Does anyone have tried the Helix speaker cable to fire up a REL subwoofer using the high level input? Just curious if the improvement will be noticeable.
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
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@norco74 - nevr tried it, but I would think that the Helix would be an improvement over a more conventiona speaker cable because it does not colour the sound
So regardless of whether you use the speaker terminals or the line input, you need a cable that can deliver an uncoloured signal It would be cheaper to use a good line input cable, as opposed to the heavier wire used in the speaker cable, but that is only if the main amp and the sub supports a bass line ibput/ouput jack Hope that helps - Steve |
@williewonka, I added a 20AWG Ag to the 2 x 24AWG Ag and now have over 300 hours use and I feel the performance is now stable and probably will not improve further. The additional wire was twisted to follow the 2 thinner wires and then covered the bundle in a cotton sleeve before inserting it back into the helix coil. Tight fit. The helix was wound on a 5mm diameter rod which I've now covered in heat-shrink tubing enlarging it for easier fit. The result is more fleshed out providing a more balanced sound without losing the upper end sparkle, I think. Not being able to revert back as a sanity check is unfortunate, so going on memory is all I can do but I can say I'm entirely happy with what I hear. Excellent stuff. 😁 Not built any power cables yet due to other pressing issues but will when I get a gap and report here. |
I didn’t read all the way through this thread but my interest is piqued. I note that the posters here are DIY constructors making these cables for personal use, but are there any commercial manufacturers of cables with this geometry? I know that Grannyring made these for awhile but no longer does so. Otherwise, I haven’t seen anyone else offer them for sale. I am looking for a single XLR IC to start. |
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