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…
I have not tried them and while I like DH Labs products for their value, it looks like (from reading) that the pins are not plated, just pure copper - this can lead to oxidation in the future, which will degrade signal transfer.
I prefer silver plated contacts because
the silver plating prevents the copper from oxidizing
while silver plating does tarnish over time, the tarnish is only microns thick and can be removed simply by reseating the plug
this is NOT the case with copper - they may require a more robust cleaning approach
and I am yet to have to clean any of my silver plated connectors after 10 years of everyday use
Thank you guys. I also found these XLR male/female connectors. The site says pure copper contacts not sure if the pins are pure copper or just copper plating. Have anyone tried the DH Labs XLR
Deltron and Switchcraft also make XLR’s with silver plated pins at a reasonable price point.
I would probably stay with the Neutrik mentioned above because they literally "own this space" and on the plugs from Neutrik and Vampire I have seen/used the overall finish on the Neutrik has been a little nicer looking.
@pumpwheel - whilst I have not tried these RCA's, I must point out that the contacts are made from
Tellurium Copper which has a lower level of IACS conductivity of 93% as opposed to pure copper as used in the KLE Innovations Harmony range, also silver plated at 101%
So from that perspective the
AECO ARP-4045S
would not conduct the signal as well as the KLEI RCA's
I first compared the Copper Harmony to the original "Eichman Silver Bullet" RCA's, which apparently had a solid silver center pin, and the Copper Harmony provided easily discernible improvements,
This leads me to believe the improvements are due to the overall design of the RCA and NOT just about the materials used in the pins
Also - the CLASSIC HARMONY are significantly cheaper
PC TripleC /EX has a forged Silver Sheath onto the Wire. It is not Cheap, SAEC are charging $900 Dollars for Tag Wires.
I have a length to Strip and produce Tag Wires and Tonearm Wires from. I am also hoping there is enough to use internally within the Monoblock Amp's when they are modified to become a Balanced Design.
Simply give any GaN-based USB-C wall chargers a try, IsoTek Blue Horizon was showing 710 → 254 → 129 → 091 after this particular one was thrown into the mix:
So, I am not one for "Gadgets’, especially gadgets that come in really small sizes and make claims of improving sound quality, just by simply plugging them into the mains outlet
But a contact assured me that this particular gadget would make a difference.
I researched all the various brands that sell these gadgets and decided to try the ifi AC Purifier, simply because its description of how it works made some sense.
It takes the same principle of noise cancelling headphones and applies it to the mains supply. i.e. if it detects noise it generates a signal of the same amplitude as the noise, but 180 degrees out of phase and injects it back into the power supply - therefore cancelling the noise, leaving you with no noise at all (OK very little noise at all)
And guess what? - it works - at least on my system
But since I have my system kitted out with Helix power cables that do much of the heavy lifting, with respect to eliminating noise , what’s left for the little gadget to do?
Well turns out - not a heck of a lot - HOWEVER, what it does do is finish off what the Helix cables started - i.e. get rid of noise that is not the product of the insulation and cable geometry, that can sometimes filter through to the components of a system from the mains supply
So to cut to the chase - I observed some minor improvements...
a more focused image
a deeper image
a little more articulation, clarity and resolution
a few more details in the area of venue acoustics
the gadget takes a couple of days to stop sounding harsh
you have to try it plugged into different outlets for best results
Is it worth its price point? I thought it was
If you already have a power conditioner in the system then it would probably be of little benefit (if at all)
I initially tried it on the wall outlet and did not notice any improvement, but I have a 10 ft Helix extension cable that connects to to a Distribution box and my amp, so my guess is 10 ft is too far to have any effect
I plug my source components into the power distribution box, so I used a spare outlet on that box and it worked for both sources.
The manual states you can employ multiple of these across your system, but to date I have only tried a single unit.
I also tried it on
my Bluesound Pulse Mini speaker - there were no perceivable benefits, but the resolution capabilities of this speaker is much lower than my system
a friends All-Tube system - there were fewer improvements observed here also.
On my own system, the level of improvements seemed to be more noticeable only on the finer end of its resolution capability i.e. the incredibly fine venue acoustic reverberations/echoes and the very subtle improvement in imaging focus and artist placement.
