2. cables
  3. 156742-1458

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
tecknik
483 posts
 

@ williewonka, 

Im now thinking of making a pair of speaker cables and have a few questions.

For the live wire you’re stating live wire 2 x 14 solid and neutral wire 1 x 12 stranded. Why not 2 x 14 solid and 4 x the length rather then 2.5 don’t you want more coverage of the live wire. Shouldn’t live and neutral wires be the same size 2 x 14 yields a 11 g. Vs 1 x 12 g. 

Have you tried low mass spades ? 

Can I cover the speaker cables in a designer sheath to look more professional or does this affect the sound quality.

You guys are right the cables take a dive around 20 hrs before opening up nicely around 50 hrs I was about to yank them out but something kept catching my attention in the presentation, a naturalness I guess you could say.

 

regards

steve

williewonka
3,075 posts
 

@tecknik - see below

For the live wire you’re stating live wire 2 x 14 solid and neutral wire 1 x 12 stranded. Why not 2 x 14 solid and 4 x the length rather then 2.5 don’t you want more coverage of the live wire. Shouldn’t live and neutral wires be the same size 2 x 14 yields a 11 g. Vs 1 x 12 g. 

There are many "permutations" that you can use

  • my preferred wires are
    • 2 x 14 gauge for the live and
    • 1 x 10 gauge stranded silver plated mil-spec for the neutral
  • I did try 2 x 14 gauge OCC solid wires for the neutral but it sounded way too analytical and harsh - they lost their musicality
  • Live and neutral wires do not have to be the same size, but the neutral does have to be larger than the signal wires
    • so 2 x 16 gauge for the live and 1 x 12 gauge for the neutral - or
    • 2 x 14 guage live and 2 x 12 gauge for the neutral

As for coverage - these are NOT screened cables

  • the Helix acts like a faraday cage, It disrupts the impact of airborn noise
  • the amplitude of airborn noise is very small,
    • i.e. in comparison to the signal in the speaker wires,
    • so their impact is negligeable
    • But in a phono cable, any noise will be amplified over 100 times - a much greater impact to overall sound

I have not tried low mass spades

  • with the KLE Innovations spades you get almost 1 sq cm of contact area 
  • the contact area of spades tend to be a lot less

Can I cover the speaker cables in a designer sheath to look more professional or does this affect the sound quality.

Yes you can cover them - it will NOT impact sound quality

Regards - Steve

 

 

 

tecknik
483 posts
 

Williewonka got it, thank you.

donnylovely
105 posts
 

I just made the helix image air speaker cables with 2 14ga in Teflon tube and 12 gauge in Teflon tube. I just hooked them up and Holy sound stage! Instruments are more separated and everything got bigger. I think I need to move my speakers to get the bass back in the new sound stage. Thanks Steve. Going to make a coax next with silver and then power cables. 

williewonka
3,075 posts
 

@donnylovely - Glad you are enjoying the Helix Speaker Cables

RE:...

I think I need to move my speakers to get the bass back in the new sound stage.

I know what you mean - I had a similar experience.

HOWEVER - before you go around moving your speakers too much, I would recommend playing a wide variety of music to see if the bass has infact diminihsed

  • we get conditioned to certain levels of different frequencies, bass being the most noticeable
  • when we change cables and components we attribute the new sound to that change - but could it be the new sound is just how the track was recorded?
  • I have a few audition tracks, many of which which I first thought sounded a little too different, so I listened to several other tracks and found that the bass was not lacking, it was just never too prominent on those audition tracks - it was my old configuration that was in fact enhancing(colouring) the level of the bass

Also, give the cables about 200 hours break in before making any other changes.

Nice to hear you plan on making the other Helix Cables - I posted very early on in this thread, the more helix cables you introduce into your system the better it sounds 😀

You might just find that the bass returns when you install the "Coax’ cable 😎

Once you have the cables sorted, then try moving the speakers

Regards - Steve

 

 

More to discover