PM seems to no longer be available, and am not sure if I can recall the question. After construction, I have tried the constructed power cable on my power amplifier, a Galion TS A75. I voltage tested the connectors ends, which passed fine. I fear my amp may be one such high current designs? It immediately started a very audible ground loop, not quiet at all, one that resolved when changing my amplifier to receive a balanced connection. I do connect DAC directly to power amp with no preamplifier, and am unsure then if there's any good fix to add the cable in my system without replacing the unbalanced for balanced connections.
Still curious to try the cable elsewhere, or try the interconnect designs, but for now do not think I can use the power cable as I'd intended, on my power amp.
DIY Helix Geometry Cabling
Apologies for the delay, but it’s been very difficult to find a FREE platform to host the Helix DIY AIR Cable content that works with minimal hassle.
The cost of running the original web site was getting expensive, so I had to pull the plug on it
The new content detailed below consists of a series of PDF files that are derived from the web site content.
- It takes a little time to load the PDF files - My apologies - but it is FREE
- HyperLinks within the test will not work - my apologies - but it is FREE
- You will see other files in the GitHub interface that were also derived from the Web Site, but they are not formatted correctly - my apologies - but it is FREE
- Please use the files below - they will serve as the new pont of reference going forward
A special Thanks to Mikhail for hosting the PDF files on GitHub - very much appreciated
Please feel free to copy the PDF files for your own use or distribute to others - OR - you can just access the content from the links below.
Going forward...
- the content will not be modified and serve as a base level design.
- I have no plans to develop these cables any further, since the materials I identify appear to provide the optimum performance i.e. for my ears
- If you want to run ideas by me then post them here
- if you wish to share your own modifications and benefits then please post them here.
- If you have any questions, then post them here
Below are the sections from the web site that applies to the Helix DIY cable designs
THE HELIX IMAGE Power Cable.pdf
The HELIX IMAGE Interconnect RCA and XLR.pdf
The HELIX IMAGE Speaker Cable.pdf
Cable Science - Some Basics.pdf
The Significance of Cable Architectures.pdf
Hope this provides the information that people were looking for
Regards Steve
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- 65 posts total
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@newkey1941 the hum may be caused by your DAC.
I had a Bryston amp that hummed if I disconnected my phono stage.
A simple fix is to make a grounding wire that connects the neutral side of any unused RCA socket on the DAC to the ground of the mains supply You can test it using a piece of wire attached to the ground of the mains and simply touch it to the neutral side of an RCA socket You may ask why the hum is not present with the exiting power cable?
Hope that helps |
@williewonka, were you using the bluesound Node as the DAC? My setup is one LHY A25 linear power supply powering (over DC interconnect) a raspberry pi, one Farad Super3 powering (over DC interconnect) a galvanically isolated Pi2AES reclocking HAT on the pi, this outputting over i2s to a Holo Cyan 2 DAC. All three have three pin AC power cables. The hum disappears when using XLR interconnects from the DAC to amp. My understanding is the helix design produces increased impedance on the neutral and ground such that the current RCA interconnect neutral between DAC and power amp ultimately becomes a return path as ground. I would like to work this and, and will need some time for testing, but with my current living situation, this must be delayed. There is some complexity to my digital front end circuit here, as i2s has ground pins, and am unsure then what becomes of the DC circuit from linear power supply to the reclocking unit. It is a very good question *why* the stock power cable does not present this phenomena, and I do not have a clear answer to this. As I've read through much of the forum, and have not heard this phenomena reported by anyone, I do wonder why. |
@newkey1941 the Helix cable system is extremely quiet. They have been described many time as "black", so any noise/hum will be easily noticed I think the issue may be with the DC interconnects, but I am guessing. Seems the various units you have are grounded, but the connectors attached to the DC cables may be causing the problem. Other then recommending checking the polarity of the Helix cable and the ground tweak mentioned above I’m not sure what to recomend. If you figure it out please post your fix here Thanks |
- 65 posts total