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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
debjit_g
247 posts
 
@williewonka Steve,
thanks so much for the detail answer.

I know the Mundrof silver/gold very well and use both the 15.5awg and 18awg in my DIY server power supply and all DC cables. They are fantastic to say the least. Unfortunately, they bumped their prices couple of months ago and now I would tend to use them in critical areas if I had to cut down in price, with only Neotech PTFE solid core as the replacement. I haven’t used the Mundrof in other parts of the audio, mainly signal and speaker cables, so its refreshing to hear that a lower priced VH Audio cable is as suitable. Thank you.

When you say naked, you probably meant stripping the insulation off the wire ? Did you have any other jacket on it ? say a cotton shelving ? For the speaker cables, I see that you used double runs of VH Audio 18awg but used a single run of Neotech 14awg. Was there any need for double runs on the Neotech ?


On the Helix, what awg would be suitable for the Mil-Spec ? Any link where I can but it cheap ?







eugeniy
6 posts
 
At the input of the amplifier I have a Duelund CAST-Cu. Copper twisted bare wires come out of it. I asked Duelund a question: do I need to cover this wire with something? The answer is no, it will degrade the sound!
I dealt with OCC copper plated with gold, and on top with a thin layer of polyurethane varnish. Very good wire and I like it more than MUNDORF solid silver / gold. But I do not have enough air and it's all about this insulation. Now I have washed off this polyurethane and am assembling the cable. Let's see what the result will be(although this is understandable!).
On the positive side, the gold plating remains and there is no need to worry about copper oxidationВведите свой текст ...
williewonka
3,072 posts
 
@debjit_g - here are your answers..

  1. NAKED means without insulation.
  2. I inserted the naked wire into a larger diameter teflon tube and sealed the ends using adhesive lined heat shrink available from many places on the web
  3. Two runs of 18 gauge eqauals 15 gauge, so the 14 gauge was thicker, hence the need for only a single strand
  4. If you are in the US try https://www.apexjr.com/wire.html
  5. If you are outside the US then Take Five Audio, Parts Connexion, and HiFi Collective are stores I use for my wires
  6. You can search on eBay as well
The problem with finding more affordable Mil-spec wires
  • their quality can vary and there are leterally dozens of spec’s they could conform too including
  • Quality of copper
  • thickness and quality of the silver plating
  • The thickness of the insulation
  • Most (if any) are not cryo-treated
  • The Take Five Audio wire is very good quality AND it is cryo-treated
  • so really - you do get what oyu pay for
  • I have only ever used the Mil-Spec wire from Take Five Audio - perhaps the highest quality and Cryo-treated
  • Jantzen stranded silver plated wire is another wire I have heard performs very well for the Neutral

For a more budget oriented cable that performs very well you could use a solid copper with Teflon sleeve
  • I used one when I started this design and it worked quite well -but not as good as the Mil-spec
  • however I was not using the same signal wires as I do today, so it could prove to be very good and much more affordable
Granted - the wires we are using today makes the Helix cables more expensive than most other DIY solutions to build, but as @grannyring has pointed out - they are outperforming commercial products that cost thousands of dollars

But the nice thing with DIY - you get to use the wires/connectors that suit YOUR budget

Regards - Steve
williewonka
3,072 posts
 
I just found this place - they have 10, 12 and 16 gauge and sell by the foot - it’s NOT mil-spec, but it is stranded silver plated copper that should hold the helix shape quite well

FEP Teflon Silver Plated Copper Wire (Cu/Ag 16AWG) MDY-FEP16 (performance-pcs.com)

Plus - Worldwide shipping

Regards

ketchup
692 posts
 
Is mil spec wire really that big of a deal?  Everything I read about it is related to it's durability and temperature resistance, and stereo cables don't need to be durable or resistant to extreme temps at all.  Is there more to it than that?
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