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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
wig's avatar
wig OP
1,270 posts
 
Myself and others have tried many variations of cabling and Vh Audio and Neotech will give you very good sounding cabling at a fraction of the cost of a mediocre commercial cable.

Have fun with the build and remember you can always tweak it to suit your system needs.

Wig 
debjit_g
280 posts
 
@williewonka Steve,
thanks again.
Have you or @wig or @grannyring compared the VH/Neotech OCC Copper vs the VH OCC Silver ? The 18awg is pricey at $40/ft and if one has to make a double run, it would be very expensive. Any comparison would be helpful.
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
@debjit_g - I believe @grannyring prefers the Silver VH Audio over the VH Audio copper.

I tried the silver on power cables for source components and preferred it over the VH Audio copper

But if you are planning to use a "naked" signal wire in teflon tube / cotton tube / silk tube then for me the VH Audio Copper is extremely good.

Otherwise I found the Neotech solid copper with Teflon to sound better than the VH Audio copper with AirLok insulation

But again, others preferred the sound of the VH Audio Solid copper.

You hear some of us extol the virtues of the various wires but there really is not a great deal of difference between them, Personal preference plays a part and different systems plays a part, but in the end they all sound extremely good.

There is a $limit to my "insanity" so I'd go for the copper and use the savings to fund the next cable :-)

Hope that Helps Steve

rx8man's avatar
rx8man
1,482 posts
 
Aside from the variable wire type selections, the sonic attributes of the Helix design concept in general enabled me to actually re-discover my "older" (80’s) CD recordings in a very analogue, musical way, big surprise🙄

I’m a huge Frank Marino/Mahogany Rush fan, my rock recordings in the past Never, Ever sounded anything near to what they do now.

Everything is well separated, quiet, with ambience, subtle ques, additional details and a relaxed, easeful presentation (better than the LP counterparts) which is saying a lot for Digital.

My wire order finally arrived, thanks to the Post Office speedy one month service.

I’m moving up the food chain and building another Helix PC for my CEC transport this weekend.
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
@rx8man - I just took a look at the CEC lineup and they are very nice units - which one do you have?

You should hear significantly more details with improved clarity, better dynamics and more spacious imaging.

But sometimes the amount of improvement depends on how good the power supply in the component is.

Having said that - my Bryston B135 integrated, that has three independent power supplies for preamp and L/R channels, surprised me by improving significantly across the board.

Also, Bryston is a company that is known for its quality power supplies, so you can never predict the outcome - you have to listen

Keep an ear out for what I call "venue acoustics" those little reverberations and echoes of the instruments.

On one recording I have of a classical quartet recorded in a small concert room, you can clearly hear a bus drive by in the background - something I had not heard before these cables

Looking forward to hearing your observations

I think you are in for a real treat :-)

Regards - Steve

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