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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
 

Quick DIY Helix PC Neutral Wire Update:

Guys,

I finally made the decision to order some Neotech 12 Ga OCC Copper Wire to replace the Neutral Mil-Spec Wire in my PC and I wasn’t prepared to hear this unbelievable change… The first thing I noticed was complete blackness/lowering of floor noise, much better channel separation, depth, more body/texture with images being more vibrant and articulate.

I’m still shaking my head as my speakers before were “chameleon” but with the Neotech upgrade, my speakers are not there and the sound is more “vinyl-like” and this is with zero hours on the cables. I converted my dual 12 Ga Mil-Spec wire to a single Neotech 12Ga OCC Copper and this wire is robust.

If you convert your current DIY Helix Cables to Neotech, I recommend removing the neutral from your current cables first and coiling the remainder of the cabling around the Neotech OCC Wire that’s on a rod and sufficiently spaced; the longer the rod, the better but 6+ feet would be good depending on the length of you PC.

Again, the change was so amazing that I converted ALL 5 of my DIY Helix PC to a single Neotech 12Ga OCC Copper Neutral Wire totaling $325!

They are now on my Audiodharma Cable Cooker for some dielectric exercising for about 4 days and then on to the refrigerator for some settling before placing back in my system....

Wig : ) 
traubert
1 posts
 
Varistrand?

First of all: thanks for a very interesting thread. 

Has anyone tried combining different gauges for the signal wire? Say one 18awg and one 20 awg instead of the double 18awg for the IC. 

Kimber uses the varistrand-concept. Also, I remember another thread on this forum where cables were tuned by combining a variety of gauges.

Thanks
t_ramey
632 posts
 
@wig   I’ve been thinking of doing that. Did you get strand or solid core 12g Neotech for the neutral?

I just replaced the Duelund wire in my amps output to 16g Neotech solid copper and the clarity and texture is incredible. Thinking why didn’t I do this sooner. I’m also contemplating using the 16g Neotech copper in my speakers crossover.
williewonka
3,064 posts
 
@wig - Glad to hear that the benefits justified the expense :-)

You are probably the first to report what sounds like a "significant improvement" as opposed to "marginal", by using better wire for the neutral, but then is is UP-OCC copper, which appears to provide benefits no matter where it is used. Others have tried very good wire from a couple of established brands, but not UP-OCC copper, and they reported only marginal improvement.

I think also that all cables have a tendency to perform differently from one system to the next, because your description of "invisible" speakers and the sound being more "vinyl like" (I’ll assume this means more natural/realistic) is exactly what I am currently experiencing, but all my cables are using the Silver plated Mil-spec from Take Five audio, which is CRYO’d

It stands to reason that using the best quality wire for both signal and neutral conductors should achieve the best performance.

So, do you have any plans to convert other Helix cables?

@traubert - ever since I started developing cables I have come to realize that any change can make some difference (good or bad) in cable performance, so it might be possible to "tune" a cable to a persons preferred sound. What I will add is that the Helix Geometry is one of the most neutral sounding cables around and as such the "tonal qualities" do not change too much

What I and others have tried is varying the number of conductors of the same size - and from that perspective two conductors appear to provide optimal "bang for the buck"
e.g. going to 4 wires made no appreciable improvements

Unfortunately, budgets are the restricting factor for most people participating in this thread, but if you are interested in following up on this particular approach we would all appreciate your feedback/findings

Regards - Steve

wig's avatar
wig OP
1,202 posts
 
Guys,

The cost of the Neotech wire has been all over the map and when I saw that Parts Connexion was almost half of the cost at Sonic Craft, where I typically buy my Neotech, I jumped on it!

For a new build it adds only $25 to the build and for a conversion of an already built cable, $69 and if you can swing the additional cost, you will be rewarded with a much higher performing cable.

I'm going to convert my DIY Helix Digital Coax "Air" version cable soon and Imagine these benefits will yield greater results there.

Wig
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