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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
sns
3,005 posts
 
I'm not up on latest recipes, but I discovered Steve's original Helix page some time ago. I've auditioned  many cables over the years using lending library at Cable Company, $1k to $3-4k in all categories. The Helix has been my go to pc for some time, transparency second to none. My favored recipe is double runs of Take Five cryo'd 14awg for neutral, three runs of VH Audio Airlock 18awg for live, solid core copper 10 or 12awg ground. Only other recipe tried was Duelund DCA for live. I use cryo'd rhodium ac connectors that look exactly like the Partsconnexion Connex.

Need to try helix IC soon.
svampebob
11 posts
 
Do we know for sure, that the quality of the neutral matters as long as its resistance is lower than the signal wire? In my simple mind it would make sense that the most resistive wire (signal) is the one that colors/determines the sound, and if that one is excellent (up-occ), the sound will be the same.
williewonka
3,072 posts
 
@svampebob - I don't bother with spacers anymore because I figure the Teflon tubes plus the gentle twist I use in the two signal wires is as effective as the beads on the signal wire version.

I still use a 1/2" rod to wind the neutral wire on the speaker cables  so the signal wires "take turns" at being in the center of the Helix coil, and don't forget the helix crosses the signal wires at very close to 90 degrees, so induction would be minimal.

It also make fabrication so much easier :-)

@sns - glad to hear you like the Helix PC's - I think you'll like the IC's as well  :-)

Regards - Steve


tecknik
482 posts
 
I’ve been playing around with the helix design on my dc cables with some Input from granny and am very pleased with the results using leftover mundorf 18g silver gold and plain 16 g copper for the neutral rather then military spec silver plated copper cause that’s all I had laying around for now. 
My question is from those who have tried it what’s the sonic difference between mil spec silver plated and plain copper on neutral .
williewonka
3,072 posts
 
@tecknik - re:...
what’s the sonic difference between mil spec silver plated and plain copper on neutral
I’ve tried a couple of different wires for the neutral and the only wire that made a SIGNIFICANT improvement on the Saver plated Mil-Spec for the neutral is the UP-OCC copper with Teflon insulation
  • clarity improved resulting in more details
  • imaging got larger
  • dynamics got faster.
  • bass became more "textured"
I am assuming by "Plain copper" you are referring to something like the quality of copper used in household wiring or even OFC copper?
  • using plain copper  in place of the silver plated Mil-Spec would impact on those areas of improvement
I now use UP-OCC copper on
  • interconnects - 1 x 16 gauge solid UP-OCC with Teflon insulation (you can also try 2 x 16 gauge)
  • power cables - 1 x 12 gauge stranded UP-OCC copper with Teflon insulation (you can try 2 x 12 gauge)
I still use 1 x 10 gauge Silver plated Mil-Spec on my speaker cables mainly because replacing them on my 10 ft cables would be more than I am willing to spend, since I would probably go with 2 x 12 gauge wires, since I have not found a vendor that sells 10 gauge UP-OCC

I did try using bare UP-OCC wire inside a Teflon tube for both the signal and the neutral and the resulting sound was not to my liking - it sounded far too clinical for may tastes, so I reverted to the Mil-Spec for the neutral

But - at this level of performance it all becomes a matter of
  • personal preferences
  • your system components
  • the other cables used
  • and of course BUDGET

Hope that helps - Steve


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