2. cables
  3. 156742-1458

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
 
@jambaj - Thanks for taking the time to reach out to the engineer

So basically - the designer of the Cayin amp has elected to use a "sacrificial resistor" as a circuit protection device

And here was I thinking that’s what fuses were for.:-)

But seriously, I have also looked into this further and it appears there is no right or wrong way, just a choice made by the amp designer

QUESTION: Should a resistor be "used in place of a fuse" ?
  • some believe fuses should be used to protect the circuit
  • others believe fuses degrade sound, so using a resistor for this purpose is an "acceptable risk" in order to achieve the best sound quality possible
  • Some designers use purpose built breakers
Here an interesting thread on Agon that discuses a similar topic
Tube Amp - Output Power Fuse Protection | Audiogon Discussion Forum

So which "design" does a person choose ?
  1. If "flashing" is a rare occurrence, then selecting amps like the Cayin you are hedging your bets that it will "likely" never happen, but if it does - you accept the risk and pay for the repair each time, but sound quality will be optimum, however, the more you use it "the more likely" it is to happen
  2. OR - you select an amp that uses a fuse/breaker to protect the circuit, in which case you "may" suffer some sound degradation

It’s a similar style of "choice" I recently made...
  • My previous Naim amp was very good, but the power supply Caps only last around 10-12 years before failing - it wqs designed that way - mine failed and that repair was around $400 and took about 4 weeks
  • Other amps - like my current Bryston, comes with a 20 year warranty - so it will likely not fail, and possibly go on to run for even longer.
For me - I do not like being without the "hub of my system" for any length of time, so I replaced the NAIM with the Bryston.

My choice, but I now have peace of mind in that the design: does not rely on components that WILL fail (i.e. the capacitors)

In my case - it is guaranteed that the caps WILL fail at some point
In your case - it was just an occurrence that may never have happened

One thing for sure - we now understand the design approach used in the Cayin, the problem that only "may" occur and the outcome, which is of great value going forward..

Regards - Steve
jambaj0e
46 posts
 
@williewonka oh there are 2 fuses inside the amp too 
williewonka
3,082 posts
 
UP-OCC bare copper wire from Parts Connexion vs. other sources

I have just installed 2 x 14 gauge (effectively 11 gauge) solid signal wires made from the bare UP-OCC copper from Parts Connexion in my speaker cables - each wire is in it’s own Teflon sleeve, with a gentle twist.
The neutral conductor is 10 gauige stranded, silver plated Mil-Spec

OCC6N Copper Hook-Up Wire (partsconnexion.com)

My previous cables had a 2 x 16 gauge bare Neotech UP-OCC signal wire, twisted together inside a single Teflon tube
The neutral conductor is 10 gauige stranded, silver plated Mil-Spec

The quality of this wire appears to be the same as the Neotech or VH audio wire - just without any insulation, so it is perfect for building the Helix IMAGE (Air) variant.

Auditioning the new cables revealed a slight improvement in dynamics, but all the other metrics were too close to discern any improvements regarding image, fine details and clarity.
  • I figure this is due to the larger gauge and also using a Teflon tube for each of the two wires, in place of two wires in a single teflon tube

The wire seemed noticeably stiffer than the the 14 gauge neotech wire I had used on my power cables, which requires a little more effort when fabricating the cables.

One other thing I tried was using the 2 x 14 gauge wires as the neutral conductor (but NOT coiled), just to see if there might be an advantage
- this revealed more details, faster dynamics, but I felt the resulting sound was too "analytical" and overly "crisp" for my own personal taste.

The one strange thing of note on Parts Connexion web site - all other gauges of this wire were "price/foot", but the 14 gauge was "price/meter".

Using this wire for the Helix IMAGE (Air) saves a significant amount of time spent removing the insulation from Neotech and VH Audio UPP-OCC wires
- well worth while :-)

Hope you find this useful

Regards - Steve

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dbass
29 posts
 
Thank you Steve - I cannot say enough how I appreciate the time and efforts you have put into everything!
eugeniy
6 posts
 
Yes, thanks a lot, Steve. I think it is very important to make a direct comparison of the spiral and parallel arrangement of wires (all other things being equal).
    Steve, how far were the hot and neutral wires?
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