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
Nice long read . I’m not really convinced that cables make big difference but would love to try them. Anyone around Chicago that can build some cables for me ? 😃
I have now updated my web site with instruction and images of the process for removing the insulation and installing the Teflon tube

Just click on the link to The HELIX IMAGE (Air) on the home page at...

My Audio Alchemy (image99.net)

It also shows a simple insulation stripping jig that makes stripping the wire so much easier

All other instructions remain the same

Regards - Steve



Great thread.
I was wondering how to find if my amplifier uses balanced speaker outputs. It's a Hypex Ncore and the discussion above about the IceEdge one vives me pause.
Thanks
@abolive - I just took a look at the Hypex web site and there was no mention of it using a Symmetrical Balanced Design, so I think you are OK using the Helix Speaker Cables.

But from what I read the unit does requires a balanced input, so the single ended Helix Cable is not compatible - you will need to build the XLR Helix instead

Regards
WIRE PROVIDER UPDATE !!!

I have just learned that Parts Connexion sells a 6N OCC bare wire
- it’s more affordable than Neotech and VH Audio
- AND less work if you are building the HELIX IMAGE (Air)

They do not have a 12 gauge (for power cables) but you could do a double barrel approach using 12 x 14 gauge (equivalent to 11 gauge) for the live conductor - but it IS a more expensive option to the 1 x 12 gauge Neotech wire I am currently using

OCC6N Wire 14awg 6N OCC Solid Core Copper BARE (partsconnexion.com)

HELIX CABLE UPDATE:

I have just updated a pair of speaker cables to the (Air) option using bare 2 x 18 UP-OCC Copper (VH-Audio) and I am not really hearing any improvement compared to the bare 1 x 14 gauge Neotech - they both sound awesome.

I have the wire on order to try a bare 2 x 16 gauge (effective 13 gauge) power cable live conductor to see if the double barreled approach yields some benefits , so stay tuned for that update in a couple of weeks  

Regards - Steve