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
@pumpwheel - whilst I have not tried these RCA's, I must point out that the contacts are made from  Tellurium Copper which has a lower level of IACS conductivity of 93% as opposed to pure copper as used in the KLE Innovations Harmony range, also silver plated at 101%

So from that perspective the  AECO ARP-4045S would not conduct the signal as well as the KLEI RCA's

I first compared the Copper Harmony to the original "Eichman Silver Bullet" RCA's, which apparently had a solid silver center pin, and the Copper Harmony provided easily discernible improvements,
  • This leads me to believe the improvements are due to the overall design of the RCA and NOT just about the materials used in the pins
Also - the CLASSIC HARMONY are significantly cheaper 
Hope that helps - Steve
@ghettocowboy : +1 what @mawe said

Deltron and Switchcraft also make XLR’s with silver plated pins at a reasonable price point.

I would probably stay with the Neutrik mentioned above because they literally "own this space" and on the plugs from Neutrik and Vampire I have seen/used the overall finish on the Neutrik has been a little nicer looking.

Also AMPHENOL makes some nice looking plugs - take a look at this link
xlr plugs silver plated pins - Search Results | Newark

The ETI are clearly the "Rolls Royce" of those mentioned, but I have no idea as to the level of performance they provide

Regards - Steve
Thank you guys.  I also found these XLR male/female connectors. The site says pure copper contacts not sure if the pins are pure copper or just copper plating. Have anyone tried the DH Labs XLR

https://silversonic.com/products/connectors/ultimate-xlr/
I have not tried them and while I like DH Labs products for their value, it looks like (from reading) that the pins are not plated, just pure copper
- this can lead to oxidation in the future, which will degrade signal transfer.

I prefer silver plated contacts because
  • the silver plating prevents the copper from oxidizing
  • while silver plating does tarnish over time, the tarnish is only microns thick and can be removed simply by reseating the plug 
  • this is NOT the case with copper - they may require a more robust cleaning approach
  • and I am yet to have to clean any of my silver plated connectors after 10 years of everyday use
Hope that helps - Steve