For the record - It did not provide an "OMG" moment on my system
the improvements were very subtle, but noticeable
I guess it really depends how much noise is on your power supply
It may also provide a more noticeable benefit on systems that do not have Helix Cables
Anyhow - since the Helix geometry is all about eradicating noise, I felt the ifi AC Purifier was worth a mention
Unfortunately I could find any mention of the purity of the VH Audo copper wire
The the Parts Connexion Bare Copper wire is 6N and their Bare Silver wire is 5N - same as the VH Audio Wire
Is there a discernible difference between 5N and 6N?
I have tried both VH Audio copper wire and Neotech copper wire - bare, inside Teflon tubes and there appeared to be no difference between the two.
Unfortunately I was unable to find the purity rating for either of these two wires
However, changing to the Parts Connexion 6N bare copper wire provided noticeable improvements in the areas of clarity, image and dynamics.
All of the UP-OCC wires were noticeably better than Mundorf Silver + 1% Gold wire - which is basically only 99% pure - so it's only 2N
But you are correct in that there is a very noticeable difference between OFC and OCC copper wires in the areas of details, clarity, dynamics and image
There is also a noticeable difference between Cotton insulation vs. Teflon insulation, on the exact same wire - in the areas of clarity and image
So your choice of VH Audio Solid Silver Wire in Cotton is perhaps the best that can currently be achieved for an insulated wire.
The AIR adaption (i.e. bare wire inside a Teflon tube) is perhaps the ultimate in wire performance, but I found it can sound a little analytical if used for both the signal and neutral wires, so I reverted back to the Silver Plated copper Mil-spec wire for the neutral conductor on my speaker cables.
But the power cables use Neotech UP-OCC stranded copper wire with Teflon insulation for the neutral
and the interconnects use 16 gauge Neotech solid UP-OCC copper with Teflon insulation for the neutral
My own preference is for copper - at this point in time
purely from a cost perspective
and ever since trying the UP-OCC coppers, which I found to provide exceptional performance.
I have tried Mundorf solid silver (1% gold) wires for the signal (interconnects) and Live (power cables), but I believe the 6N OCC copper to be superior to a more "normal grade" of silver wire and is considerably less expensive.
I have not yet had the desire to part with my hard earned cash for the solid silver wire from VH Audio - a little too rich for my budget :-)
But as is said many times on Audiogon - "sound quality" is very subjective, so I encourage people to try different wires for themselves.
just my understanding of purity of wires: xN - x equals number of N (nines) 4N - 99.99% 5N - 99.999% 6N - 99.9999% May be I‘m wrong, then let me know.
so the silver wire with .999 is a 5N silver.
But I have compared 6N copper wires, one is a OFC and the other is a UP OCC copper. The bigger difference makes the OCC process, not if it is 5N or 6N.
This is true as well for solid silver wire. The VH Audio silver wire is a 6N OCC wire and to my ears the best, but as well expensive.
Have compared VH Audio solid silver 6N OCC in cotton with Neotech 6N UP-OCC in Teflon with 2x 24 AWG as IC and prefer the VH Audio. It is more natural, smoother with more micro dynamics and spacial information.
I'm thinking about getting a length of 8 gauge to use as pre - main jumpers, and then saw the 18 gauge is like $3.00 a foot for .999 solid silver wire. This might provide the opportunity to test cu vs ag at a reasonable cost as a signal wire.
@eugeniy - agreed - connectors can also be changed to "tune" a systems to one’s personal preferences.
However, I think that changing a connector may not provide as much of a change as one might desire, i.e. compared to changing a significantly longer piece of wire.
The KLE Bananas that I prefer are the most articulate and musical connectors I have tried, closely followed by the Silver plated pure copper Furez connectors.
I prefer to use connectors that are silver plated pure copper, as opposed to some type of copper alloy, like Beryllium copper or Tellurium Copper, because of their reduced conductivity.
With connectors, you are limited to the materials that are available, which tends to be a subset of what is available with wire. Then factor in the complexity of the various plating materials and processes that are available and how they also impact sound quality and selecting the right connectors to satisfy your personal sound preference becomes more challenging.
