long throw speaker cone the way it was designed to do, delivering crisp, clean textured bass tones and LFE’s.

The improvement was most noticeable :-)

Regards - Steve
rx8man's avatar
rx8man
1,483 posts
 
I also replaced the 5 runs of VH Audio 18 gauge on the live conductor for the power cord used on my conditioner with two runs of the Neotech 12 gauge solid core copper in Teflon.

I dry-crimped the copper spade ends, then soldered where the wire pokes through the barrel ends, added small heat-shrink over those, for solid, secure and sealed effects.

My audible results mirror Grannyring, Williewonka & Wig exactly📢😉📢
facten
2,882 posts
 
Bill aka grannyring was gracious enough to build me a couple of more cables, another set of Double Helix RCA's and a SPDIF digital cable.  I now have Double Helix RCA's in both of my systems between DACs and either preamp or integrated amp, and the SPDIF digital in my main system. I also have a Double Helix USB cable that I have not used yet but will once I decide on streaming service/method. Very pleased with the natural sound of these cables. Thanks!
williewonka
3,081 posts
 
AND FINALLY...
- a 2 x 18 gauge Solid copper(Teflon) Neotech wire, replacing the 2 x 18 gauge Solid copper(AirLok) VH Audio  wire in the interconnects!!!

Yep - after the success with the power and speaker cables I just had to try it on the IC's - and very glad I did.:-)

Both the VH audio wire and the Neotech 18 gauge solid copper wires are stunning performers...
- dynamic, articulate, amazing clarity and details, larger than life Imaging and focused sound state with a reality seldom matched by TOTL cables.

So why was I glad I tried them? one word - smooooooth !!!

This was probably the most difficult audition I have ever undertaken...
- there was definitely "something" about these cables, but putting my finger on it was extremely difficult.

All of the usual metrics (listed above) seemed to swing back and forth
- dynamics were a little crisper on the Neotech
- details seemed a little clearer on the Vh Audio
- image was expansive and focused for both, but that seemed to change slightly from track to track

Even my best albums were not making the difference convincing, but there was something with the Neotech that kept pulling me back to them.

Finally, it took a listen to  Ricky Lee Jones an Diana Krall to nail it - WARMTH !!!

Warmth is one of those metrics that can also be interpreted as a lack of upper end detail - but that detail was still there but with a softer more realistic presentation.

Once I had locked into that presentation, all became clear
- the mid tones seemed softer, fuller and warmer,
- the highs, such as cymbals were less harsh and had a fullness to them,
- the bass lines were not louder, they just revealed a deeper texture
- and the vocal sibilance much more palatable.
- Basically - more "body" to the music across the board

Now I must stress these changes are small they took a while for me to nail them down, but now I have, it makes listening that much more pleasurable because I know what to listen for and it's now the music is a little less fatiguing, not that it was an issue with the VH Audio - it's just that much more more pleasant now. 

So this ends my Neotech Journey, maybe. The performance of the copper wire is now making me take a second look at their solid silver wire.
Which sorta completes the circle, because the first quality wire I used was 24 gauge Solid Silver from Neotech - go figure :-)

Hope you find the information helpful

Regards - Steve





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