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
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?
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
@ eugeniy - RE: " how far were the hot and neutral wires?"

I think you are referring to
One other thing I tried was using the 2 x 14 gauge wires as the neutral conductor (but NOT coiled)
To try this I used two sets of Helix speaker cables, but I did not connect the helix coils - I just used signal wire in one cable for the +ve and the signal wire in the other cable for the -ve

Both cables had the coils in place, but not connected and were 1-2" apart.

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.

It may be that having an air gap between the wire and the Teflon tube is enough of a gap, such that the two conductors can now be inserted into an expandable sleeve, side by side, without impacting sound quality, but I am yet to try this

I think that you can provide even more "spacing" by inserting each twisted pair conductor inside its own cotton sleeve.

This could make the Helix coil redundant, if this is the case.

It would certainly make fabrication so much easier with the advantage that the cable will now work with those amps that employ a symmetrical balanced design as well.

What about the rest of the Helix cables - can this approach be applied to Interconnects and power cables?
- It probably could, but I think using this new approach you would end up with a thicker and much stiffer cable.

And while it works for speaker cables,
  • power cables might not work as well because of the higher voltage
  • And a thicker interconnect cable might make installing the RCA problematic
WRT: what I observed i.e.
- this revealed more details, faster dynamics, but I felt the resulting sound was too "analytical" and overly "crisp" for my own personal taste.
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 :-)

BTW - the support from everyone in this thread is greatly appreciated and is inspiration for the continued developments.

Regards - Steve



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
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,479 posts
 
I just want to give my personal experience and opinion here. I have tried using the nude wire approach in Teflon tube on the positive conductors in my double helix builds. I have found I prefer keeping the original red Teflon in place on the Neotech or VH Audio wire. (IC builds)
For me the nude wire approaching with Teflon tube was simply too direct and too forced sounding. For me it was just too much of a good thing. Almost like too much resolution when combined with the perceived slight loss of warmth and natural tone. I prefer the slightly warmer and laid-back sound with the Teflon in place. This is a very subjective thing,  but something I have found to be true for me. I suspect this would be true for other listeners also. I also find that by placing a single or a double layer of cotton tubing over the twisted pair of positive wires really does help to tame vibrations and increase musicality.  
williewonka
3,075 posts
 
@grannyring - I agree - I think it's much like selecting a pair of speakers - each person hears differently, so different people will have their own preferences.as to what type of speaker they will choose.

There is no right or wrong, just a personal preference

Unfortunately - finding those personal preferences is the challenge, but  "trusting our ears" is the only way to proceed

Regards - Steve












More to discover