But that does not mean it should not be considered
it just adds to the complexity of a cable build and connector selection procedures
but it can be faster than replacing a piece of wire and more cost effective
However, in the case of Interconnects - selecting something other than the KLE Innovations Harmony RCA’s will degrade their performance significantly if used on a Digital SPDIF interconnect
"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
@dbass - I have reverted back to the original Helix design - i.e.
LIVE: - 2 x 14 gauge each wire inside a Teflon tube
NEUTRAL: - 1 x 10 gauge silver plated stranded Mil-Spec
After giving this approach a lot more audition and thought, I have concluded it should only be used for those amps that have balanced symmetrical speaker outputs.
Spacing the +ve and -ve wire conductor assemblies is an issue and the best/cost effective approach I could think of is to wind a separate coil for each conductor assembly in counter rotating directions - which
prevents the coils from becoming entangled
maintains some cable flexibility
minimizes the impact to dielectric constant
is affordable provided home deport wire is used
Using Solid UP-OCC bare copper wire inside Teflon tubes for both +ve and -ve conductor assemblies will provide extremely detailed and articulate results, but since audiophiles are looking for a more "musical sound" this approach may NOT provide the outcome some may be looking for
I would recommend using a Teflon insulated UP-OCC solid copper wire or even a stranded UP-OCC copper wire with Teflon insulation.
But on those amps that use a more "conventional" design approach and best suited to the original Helix geometry - this construction method will
complicate fabrication considerably
make the cable very stiff
offers little benefit WRT "sound quality"
does not result in any significant cost savings (i.e. if Mil-spec wire is used on a Helix Cable)
It also cannot be "effectively" applied to Interconnects or power cables.
Apologies - I had to repost this because I made a mistake on the interconnects - I now use 2 x 18 gauge bare UP-OCC with each wire inside a Teflon tube with a gentle twist
For speaker cables
SIGNAL WIRE: 2 x 14 gauge bare UP-OCC wire,
with each wire in a teflon tube with a gentle twist
NOTE: I did try Solid UP-OCC copper, but the Mil-Spec made it more "musical" to my ears.
NOTE: I did have 2 x 16 gauge, twisted, inside a single Teflon tube as the Signal for quite a while, but the 2 x 14 gauge option provided a little more warmth, dynamics, clarity and a slightly more realistic presentation
For Interconnects
SIGNAL WIRE: 2 x 18 gauge bare UP-OCC
each wire in a Teflon tube with a gentle twist
NEUTRAL: 1 x 16 gauge solid UP-OCC with Teflon insulation for the Helix neutral
For the Heavy Duty power cables (i.e. for amps and power distribution)
LIVE: 2 x 14 gauge bare UP-OCC
with each wire inside a Teflon tube with a gentle twist
NEUTRAL: 1 x 12 gauge stranded UP-OCC with Teflon insulation
NOTE: Changing from the stranded Mil-Spec to the stranded UP-OCC copper wire provided improved articulation, better imaging and more bass depth and texture
For Source Power cables
LIVE: 2 x 16 gauge bare UP-OCC
twisted together and inside a single Teflon tube
NEUTRAL: 2 x 12 gauge Silver plated stranded Mil-Spec
NOTE: If you are wondering why I did not change Mil-Spec to the UP-OCC stranded copper as I had with the heavy duty cables - I just liked the sound so much that I did not consider it worth the expense/effort, for what might be a "marginal improvement"
For new readers of this thread, you should also consider/solicit the preferences shared by other members, because there is no "single solution" - just what sounds great to each individual on their systems.
If anyone else wants to share their "builds" I believe it would be of great value, since a great deal of what we have all tried is lost in the sheer volume of text that exists in this thread
@pindac - the PC Tripple C copper is very similar to UP-OCC copper, in that the crystalline structure has been modified to allow for better signal transfer.
I have not tried the PC Tripple C, but from the literature I have read it looks as though it would provide very similar benefits.
But there is also UP-OCC SOLID SILVER wire, which improves on extremely fine details and dynamics - provided your system can resolve to that level.
But as both myself and @grannyring has mentioned - we "dialed back" on some of our wire choices in certain instances, simply because we found the sound of a particular wire/insulation/geometry combination to be "less musical"
But - either wire would make a fine cable.
