Nov 2019
"The HELIX IMAGE" - With a little help from my friends
This post details the very latest developments and updates to the Helix Geometry.
The developments are courtesy of Ernst of Austria and Yordan & Evgeny of Bulgaria
Yordan and Evgeny have contributed with...
Ernst embraced the Helix design some time ago and has been experimenting with some different materials in order to improve on the performance of the Helix design with astounding success.
His first development was to eliminate the use of as many man-made insulation products (e.g. teflon tubing, expandable Nylon sleeve) used in the original designs.
His second development was to use balsa wood as the spacers every few centimetres in order to hold the signal wire in his speaker cables in the centre of the Helix coil.
The reward for Ernst’s endeavours was a significant improvement is sound quality with respect to improved details, clarity, dynamics, bass control and depth and a significantly wider and deeper image.
His approach considered the Dielectric Constant (D.C.) of various materials.
Ernst found that using materials having a lower D.C. than the expandable Nylon and heat shrink originally used to centre the signal wire in the Helix, significantly improves on the performance of the cable.
After giving his findings some consideration I considered using wooden beads as the spacers, since they are readily available and very affordable on Ebay
My “adaptions” of findings from Yordan, Evgeny and Ernst, can be found in the following construction details...
The latest design of the Interconnect Cable...
The latest design of the Speaker Cable...
The latest design of the Power Cable...
I am currently using cables that have been modified as in the links above and can report that the modifications have resulted in significant and easily discernible audible improvements over the older design. Improved clarity, sense of space, dynamic performance and improved details are the benefits observed by the geometric changes.
The original helix design concept was to eliminate the parallel conductors commonly used in conventional cable architectures in order to minimizes the noise, proximity effect and Skin effect to imperceivable levels, improving clarity and dynamic performance of the interconnect.
Since those early days, developments include the selection of advanced wire metallurgy, gauge of wire best suited to the task at hand and types of insulation in order to reduce noise to a minimum, which brings us to this moment in time.
The instructions on this web site demonstrates how these cables can be fabricated in the easiest and most cost effective manner in order to achieve extremely good levels of performance that competes with the very best commercially available products for a fraction of the cost.
Will there be any further updates - probably, because there is always someone, like Ernst, Jordan and Evgeny that is looking to improve on the possibilities of “The Helix” cable geometry.
I normally indicate change by issuing an updated MK # (Mk I Mk II etc...), but in this case I have decided to reflect the latest updates by renaming this line of cables “The HELIX IMAGE” simply because these cables now convey the most realistic and compelling image I have ever observed in any system
The level of detail and clarity, together with precise location of performers and an image that envelopes the listener is stunning
I would like to thank and congratulate Ernst, Yordan and Evgeny on these exciting new developments.
The stunning performance of Helix Cables of today are due in large part to their efforts
Earlier contributors include Todd (US) for developing the first bi-wire version of the Helix speaker cables, Ghislain (Canada), John (USA) and many others
If you have any further questions on these upgrades just drop me a line.
Regards - Steve
The developments are courtesy of Ernst of Austria and Yordan & Evgeny of Bulgaria
Yordan and Evgeny have contributed with...
- the performance aspects of various wire types and metallurgy,
- discovered that the direction the helix coil was wound is critical - see Inside The Helix Geometry.
- provided an adapted geometry, based on Ernst’s findings, for the HELIX IMAGE Mundorf XLR Interconnect - see ** The HELIX IMAGE Interconenct (1)
Ernst embraced the Helix design some time ago and has been experimenting with some different materials in order to improve on the performance of the Helix design with astounding success.
His first development was to eliminate the use of as many man-made insulation products (e.g. teflon tubing, expandable Nylon sleeve) used in the original designs.
His second development was to use balsa wood as the spacers every few centimetres in order to hold the signal wire in his speaker cables in the centre of the Helix coil.
The reward for Ernst’s endeavours was a significant improvement is sound quality with respect to improved details, clarity, dynamics, bass control and depth and a significantly wider and deeper image.
His approach considered the Dielectric Constant (D.C.) of various materials.
- Dielectric constant, property of electrical insulating material (a dielectric) equal to the ratio of the capacitance of a capacitor filled with the given material to the capacitance of an identical capacitor in a vacuum without the dielectric material.
Ernst found that using materials having a lower D.C. than the expandable Nylon and heat shrink originally used to centre the signal wire in the Helix, significantly improves on the performance of the cable.
- Wood has a D.C. of between 1.4(softwood) and 1.5(hardwood)
- Since air has a D.C. = 1.1, placing the spacers at intervals on the signal wire improved signal transfer even further.
After giving his findings some consideration I considered using wooden beads as the spacers, since they are readily available and very affordable on Ebay
My “adaptions” of findings from Yordan, Evgeny and Ernst, can be found in the following construction details...
The latest design of the Interconnect Cable...
The latest design of the Speaker Cable...
The latest design of the Power Cable...
I am currently using cables that have been modified as in the links above and can report that the modifications have resulted in significant and easily discernible audible improvements over the older design. Improved clarity, sense of space, dynamic performance and improved details are the benefits observed by the geometric changes.
The original helix design concept was to eliminate the parallel conductors commonly used in conventional cable architectures in order to minimizes the noise, proximity effect and Skin effect to imperceivable levels, improving clarity and dynamic performance of the interconnect.
Since those early days, developments include the selection of advanced wire metallurgy, gauge of wire best suited to the task at hand and types of insulation in order to reduce noise to a minimum, which brings us to this moment in time.
The instructions on this web site demonstrates how these cables can be fabricated in the easiest and most cost effective manner in order to achieve extremely good levels of performance that competes with the very best commercially available products for a fraction of the cost.
Will there be any further updates - probably, because there is always someone, like Ernst, Jordan and Evgeny that is looking to improve on the possibilities of “The Helix” cable geometry.
I normally indicate change by issuing an updated MK # (Mk I Mk II etc...), but in this case I have decided to reflect the latest updates by renaming this line of cables “The HELIX IMAGE” simply because these cables now convey the most realistic and compelling image I have ever observed in any system
The level of detail and clarity, together with precise location of performers and an image that envelopes the listener is stunning
I would like to thank and congratulate Ernst, Yordan and Evgeny on these exciting new developments.
The stunning performance of Helix Cables of today are due in large part to their efforts
Earlier contributors include Todd (US) for developing the first bi-wire version of the Helix speaker cables, Ghislain (Canada), John (USA) and many others
If you have any further questions on these upgrades just drop me a line.
Regards - Steve