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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

Showing 6 responses by eugeniy

eugeniy
6 posts
 

.Hello everyone!
I read the thread with great interest!
This is one of the most interesting topics that I have been able to see lately!
I join your research!
I think the next step is to make a few dozen turns of thread (silk or cotton) around the wire and then insert it into the tube.
There is still something to strive for :-)
eugeniy
6 posts
 
At the input of the amplifier I have a Duelund CAST-Cu. Copper twisted bare wires come out of it. I asked Duelund a question: do I need to cover this wire with something? The answer is no, it will degrade the sound!
I dealt with OCC copper plated with gold, and on top with a thin layer of polyurethane varnish. Very good wire and I like it more than MUNDORF solid silver / gold. But I do not have enough air and it's all about this insulation. Now I have washed off this polyurethane and am assembling the cable. Let's see what the result will be(although this is understandable!).
On the positive side, the gold plating remains and there is no need to worry about copper oxidationВведите свой текст ...
eugeniy
6 posts
 
Yes, thanks a lot, Steve. I think it is very important to make a direct comparison of the spiral and parallel arrangement of wires (all other things being equal).
    Steve, how far were the hot and neutral wires?
eugeniy
6 posts
 
   Very interesting. Thank you very much Steve for the explanation.
If I understand correctly, then your cables had a neutral MIL speck wire! If so, then replacing it with a better quality OCC + air insulation, gave such a result (most likely) as increased clarity and dynamics.
   As for the laying of the "+" and "-" wires, at least in the acoustic cable, many manufacturers make them separately and with good results, despite the increase in inductance.
And this assumption is even more interesting:
" However, after trying the Air adaption (i.e. bare wire inside Teflon tube) on a few cables I now suspect that the proximity effect may have more to do with the insulation being used, than the issue of induction between wires."

I think you will be the first in these studies again!))
Еugeniy
eugeniy
6 posts
 
I use gold-plated (0.5 micron) copper OCC wire, but did not make a direct comparison with copper OCC. Maybe someone has experience?
eugeniy
6 posts
 
"Not everything in this particular scenario was "equal"
  • one cable used a 2 x 16 gauge twisted pair inside a teflon tube (i.e. for the signal wire)
  • the other use 2 x 14 gauge with each wire inside it’s own teflon tube (i.e. for the neutral wire)
  • this may have accounted for my observation
This was a test just to get an "idea" of what might be possible using the wires/cables at hand and my normal "rigour" was not applied, so I will reserve my "complete judgment" once I get to make up a cable using the approach described above - but it does look very promising.

The saga continues :-)"
            Steve, I think this design is very good! In my opinion, in this case, you need to use other connectors to search for musicality.
Best regards, Evgeny 
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