If anyone else has compared the UP-OCC wire to the PC Trippe C wire, please share your thoughts with us
A little bit off topic, but relevant to wire types. I have been quite impressed with the use of Phono IC's made with PC Triple C Wire. It has now replaced permanently a Silver OCC Wire IC.
A friend has been introduced my owned PC Triple C IC's and has expressed a very positive reaction, to the point they have imported their own cables. Not bad for somebody who builds cables and is a close associate of another cable producer who has a following for their work.
The associate this weekend past was introduced to my friends imported PC Triple C cables used on their system. I have been informed the impression that these cable made was something quite special. I think it safe to say, that the PC Triple C wire can offer a rethink on the use of OCC and OCC alpha which is used by the two converts.
@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
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.
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 - 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.
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?
UP-OCC bare copper wire from Parts Connexion vs. other sources
I have just installed 2 x 14 gauge (effectively 11 gauge) solid signal wires made from the bare UP-OCC copper from Parts Connexion in my speaker cables - each wire is in it’s own Teflon sleeve, with a gentle twist. The neutral conductor is 10 gauige stranded, silver plated Mil-Spec
My previous cables had a 2 x 16 gauge bare Neotech UP-OCC signal wire, twisted together inside a single Teflon tube The neutral conductor is 10 gauige stranded, silver plated Mil-Spec
The quality of this wire appears to be the same as the Neotech or VH audio wire - just without any insulation, so it is perfect for building the Helix IMAGE (Air) variant.
Auditioning the new cables revealed a slight improvement in dynamics, but all the other metrics were too close to discern any improvements regarding image, fine details and clarity.
I figure this is due to the larger gauge and also using a Teflon tube for each of the two wires, in place of two wires in a single teflon tube
The wire seemed noticeably stiffer than the the 14 gauge neotech wire I had used on my power cables, which requires a little more effort when fabricating the cables.
One other thing I tried was using the 2 x 14 gauge wires as the neutral conductor (but NOT coiled), just to see if there might be an advantage - this revealed more details, faster dynamics, but I felt the resulting sound was too "analytical" and overly "crisp" for my own personal taste.
The one strange thing of note on Parts Connexion web site - all other gauges of this wire were "price/foot", but the 14 gauge was "price/meter".
Using this wire for the Helix IMAGE (Air) saves a significant amount of time spent removing the insulation from Neotech and VH Audio UPP-OCC wires - well worth while :-)
If "flashing" is a rare occurrence, then selecting amps like the Cayin you are hedging your bets that it will "likely" never happen, but if it does - you accept the risk and pay for the repair each time, but sound quality will be optimum, however, the more you use it "the more likely" it is to happen
OR - you select an amp that uses a fuse/breaker to protect the circuit, in which case you "may" suffer some sound degradation
It’s a similar style of "choice" I recently made...
My previous Naim amp was very good, but the power supply Caps only last around 10-12 years before failing - it wqs designed that way - mine failed and that repair was around $400 and took about 4 weeks
Other amps - like my current Bryston, comes with a 20 year warranty - so it will likely not fail, and possibly go on to run for even longer.
For me - I do not like being without the "hub of my system" for any length of time, so I replaced the NAIM with the Bryston.
My choice, but I now have peace of mind in that the design: does not rely on components that WILL fail (i.e. the capacitors)
In my case - it is guaranteed that the caps WILL fail at some point In your case - it was just an occurrence that may never have happened
One thing for sure - we now understand the design approach used in the Cayin, the problem that only "may" occur and the outcome, which is of great value going forward..
@williewonka I have been in direct contact with Cayin’s engineer in China, and have even forwarded some of your questions and concerns, too. For example, in regards to the wire wound resistors:
" As for your question on the wire-wound resistors such resistors are designed and chosen to protect the amplifier. Such resistors will burn first if there were flashing tubes which can cause extreme high current. If without such protection the extreme current will go to the Power Transformer directly and burn the Power Transformer. Please kindly note."
