Duelund conversion to DIY Helix Geometry Cabling

Thank you.  I see in the previous post you mentioned using an 18awg solid wire for a signal wire for a speaker cable.  Isn't that too small for a speaker conductor?  Do you triple up on that run so the proper current is delivered to the speaker?  I'm confused.

@kurt12k

The required gauge is determined by your Amp power rating and impedance of your speakers; my current system is a 4.5 Watts 2A3 SET DHT and 15" Full Range drivers.

I’m running 2 single runs of Vh 18 Ga OCC solid copper with Airlok which has a combine aggregate of 16 AWG which is quite efficient for my setup and one could double that for an aggregate of 12 AWG, which would suit most amplifiers.

Even with 4 runs of 18 Ga OCC and factoring in price performance ratios, you would have to spend over $1.8K and still not beat this DIY Helix Cable.

Wig

@kurt12k - history has us believing that for speaker cables, generally a thicker gauge provides better performance. Numerous cases of using a thicker gauge wire have proven to be beneficial, primarily because a thicker cable reduces the overall resistance.

Fast forward to this point in time and we now know much more...
- solid strands of wire is able to carry more current than stranded wire
- insulation (i.e. the dielectric constant) is responsible for a lot more distortions within the wire itself than previously thought - the lower the D.C. the better
- higher quality copper (or silver) in wire provides better conduction of the signal, both in dynamics and clarity

So if you look at the current carrying ability of a generic 18 gauge solid strand copper wire you will see it can carry far more current than the same gauge of stranded wire - see this link...
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wire-gauges-d_419.html

READERS PLEASE NOTE: The values cited in the table and the example below, should only be used as an "approximation", because there are many other factors to consider with AC signals of varying frequencies.

But for the sake of simplicity - to get a "rough approximation" of the power handling capabilities of an 18 gauge solid core wire - the chart shows it can "handle" 9.5 amps

so if we were to use this 18 gauge wire for mains purposes i.e. in a 120 v circuit
- we know that V x A = (Watts),
- so 120 x 9.5 = 1,140 (Watts)

So it looks like 18 gauge would handle significantly higher capacities than a large percentage of amps on the market would require?
- However, with an audio signal there are very large dynamic transient peaks that have to be considered AND also varying frequencies - which complicates matters

So for most speaker cable applications I recommend using at least two strands of the 18 gauge solid copper wire from VH Audio, gently twisted together - effectively, 15 gauge..

NOTE: If you are using an amp > 600 watts output, with a 4 ohm (or lower) speaker load, I would recommend 3 strands. Otherwise, using more strands will probably not achieve much in the way of noticeable improvements when used in the cables that use the Helix geometry..

You could use strands of 18 gauge Solid Silver, for ultimate performance, but I think you will be entering the world of "diminishing returns".

My focus is on "Bang for the Buck", so I tend to select wire combinations that perform very well, but keep the cables on the "more affordable" side of crazy..

I have conducted tests comparing an identical 16 gauge stranded signal wire to a 12 gauge stranded signal wire and there were no perceivable improvements observed in my system using the thicker gauge wire.

Also - For many years I used a high quality 10 gauge speaker cable, until I auditioned a 16 gauge speaker cable with a larger gauge neutral.
- The 16 gauge outperformed the 10 gauge in every aspect we tend to use to evaluate sound quality, including bass fullness, bass depth and bass speed - i.e. the metrics often cited as being noticeably improved when using a larger gauge cable.

FYI: My amp is a 135 watt per channel high current design and my speakers are full range 6 ohm towers.

Ultimately, the choice is yours - and whatever your budget will allow :-)

Hope that helps - regards - Steve

Speaker Cable Update!

I received the 18 gauge solid copper with AirLok insulation from VH Audio yesterday. It took almost 4 weeks to arrive at my house in Canada - via USPS/Canada post. This is the longest any product purchased from VH Audio (normally only takes a couple of weeks), so I guess Covid 19 slowed things down a little.

The upgrade was simple - replace the existing 16 gauge Duelund signal conductor, with two strands of the 18 gauge wire.

- I twisted the two strands together for their entire length with a "gentle twist" i.e. one complete twist every 4-5 inches
- I spaced wood beads about every 1.25" and secured them in place with a very small dab of Hot Glue
- Threaded the wire/bead assembly through the center of the Helix Coil and attached the Banana plugs.

Complete instructions can be viewed on the web site
in a couple of days...

http://www.image99.net/blog/files/category-002ahelix-image-speaker-cable.html

The results were very noticeable as soon as I installed them...
- the image expanded a lot and the precision placement of instruments and artists had more precision, It is now very wide with lots of instruments and artists much wider than the speaker locations
- details were noticeably improved, with more noticeable background vocals and instruments
- clarity had improved, possibly due to the improved imaging.
- Dynamics were even more punchy than before

I thought the previous version that used the 16 Gauge Duelund wire with Cotton/oil insulation was probably as good as it was going to get. But based on feedback from @wig, who had tried it, I thought I should also take the plunge 

I am so glad I did !

Unfortunately, my budget will not stretch to try the 18 gauge Solid Silver with AirLok insulation from VH Audio. At almost $900 just for the wire, it’s a little out of my snack bracket :-).

But the Solid copper wire has exceeded my expectations, So it is well worth upgrading. i.e. if you are using one of the other wire options listed on the web site.

Regards - Steve

@ williewonka

Your Helix design and VH Audio OCC Airlok Cabling is a splendid combination!!

Wig 🙂