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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
tennesseejed
4 posts
 
Given the price of the solid silver wire, I am curious what you think about you all might think about this?


https://www.riogrande.com/product/999-Fine-Silver-Round-Wire-18-Ga-Dead-Soft/105318

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.

williewonka
3,063 posts
 
Being .999 grade of silver I would think this would not perform as well as the UP-OCC copper, which is 6-nines (6N) purity.

I had previously used Mundorf solid silver with 1% gold for signal wires, but I found the 6N UP-OCC copper superior for dynamics and details.

The 6N solid UP-OCC copper wire from parts connexion is exceptional
The 5N solid silver UP-OCC Silver is a step up from the copper.

But my personal preference is still the copper

About the only way to determine its effectiveness is to try it and compare it to a known wire.

You might just prefer the sound of this silver wire :-)

Hope that helps


tennesseejed
4 posts
 
It does help, thank you for your input and advice.

mawe
34 posts
 
@ williewonka & tennesseejed

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.
williewonka
3,063 posts
 
@mawe - RE: Wire Purity..- there is one minor addition to your purity rating

99.995% is represented as 4N5.- please see this link
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.

Regards - Steve


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