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
Yes I use a 4-1 ratio on all my IC builds. Just my preference. For a one meter length I use 2-13 foot runs for the Helix in my ICs.

Thank you Steve and @grannyring 

Everything is clear now and the first double helixes has been coiled by now. Double signal wires will be mounted tomorrow, ratio 3:1.
I have built three power cables using the double helix air version with two having 14g occ copper from Parts Connexion and one with Neotech 12g. They’re all great and the 12g is still burning in but things are opening up sounding phenomenal.

I have two pairs of IC’s with the double helix air with 18g Neotech solid copper and they too are performing stellar with a huge soundstage and provide a real presence of the artists in the room.

Wondering if anybody has tried mixing a copper solid with a silver solid on the signal conductor in their double helix interconnects and if that provides anymore clarity while retaining the warmth or is that not a good idea to mix the two on the signal. I know there are cables that mix silver/gold but have not seen copper/silver.
@t_ramey - I would advise against "mixing metals" on the signal or live conductors of Helix cables.

Back in time, I tried silver plated copper wires for the signal on IC’s and they impacted clarity.

Since then I have use one OR the other, but never mixed them.

My theory is that the two metals convey the signal at two slightly different propagation rates, resulting in distortion

I do recommend the silver plated mil-spec wire for the neutral, but fortunately, the neutral conductor plays a different "role" to the signal conductor, so the silver plated Mil-spec does NOT introduce distortions in the signal.

Regards - Steve


Thanks Steve. I figured there must be a reason why you don’t hear this being done and it would be an expensive experiment just to find out.

I received some 16g mil spec from Take Five so I will make an ic set today with it and some bare Neotech 18g to compare to the mil spec I got from Apex jr. Curiosity of the cryo treatment Take Five does to their wire got the best of me.