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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
3,075 posts
 
@pindac - the PC Tripple C copper is very similar to UP-OCC copper, in that the crystalline structure has been modified to allow for better signal transfer.

I have not tried the PC Tripple C, but from the literature I have read it looks as though it would provide very similar benefits.

But there is also UP-OCC SOLID SILVER wire, which improves on extremely fine details and dynamics - provided your system can resolve to that level.

But as both myself and @grannyring has mentioned - we "dialed back" on some of our wire choices in certain instances, simply because we found the sound of a particular wire/insulation/geometry combination to be "less musical"

But - either wire would make a fine cable.

If anyone else has compared the UP-OCC wire to the PC Trippe C wire, please share your thoughts with us

Regards - Steve
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
Apologies - I had to repost this because I made a mistake on the interconnects - I now use 2 x 18 gauge bare UP-OCC with each wire inside a Teflon tube with a gentle twist

For speaker cables
  • SIGNAL WIRE: 2 x 14 gauge bare UP-OCC wire,
  • with each wire in a teflon tube with a gentle twist
  • NEUTRAL 10 gauge silver plated stranded Mil-Spec Helix
  • NOTE: I did try Solid UP-OCC copper, but the Mil-Spec made it more "musical" to my ears.
  • NOTE: I did have 2 x 16 gauge, twisted, inside a single Teflon tube as the Signal for quite a while, but the 2 x 14 gauge option provided a little more warmth, dynamics, clarity and a slightly more realistic presentation

For Interconnects
  • SIGNAL WIRE: 2 x 18 gauge bare UP-OCC
  • each wire in a Teflon tube with a gentle twist
  • NEUTRAL: 1 x 16 gauge solid UP-OCC with Teflon insulation for the Helix neutral

For the Heavy Duty power cables (i.e. for amps and power distribution)
  • LIVE: 2 x 14 gauge bare UP-OCC
  • with each wire inside a Teflon tube with a gentle twist
  • NEUTRAL: 1 x 12 gauge stranded UP-OCC with Teflon insulation
  • NOTE: Changing from the stranded Mil-Spec to the stranded UP-OCC copper wire provided improved articulation, better imaging and more bass depth and texture
For Source Power cables
  • LIVE: 2 x 16 gauge bare UP-OCC
  • twisted together and inside a single Teflon tube
  • NEUTRAL: 2 x 12 gauge Silver plated stranded Mil-Spec
  • NOTE: If you are wondering why I did not change Mil-Spec to the UP-OCC stranded copper as I had with the heavy duty cables - I just liked the sound so much that I did not consider it worth the expense/effort, for what might be a "marginal improvement"
For new readers of this thread, you should also consider/solicit the preferences shared by other members, because there is no "single solution" - just what sounds great to each individual on their systems.

If anyone else wants to share their "builds" I believe it would be of great value, since a great deal of what we have all tried is lost in the sheer volume of text that exists in this thread

Cheers - Steve
dbass
29 posts
 
@williewonka - Any updates on your speaker cable build running your signal and neutral wires in parallel.  Referring to your post from 6-23.  Thx.
Post removed 
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
@dbass - I have reverted back to the original Helix design - i.e.
  • LIVE: - 2 x 14 gauge each wire inside a Teflon tube
  • NEUTRAL: - 1 x 10 gauge silver plated stranded Mil-Spec

After giving this approach a lot more audition and thought, I have concluded it should only be used for those amps that have balanced symmetrical speaker outputs.

Spacing the +ve and -ve wire conductor assemblies is an issue and the best/cost effective approach I could think of is to wind a separate coil for each conductor assembly in counter rotating directions - which
  • prevents the coils from becoming entangled
  • maintains some cable flexibility
  • minimizes the impact to dielectric constant
  • is affordable provided home deport wire is used

Using Solid UP-OCC bare copper wire inside Teflon tubes for both +ve and -ve conductor assemblies will provide extremely detailed and articulate results, but since audiophiles are looking for a more "musical sound" this approach may NOT provide the outcome some may be looking for
  • I would recommend using a Teflon insulated UP-OCC solid copper wire or even a stranded UP-OCC copper wire with Teflon insulation.
But on those amps that use a more "conventional" design approach and best suited to the original Helix geometry - this construction method will
  • complicate fabrication considerably
  • make the cable very stiff
  • offers little benefit WRT "sound quality"
  • does not result in any significant cost savings (i.e. if Mil-spec wire is used on a Helix Cable)
It also cannot be "effectively" applied to Interconnects or power cables.

Hope hat helps - Steve.


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