SunnyJim,
I'll start with the last question first and make my way back. My speakers are Tonian Labs TL-D1s and the amp is a Burson PI-160 integrated. The Tonians are 95db efficient and the Burson is a sleeper, IMO, which digs pretty deep into the music in a convincing way.
What I found better in the Double Helix over the standard Helix is a more immediate, relaxed, yet bolder presentation. They haven't even got 4 hours on them and the improvement was apparent from the start. I find tighter bass to be better defined bass. Bass with more nuance, pitch, definition and thud (for lack of a better word-impact maybe).
Greater transparency is another aspect of the Double Helix cables. There's simply more info coming back at me, making it seem more realistic. I can't explain it any better than that without resorting to examples, so here goes:
piano registers are very realistic. Hammer strikes, wires resonating and sound board sympathies all share the same note. Nothing jumps out at you but it's all there to hear. It may not have the full weight of a real piano but it's the most convincing way I've heard it out of my speakers.
Horns have a nice, brassy and slightly rough bite like they do in a small venue. Bass slaps and pulls show more finesse and subtle interplay. Drums sound just as they should whether played with sticks or with hands, which I've found to be slightly lacking until the Double Heilx arrived. Lightly rapped drums now have presence even though back in the mix.
Vocals now come to the front more convincingly as well. You can almost sense the preparation before the execution, with all the subtle clues leading credence to the act. It's almost like they're in the room, not three dimensionally but just on the basis of the info. I guess that's the best way of conveying it: the Double Helix simply allow more info than the standard Helix.
Less grunge as alluded to earlier by others.
One more thing about the bass. It's a more complete presentation but my Tonians are more of a tune and tone champ than any kind of bass champ. They do it convincingly well but they don't thump you in the chest (they do, however, tap very, very well). I had an old pair of Legacy Classics that used the standard Heilx cables and they had no problem making my room, pictures and window shake so I can imagine an improvement in the accuracy department.
As for the Clear Day single shotgun cables, I preferred the standard run myself. I found the shotgun runs to flesh out the bass and mids at the expense of some detail and nuance, but that was with my older system and my ears so YMMV. I also prefer, so far, the tighter and more tuneful bass I'm getting with just the Double Helix compared to the standard Heilx bi-wired with the single run of Clear Day cables but it's too early to be certain. It seems more balanced going solo with the Double Helix, for now.
And as for the plus version, I'm trying my best to not send these DHs back for them because the level of improvement I was told was so great that at first, I thought it was just hype, but boy, was I wrong. I'm hoping that I'm not wrong again because even though it adds more than a hundred bucks to the equation, it would be worth it if the increase of enjoyment is the same.
I hope this gives you some perspective, but I know it just makes it more difficult. There is a 30 day return policy as long as they look like new so....
All the best,
Nonoise
