Speaker wire... Diy?

@ddjr Take a look at the following link-
http://image99.net/blog/files/category-002ahelix-speaker-cable.html

It details the wire to buy and the connectors to use

They do not cost $17000 - they just sound as thought they do :-)

They are a little more complicated to build, but try building one using a piece of Romex first. If you like the sound, spring for the wire on the web site

It’s taken me about 4 years to perfect the Helix cables and I have had lots of feedback and suggestions from other DIYers that have tried them.

If you have any questions - just ask - I am happy to help

Enjoy - Steve

@ddjr ...

Romex you say? What gauge?

!4 or 12 - your choice - but I stress - Romex is just for prototyping - DO NOT use romex wire for long term power cables - it will break if flexed continuously and does not clamp very well in the plugs


Have fun :-)


@lalitk - take a look at this link - these cables are extremely good
http://image99.net/blog/files/category-002ahelix-speaker-cable.html

@musicloveraudio RE:

I love it that people think they can equal at home what takes engineers with decades of experience and 10s of thousands of dollars in testing equipment. If they could only listen to Gen 5 Transparent Audio Reference cable, they would cry.

Yep - at $17000 for speaker cables - it’s the price that made me cry - not the sound quality. But I do agree that TA cables are excellent.

I am not claiming that my Helix cables are as good as Transparent Audio cables - but for the BUDGET CONSIOUS DIYer’s among us, they come a lot closer than many other commercial brands of cables that I have tried. Most of the DIYer’s that have tried them replaced some very highly regarded commercial brands, including Nordost, Cardas, Audioquest, Kimber Kable and a couple of esoteric brand silver cables.

I have spent the last 4-5 years developing the Helix cables and trying different wires, so I agree - it can take a while and a lot of $$$ in wasted wire.

Unfortunately, I do not have the expensive equipment - just my ears AND the ears of those people that decided to take a leap of faith and try the Helix cables and provided feedback pertaining to the different wire types/gauges they had tried.

They have been used on various systems ranging from a $350 mini system, to systems in excess of $70k and in each case I’m told they made a significant improvement.

I have tried all of the wire types listed on the web site. The more expensive wire from Mundorf offers exceptional details, but that is only slightly more detailed than the Duelund wire, which again is only slightly more detailed than the Silver plated Mil-spec wire. It really depends on how crazy you want to get chasing audio nirvana.

DIY is not for everyone - but for those of you that are up for the challenge, Helix cables will offer exceptional performance.

If anyone has any questions just ask - Steve

@ddjr - don’t let the "nay-sayers" in this thread put you off trying DIY cables - especially the Helix Cables.

Granted, many DIYer’s fail because they simply opt for the bulk cable with some expensive connectors. Few actually try anything out of "the norm" and as a result the cables do sound mediocre.

Many of the latest developments in cables have all been about cable geometry, i.e. how the live/signal conductor are placed with respect to the other conductors, whether it be braided, ribbon or helix variants. All of which offer better perofrmance than your standard bulk wire from companies like Beldon, Van den Hul etc...

So give it a whirl and see how they perform. If I had listened, I would not be enjoying the superb imaging, clarity, dynamics and realism that my system now conveys.

If you would like to contact me via the Dashboard - Messaging offered by Audiogon please do - I’m always willing to discuss DIY with others of a similar mindset :-)

Regards - Steve

@ieales - re:

Helix Cables are utter nonsense, as is the verbiage on the web page.

Have you tried them? obviously not 

Many others around the world have tried them and prefer them to commercially available products.

I leave it at that :-)