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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


wig
fai_v's avatar
fai_v
25 posts
 

Will I be able to use the Helix speakers cables with a Yamaha PC2002 power amplifier? 

It has balanced inputs but i don't know if its a fully balanced design.

williewonka
3,131 posts
 

@fai_v - this appears to be an older amplifier. The balanced symmetrical design is relatively recent,  I also saw no warnings on picture of the amp (rear view) that indicates the amp is a balanced symmetrical design.

I believe the Helix cables will work with this amp

Regards - Steve

 

williewonka
3,131 posts
 

RE: The Ultimate Helix DIY Cable - I forgot to mention that when winding the helix conductor ..

  • I initially cut both the wire and the tubing to the appropriate length
    • I left enough wire to form a 1" tightly twisted section at each end of the conductor
    • so the tube was 2" shorter than the wure
  • but when I finished winding the coil there was 4" of wire at the free end
  • so you need to make the tubing longer than the wire
  • e.g. On a 3ft cable I would recommend making the tubing 6" longer than the wire and trim to the correct length once would
  • I believe that the wire forms a tighter coil than the tubing so you end up with excess wire

Other than that - break-in is proceeding very nicely.

Regards - Steve

 

mbolek
194 posts
 

@williewonka - I always wanted to understand the signal flow and what is claimed to be directional wire.  I know when you get to OCC quality the wire is drawn/produced in a certain way and there is a consensus that signal flow should follow that direction.

My specific question for DIY speaker cables - If you buy into this directional approach, should you have positive and negative runs in opposite directions?

I have used a lot of Furutech Alpha hook up wire and have followed their directional arrows.  

Can't claim that I can tell a difference, but this one kept me up thinking last night....

Marty

 

williewonka
3,131 posts
 

@mbolek - you have touched on a subject that I am yet to observe, despite having tried it many times with a variety of cables - e.g. power, interconnect and speaker cables.

I do not doubt the observations of others - i.e. a cable sounds better in a specific direction.

  • is it due to the metal of the wire?
  • is it due to the insulation?
  • is it due to the geometry of the cable?
  • is it due to the connectors of the cable?
  • is it due to the socket in the component?
    • sockets/plugs is an area that can cause lots of issues
    • I would not be surprised if this is the cause of this phenom

Since I have never observed this phenom I no longer account for it in my builds and so far I have not been disappointed.

But you do make a valid point - should the wire be reversed for the neutral?

  • With the exception of fully balanced symmetrical designed amps and balanced power distribution systems
    • Helix cables are not suited to these
    • and I lack the experience in this design approach
  • In Single ended systems, electrical energy flows in one direction, from the power station to ground/neutral - it just happens to pass through our components along the way
  • granted the polarity changes in an audio signal, but the energy will always flow from source to "ground"
  • so if I had to GUESS - both wires should be aligned in the direction of the energy transfer
  • but it is not something that I would account for in my cable builds

Sorry I could not be of more assistance

Regards - Steve

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