So in that way, these wire-wound resistors (different from the other resistors I've seen inside based on the factory photos. They're the gold one sitting underneath the pink Takman transistors in between the 300b sockets here: https://7review.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/CAYIN-HA-300-2.jpg)
@jambaj - I don't want to worry you, but regarding
So I actually had the Cayin HA-300 for a year and 5 months, and two months ago, my one of Psvane ACME 300b tube flashed white and resulted in a -20dB drop on my right channel. Turned out it fried a wire-wound resistor.
and
He swapped out the resistor per the factory schematics, tested the amp and said everything worked out and he said the amp is in great condition.
If a wire wound resistor fails it is probably because it is operating close to it's upper power handling limitations. Which implies the components selected by the designers may not be best suited for the task.
Simply replacing the resistor to "factory specs" might result in the same problem occurring further down the road.
My technician "upgraded" to resistors that could handle the actual load with ease, because he felt the designers were "pushing the limits" of the resistors they had originally selected
I think if I were in your position, especially since the amp is on for prolonged periods, and especially since you had an issue with the Psvane tubes as well - I might want to get a second opinion, i.e. before something else happens
Good News, That your investigation of the Hum was located on one Channel Only and the Swapping over of the Tubes in the Channels showed the Hum problem had migrated to the opposite channel.
This is one of the benefits of using Valves in a System, by following a couple of Simple Preparation Rules, Valves can easily be exchanged. Trouble Shooting to discover if a Problem is within a Valve, or if the Issue is Upsteram or Downstream from the Valve can be proven relative easily.
The Downside of using Valves in a System is that if a Third Party measuring device is not used to confirm the condition of a Valve, the use of the Valve is a done at ones own risk. I have had 60 Year Old Valves give a reading that Measures beyond Factory Spec, and Brand New Valves that do not offer a reading to produce a Measurement.
The Speedy Access that you have to the Tube EE is a very valuable assistance, when there is a raised concern.
From a personnal viewpoint, especially after the reassurances being offered about the Helix Cable to support your inquiries. I would put the Helix Cable back into Service and assess its usage for the Benefits that are bing Perceived.
So I actually had the Cayin HA-300 for a year and 5 months, and two months ago, my one of Psvane ACME 300b tube flashed white and resulted in a -20dB drop on my right channel. Turned out it fried a wire-wound resistor. This was the first time I've had issues with the amp, and that's with fairly heavy use of my amp since it's connected to my computer, so I'd use it 6-10 hours sometimes (something I've stopped doing since I got the amp repaired)
I took it in to a local tube repair guy who's actually part of Westerex (division of Western Electric). He swapped out the resistor per the factory schematics, tested the amp and said everything worked out and he said the amp is in great condition.
Since then, eEverything was working fine with the stock tubes until I replaced it with the Western Electric 300b, and this time, it's the left channel tube that caused problem, and it followed the tube when I made the channel swap.
So far yesterday night and today, I haven't experienced the noise issue that came from that WE300b tube, and it looks like they'll replace it.
So yes, I have had the tube repair guy look into my amp to make sure everything was going well and he said the rest of the amp outside those replaced resistors was in good condition.
One last thing - I have compared the the LCR measurements of the Helix cables to some other cables - and they are basically "Goldilocks Cables" - i.e. not too firm and not too soft :-) - i.e. Their measure values were in the "middle of the pack" - from a zip cord cable - to Stock Cables from Bryston and Naim - and custom cables made from Furutech wire and DH Labs bulk wire.
Some people will postulate that the Coil "must" cause some issues - IT DOES NOT! - the Helix Coil is he NEUTRAL and so is basically at zero volts
The Helix cables have been "vetted" by some very experienced audiophiles from around the world and to this day, not one person has expressed any concerns about the design
Unfortunately, component designers can push their designs very close to a "limit" to squeeze out every ounce of performance
they do not know what components and cables you will be using with their product
so changing something as simple as a power cable can cause issues.
I have experienced component failure once before after a braided power cable was used with it
the root cause of that failure was in fact the speaker cables being used - not the power cable
the new power cable allowed the amp to work more efficiently, which caused it to exceed a "threshold" and the amp failed
once the speaker cables were changed the amp worked perfectly with the new power cable
I am extremely hawkish on finding the root cause of a problem, because without knowing the cause, a permanent and reliable "fix" cannot be implemented.
