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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
3,081 posts
 

@norco74 - forgt to comment on

Also, how’s the cable stiffness between the single and double neutral assembly?

There is little difference in cable stiffness because you are not actually bending the wire in the neutral - The neutral is like a spring so flexes more easily

Doubling up on the neutral causes very little additional stiffness.

Regards - Steve

norco74
19 posts
 

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the clarifications. Before I move to the next stage of modifications, I will try to understand the cost differences between the OCC5N and the Neotech UPOCC silver wires. Looks like all the silver are created equal.

 

Cheers

 

Daniel

 

mbolek
176 posts
 

Steve,

Received the partsconnexion order and put together the following Helix XLR.

18awg bare OCC with teflon tubes for the positive and negative

16awg Neotech for the ground (spiral)

AECO XLRs:   I really like these....

Looking back, the Neotech is really high priced and don't know if it is justified for this build.   

Hooked them up and will provide my thoughts.   Swapped my proto silver build as I described earlier.

Threw a couple pics up on my system page.   Maybe I'll put some tech flex around it and we can tell people that it's a $5K interconnect.....:)

provst's avatar
provst
16 posts
 

@williewonka - earlier in this thread or maybe on your website I do believe you made some thoughts on using silver as conductor for the helix power cables?

Based on these new findings on interconnects is this an area of interest, you will consider going back to for further investigations?

williewonka
3,081 posts
 

@provst - I had used Mundorf Solid Silver with 1% gold wire for one of my power cables

  • but the UP-OCC solid copper in the power cables outperformed it.

What I am observing at this point in time...

  • the Solid SIlver in the Interconnects provided quite the improvement
  • BUT - I was able to hear those improvements using...
    • Speaker cables that used UP-OCC copper.
    • Power cables that used UP-OCC copper
  • so how much of an improvement would using solid silver provide if used on either of those two cables?
  • Would the speaker cables benefit from having UP-OCC Solid Silver Signal Wires?
    • Whilst it is obvious that UP-OCC Silver is a superior conductor I am not certain that using it for the live conductor on Helix Speaker cables would provide a similar level of improvement as observed when UP-OCC solid silver was applied to the Interconnect cables.
  • Would the Source power cables show some improvement ?
    • based on past observations - I think they would show some degree of improvement,
    • but any improvement would not be as noticeble as the the improvements achieved by using solid silver on the Interconnect cables
  • Would the Amp power cables show some improvement ?
    • based on past observations - I do not believe the Power Amp would show as much of an improvement as the source power cables may have provided

.For me, developing these cables has always been about

  1. achieving a noticeable improvement in performance
  2. at a reasonable cost

Or what I call Bang for the Buck

For me - I DO NOT believe upgrading my Power cables or Speaker cables with UP-OCC Solid SIlver would provide sufficient Bang for the Buck

I think it depends on whether a person is personally seeking...

  • "Audio Nirvana"
  • or just cost effective cables.

And - you also have to factor in the type of system they are being used on

  • my system is modestly priced and therefore has some limitations
  • A system having higher resolution capabilities may show a more appreciable benefit, in which case the cost could be worth it

Hope that helps clarify things

Regards - Steve

 

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