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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
t_ramey
632 posts
 
@divertiti 

It was all done thru pm's here. Yes, he preferred them to the Fidelium's and several others he auditioned and I just heard from another forum member that they tried both the Kirmuss Adrenaline's and SS Fidelium's and favored the Adrenaline's as well. I don't have too much of a comparison list except with the Audio Envy cables that were pretty good but for just a little more money the Kirmuss cables are definitely more detailed and image better while still being relaxed and smooth.
abolive
21 posts
 
I asked @grannyring to sell me some ICs but unfortunately the shipping costs to Europe where insanely high. I will try building them on my own :p
What would you recommend doing first?
My cables are Duelund 16 streamer > preamp, RCA/XLR belden 8402 preamp >amp and WE 16 as SCs. The PC are basic appliance ones.

Do you think the Helix is interesting for RCA/CLR cables ?

If I like the results, I could rewire my speakers eventually. They have 2 crossovers (bi wirable), what gauges do you think would be suitable for woofer and highs?

Thanks guys!
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
@abolive - re:...
Do you think the Helix is interesting for RCA/XLR cables ?
 Not quite sure what you really mean by this question and I interpret it as one of the following

  1. Would benefit the sound compared to cables you currently have? - I would have to say they yes, definitely
  2. Or which would be the better approach for the Helix cables, RCA or XLR? - Either format will perform very well
If you could please restate your question it would help avoid any ambiguity - thanks :-)

RE:  If I like the results, I could rewire my speakers eventually. They have 2 crossovers (bi wirable), what gauges do you think would be suitable for woofer and highs?
I think using the Helix inside a speaker would be an unnecessary complexity. Because of the space you have inside the enclosure you can afford to keep the +ve and -ve wires separated, so no need for the helix geometry.

The issue I faced when rewiring the crossover was getting the gauge I had selected attached to the circuit board. The wire should ideally be very flexible to prevent lifting the copper trace off of the circuit board

That being the case I would recommend the Neotech stranded wires. They use UP-OCC copper and are pretty flexible.

Hope that helps - Steve

Post removed 
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
A HELIX SPEAKER CABLE QUESTION - Do I have to use the Beads?

I’ve been asked this question a few times and always respond that the beads provide better sound quality.

But that has always been for cables that use a single wire for the signal conductor.

Things have now changed and the" Double Shotgun" approach is taking off in combination with the (Air) approach of using bare wire inside a Teflon tube
- so if you are using dual conductors in Teflon tubes for the signal wire I now see no reason to use the beads any longer - why?

Well this week I finished a couple of power cables that use dual wires for the Live conductors. These cables were for the more power hungry components in my system, so I used 2 x 14 gauge bare wire, each wire inside it’s own Teflon tube and then twisted together - and the results were excellent

So I got to thinking about power cables and the fact they probably have the strongest EMI influences to contend with of all the cables, i.e. carrying the highest voltage/current of all the cables.

I realized that if a twisted wire pair were used for a speaker cables then it was no longer necessary to employ beads for spacing because
  • the wires inside the Teflon tube would gravitate to the center of the twisted wire pair, leaving more space between the outside of the twisted wire conductor and the neutral coil
  • also, as the the wires are twisted, each wire "take turns" at being the closest to the Helix coil, therefore disrupting the EMI effect
My next thought - can the diameter of the Helix Coil of the speaker cables be reduced?
  • very likely, because the 5/16" rod to form the neutral coil of the mains cables, work so well with dual conductors, it is more than likely a 5/16" rod would be adequate for speaker cables also, because they convey lower powered signals.
To provide a little more separation, you could also use a cotton sleeve over the twisted pair...

Please Note: I have not tried this to date, so I cannot confirm this "by observation" as yet, but the evidence, as it relates to power cables, is very compelling and I feel extremely confident that this approach will make fabricating the Helix speaker cables much simpler going forward, without compromising sound quality.

For the Live conductors I recommend either 2 x 16 or 2 x 14 gauge
- I am currently using 2 x 16 gauge wire inside a single Teflon tube and the result is stunning with a significant improvement in ultra low frequency depth.

Regards - Steve
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