In your case - it appears to have been a simple problematic "tube issue" - or was it? could there be something in the design of the amp?
When I experienced problems with my Chinese Tube amp
I thought - "it must have been the tubes"
when I suffered a second failure I went looking for problems with that amp
I found reports it had been poorly constructed.
I was lucky in that I found a technician that was very familiar with the problems related to my amp and fixed it for a reasonable fee
So, for me there are two questions...
am I confident the Helix Power cable WILL NOT be the CAUSE of any future issues? - and my answer to that is YES, I am very confident!
am I confident your amp will not suffer any further problems? - unfortunately the answer to that is NO!
Amps are extremely complicated when compared to a simple power cable there are tubes, transformers, capacitors resistors etc. any of which can go wrong Factor in things like " a "leaker," or gassy tube" and it increases the probability for something to "fail"
I have had the Helix power cables on every single piece of audio equipment I own, for over 4 years, and to date - not one component has had any issues.
If I were in your position - I would have the amp looked at by someone that is very experienced with fixing tube gear. It might have been something as simple as a "leaker or gassy tube", but it could be something more serious.
When something fails - there is a very specific reason and sometime it is not what we might be suspecting.
In my case my amp had the wrong power transformer, underrated resistors/capacitors, and underrated PCB traces - all of which had no real impact on sound quality - the only issue - it destroyed tubes after just six months of use.
By contrast - a friend of mine is still using the same tubes for 35 years - his amp was a great design and it was well built.
One last thought - WRT the comment you received from Western Electric
I would write to "The Tube Store" and ask them the same question and see what they say.
I purchased all my tubes from them and they ensure all the tubes they send out are in pristine condition. You might want to try tubes from there in future - just a thought :-)
Hmm.... So you think it'll be safe for me to use the Helix cable again on my system. I really would like to think this is a freak coincidence, too.
Also got this from Western Electric's email for support and RMA: "Based on the detail you've given us, you may have what we call a "leaker," or gassy tube. This problem can be quite difficult to detect during final inspection and sometimes goes for years without notice. "
@jambaj - It’s likely the problem would have occurred at some point in time, even with the Morrow Power Cable because it sounds like the tube was on the brink of failing
Tubes can be problematic at the best of times, especially when used in designs that operate right up to the boundaries of a tube’s limitations.
I’m glad you found the problem, but I do think it was an unfortunate coincidence that a failure happened at the same you tried the Helix PC
The root cause of the buzzing was the failure of a single tune on one channel. Had there been some sort of power cable related issue it could have impacted multiple tubes on both channels or even worse the entire component
One thing I have observed - Helix cables actually allow solid state components to operate more efficiently, resulting in lower operating temperatures. This is one reason I do not believe the helix Power cable contributed to your issue
One issue I had with my Chinese built integrated tube amp - they used the wrong transformer for the Canadian market - it was rated at 100v and not 120v and as a consequence the heater voltages were 20% higher than the tubes were expecting, so it quite literally "burned through" tubes ever 6 months.at $300 per set. The company didn’t even admit this was a problem when I pointed it out to them and refused to fix the problem. I had it rebuilt and sold it - never again
I now avoid Chinese built products like the plague - I don’t care how good the reviews are!
As for getting a refund on the Power Cable - The Helix PC is NOT the cause of the problem - therefore the builder of the cable is not really at fault here AND it is a custom build - not a stock item than can be resold.
If you want to get rid of it - perhaps one of the readers of this thread will buy it from you - anyone interested?.
Just swapped back to the stock TJ Full Music 300b tubes, and so far, dead quiet. Crossing my fingers that I’ve found the culprit, and that hopefully Western Electric can ship out a replacement. If this noise problem is no more, I’m both relieved and saddened.
That being said, this problem happened a day after I used the Helix power cable on my HA-300, so as a caution, I will NOT be using that cable, sadly, and will go back to my Helix cable. I can’t say for sure that there’s a direct correlation between
I do hope that I can get a refund for the cable...
The buzz traveled with the we300b tube! I swapped them, and the weird noise traveled to the right channel! On both the headphone and speaker, the noise is now on the right channel, not left! Next thing I'll have to do is take the WE300b out completely.
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