Is mil spec wire really that big of a deal? Everything I read about it is related to it's durability and temperature resistance, and stereo cables don't need to be durable or resistant to extreme temps at all. Is there more to it than that?
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
Showing 15 responses by ketchup
I'd like to build a Double Double Helix cable. I'll probably go with 18 awg Airlok for the hot and 16 awg mil spec from TFA for the return. The only thing bothering me is how the hot and return can move in relation to each other. That can't be a good thing, can it? I saw someone, maybe Grannyring, mention using cotton braid over the hot run to fill the gap. What sizes and how many layers are necessary to fill the gap with the wire gauges I have settled on? Am I overthinking it? Is the cotton braid even necessary? |
If anyone orders anything from Parts Connexion in Canada, make sure you select something other than USPS. I placed two orders there for some Absolute Harmony RCAs. The first one shipped USPS and I still don't have it 18 days later. A few days later I placed another order, but selected UPS. I got that order in about three days! |
Chris at VH Audio marks the "pull end" of his wire with tape when he cuts a length off. Do you guys usually build your cables with the pull end at the source end of your ICs or do you put it at the other end? Has anyone ever even tested this? Chris simply said that directionality is subjective and did not say if one orientation is better than the other. What's your experience? I'm specifically referring to the
UniCrystal
OCC Airlok wire. |
I have just been made aware of this vendor for the Mil-spec wire (NOT Cryo’d) for the power cables - their prices seem pretty goodI wonder how this stuff would work for some star-quad speaker cables... Seems cheap enough to find out. |
Thanks, @williewonka. This double/double helix cable will replace the IC between my DAC and preamp. The current cable is made from a twisted pair of Duelund DCA16GA and Pure Harmonies. The double/double helix will use Absolute Harmonies. I hope there's an improvement. |
@williewonka like this? Keep in mind that I'll have double grounds, though. |
@williewonka I intend to build the double/double like this and was just wondering what direction the twists should go. http://www.image99.net/blog/files/20200821_103323_resized.jpg Is the double/double still a good design? I have VH Audio 18 awg AirLok UP OCC for the signal and Mil Spec 16 AWG Silver Plated Copper Wire Red Cryo Treated from Take Five Audio for the return. |
Has anyone experimented with the distance between the signal wires and the coil for ICs? I just made a pair of double/double ICs, and with one layer of cotton sleeve around the signal wires, it's very tight in the coil. There is no movement whatsoever and it was very difficult to get in the coil. The wires definitely aren't moving relative to each other, which I think is a good thing. |
That's pretty much what I settled on, although I added a little time due to the gauge of the double/double. While building these cables, which is about the 4th set of cables I have made using KLE RCAs, I finally found a pretty good method of terminating them. I tinned the wires after twisting them together and then filed the end of the tinned wires into a male point with a taper that matched that of the female "V" of the KLE tabs. I then tinned the bare part of the wires that were filed as well as the "V" on the RCA. Then, I used my soldering "helping hands" to hold both pieces and used the arms of the helping hands to apply pressure to the pieces, pushing them together, and then soldered as usual. I feel that applying pressure pushes the wire into contact with the "V" during soldering, making the two parts physically touch each other, resulting in a better connection. |
