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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
wig's avatar
wig OP
1,202 posts
 
They will go up a few more notches after burn-in =D

Wig
williewonka
3,067 posts
 
I was recently asked...
Do you consider these cables shielded? For example, could the ICs be used on a phono stage and keep noise out?

And here was my response...
---------------------------------
I've had some good and one bad result in this area. I think it depends on the many factors that can come into play in an audio system e.g.
  • grounding of components
    • for example, NAIM only grounds the neutral on their source components - not the amps
    • their approach often leads to hum when non-Naim source components are used
    • grounding the neutral side of the amp circuit will fix this issue - by making a grounding lead 
  • grounding of the turntable arm
    • if done right there should be no problem, but many times it is arm grounding is incomplete
  • Cartridge selection
    • some cartridges can be more prone to RFI
    • e.g. Grace cartridges can produce hum on some Rega TT's
  • wiring of the arm
    • I use a one piece harness from the cartridge to the phono stage
    • some TT's has a joint to a larger gauge cable at the arm anchor point
    • some have phono sockets at the rear of the turntable
    • Any of the above can be problematic
  • the phono stage
    • good ones mitigate a lot of RFI issues
    • phono stages with grounded power supplies are often the best choice
  • tidy cable positioning
    • poor positioning will exacerbate the situation
These are the reasons I tend not to recommend Helix for TT use. Trying to debug a hum is always problematic
Having said that - A friend with an all tube system experienced terrible hum

Other DIYers have reported excellent results, but their gear was top quality and they appreciated the need for cable positioning - some with tube and some with solid state

I generally recommend using 24 gauge wire for the signal and 20 gauge Mil-Spec for the neutral with a 4:1 or even 5:1 ratio of neutral to signal wire length - the reason for such light gauge is that thinner gauge wires are less responsive to RFI

The helix acts like a faraday cage for some protection, but it is not a "fully screened" solution

As an example - I tried a standard IC (16 gauge Duelund signal and 2 x 16 gauge mil-spec) in my system and held the IC against a Helix power cables in my clenched fist - with the amp on Phono and turned up to full volume I did hearjust a little hum

By comparison - you could hear hum at normal volumes on my friends all tube system with the cables separated

So it is not as simple as i would like in order to recommend using Helix for TT's

It's more a case of try a regular Helix IC and if that works go for the lighter gauge version
---------------------------------------

So, under the "right conditions" The helix Interconnect will provide exceptional performance between a turntable and phono stage.

Unfortunately I cannot say exactly what those conditions are, but if you already have a pair of IC's, try connecting them between your TT and phono stage to see if there is any hum - the "conditions" in your system may be "just perfect"

NOTE: If your Turntable has RCA socket outputs on the rear and there is some RFI interference in the form of HUM or you can hear a radio channel - all is not lost...
- TT's that have RCA Sockets generally also have a ground wire terminal that should be connected to the ground terminal on your phono stage.
- one might think the neutral side of the RCA is connected to that ground wire terminal, but there is a case for not connecting them, so leaving them disconnected is the best option
- I found a simple solution to this problem on the web - Simply attach a small piece of wire from the ground terminal around the neutral side of each RCA socket - apparently it works very well

BTW - for best grounding results from TT to phono stage I ensure a  Spade or Ring connectors makes the connection - NOT bare wire

 Regards - Steve


grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
Nice update and info Steve! Thank you. 
williewonka
3,067 posts
 
Speaker Cable Update - with just over 250 hours on the cables they are settling down nicely

There were some moments where things got "Twilight Zone" strange, but they did not last

The improvement I was most intrigued by was  the perception of three dimensional space, which has improved to the point where reverberations, apparently from overhead is making the perception of being in the concert hall that much more realistic.

Dynamics, clarity and details are improved over the 14 gauge Neotech wire and with the improved imaging and focus adds to the perceived reality.

But I do find the amount of bass did not change from the 2 x 18 gauge solid copper from VH Audio. However, the amount of texture within low frequencies on certain tracks has improved considerably, which made the bass sound a little "lighter", but more enjoyable

I am/will monitor the brightness of the copper wire inside the PVC tubing. I am hoping that sealing each end of the tube will prove to be an effective deterrent to the oxidizing process.

Hopefully by the time the bare copper has oxidized, an alternative to Teflon Insulation  will be available - perhaps foamed Teflon ???

On the positive side - the move by cable companies to the more advanced insulation types is trickling down to the parts providers, so there is a real possibility of foamed Teflon becoming more  of a standard in the near future.

With that - I will sign off :-)

Regards - Steve

williewonka
3,067 posts
 
@facten - welcome to the Helix Club :-)

As @wig said - give them a couple of hundred hours burn-in for a stable sound - they will still improve a little after that - generally a bit more in the area of fine details.

They can exhibit some strange behavior between 20-60 hours, but that will subside.

Power and speaker cables also have a very positive impact - but the IC's are a nice place to start.

Regards - Steve


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