Anyone play around with Duelund wire?

wklie said:
I ordered the Dual DCA12GA:
Dual DCA12GA 2x12 awg, Tin-plated, Stranded Copper, Oiled Cotton Speaker/Interconnect Cable – Black Per Meter

I wonder if this dual configuration implies twisting may not be possible.
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That looks cool, when I ordered my Duelund 12 gauge cable awhile back, that was not available. I did a loose twist, in a braided poly sleeve + heat shrink with generic banana connectors. I obtained a set of KLEI banana connectors, but have not revised my cables yet. Still trying to decide banana vs spade.
 
Bones13 said:
That looks cool, when I ordered my Duelund 12 gauge cable awhile back, that was not available. I did a loose twist, in a braided poly sleeve + heat shrink with generic banana connectors. I obtained a set of KLEI banana connectors, but have not revised my cables yet. Still trying to decide banana vs spade.
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I have been using Duelund cables for a number of years.

IMO, the best sound is neither spade nor bananas, but the raw 12 ga. wire, with the strands twisted together smoothly & wrapped around the terminal, which is then screwed down tightly on the cable.
 
I have a set I've been using DCA16 on and off for a year or so. Great tonality, but they do miss some HF extension and air that more expensive cables can provide.

Depending on the resolution of the system, that may be or not an issue.
 
Parts Connexion shipped my cable quickly.

Answering my own question, in case anybody wants to know, the Dueland Dual version is physically not suitable for twisting. Looks neat though.
 
I'm a fan of Duelund cables but have not tried the silver foil hookup wire.
 
FRO said:
Curious how this would sound compared to some of the expensive silver Audioquest, etc???
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They are not thick enough to run them full range as speaker wires. They may work as an iternal wire for the tweeter. Which may be an interesting solution (provided they deliver) as the regular tin copper cables are not the last word in smoothness and HF air.

If anyone is looking for a trully great sounding budget cable, I would try the Synergistic Research Foundation cables. Price performance ratio is just off the charts good.
 
Elberoth said:
They are not thick enough to run them full range as speaker wires. They may work as an iternal wire for the tweeter. Which may be an interesting solution (provided they deliver) as the regular tin copper cables are not the last word in smoothness and HF air.

If anyone is looking for a trully great sounding budget cable, I would try the Synergistic Research Foundation cables. Price performance ratio is just off the charts good.
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Most of the people who have come here to my RoomPlay Reference room say that this was their best listening experience ever. Most of them have far more exotic/expensive cables than the Duelund 12 ga. cables that I have used for my speakers for the past five or six years. I also use their 16 & 20 ga. IC cables, some balanced where needed, & some unbalanced...

I agree that there are cables that show off more extended highs, etc. I bought the Duelunds in spite of their low price. For me, they allow the music to speak to the listener more powerfully without calling attention to what I sometimes call "sound effects". For many, it's a powerful tool to unlock their music

But this is only my personal viewpoint, not stated as some irrefutable fact, it's solely from personal experience (and no doubt - personal taste).

Hey, if we don't enjoy our systems, whichever way our preferences lie, what good is that?

I say ENJOY!!!
 
I tried Duelund 12awg for speaker cables bare wire on connectors, nice tone but too colored and grainy for my taste. Then combined Duelund 26awg Silver with copper DCA12GA. Sound more neutral, less grainy and colored, improved transparency ... but still maintained the nice tone and bested several high price audiophile cables.

Duelund Wire 26awg Silver & Cotton/Oil Hook-up Wire

Tried 2 and 3 Duelund 26awg Silver. Sounds get leaner and leaner so prefer just 1.

Using Neutrik connectors, next built XLR interconnects with capper DCA16GA and Duelund 26awg Silver with same positive results. I used these cables for a year or so and still have them.

I'm using Enklein David cables now but Duelund combo is excellent regardless of money.

I was experiencing erratic sounds during break-in. I guess silver and copper breaks-in differently bur eventually smooths out.
 
Please describe how exactly did you "combine" them - did you mean using the silver for the treble of a bi-wire speaker and copper for the bass of the bi-wire speaker? Or connect the bare wires at the terminal of a mono-wire speaker?
 
knghifi said:
I tried Duelund 12awg for speaker cables bare wire on connectors, nice tone but too colored and grainy for my taste. Then combined Duelund 26awg Silver with copper DCA12GA. Sound more neutral, less grainy and colored, improved transparency ... but still maintained the nice tone and bested several high price audiophile cables.

Duelund Wire 26awg Silver & Cotton/Oil Hook-up Wire

Tried 2 and 3 Duelund 26awg Silver. Sounds get leaner and leaner so prefer just 1.

Using Neutrik connectors, next built XLR interconnects with capper DCA16GA and Duelund 26awg Silver with same positive results. I used these cables for a year or so and still have them.

I'm using Enklein David cables now but Duelund combo is excellent regardless of money.

I was experiencing erratic sounds during break-in. I guess silver and copper breaks-in differently bur eventually smooths out.
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With one exception, I have always used the Duelunds with relatively high efficiency speakers, and wondered how they would do with various mid-low efficiency speakers. I have NEVER heard a trace of the sound that you experienced. Nor have my friends (Jeff Day at Positive Feedback, for example). In fact, Jeff is the one who introduced the Duelunds to many of their users, including me.

I totally believe that you heard what you say you did, just wondering if there's some related cause (not necessarily efficiency), as many hundreds of us have never run into that issue.

In my case, as far as system/room set-up is concerned, I don't think that is the issue. :rolleyes:
 
Hey Jim - would love to hear your thoughts on this Dueland combo - "using the silver for the treble of a bi-wire speaker and copper for the bass of the bi-wire speaker"
 
I had the DCA16GA cables in my setup and they sounded great.
Some of my friends reported them having a brutal break in period.
The sound being great for the first 30 - 40 hrs, then fluctuating before settling down.

Jim's comments on the speaker efficiency is interesting and perhaps gives a clue.
I ran them on my 91dB speakers and had no problems.
I also second Jim's suggestion of using them bare wire when used as speaker cables.

Alternate cable recommendation:
Belden 8477 (12GA) and Belden 8471 (16GA)




.
 
Jim Smith said:
With one exception, I have always used the Duelunds with relatively high efficiency speakers, and wondered how they would do with various mid-low efficiency speakers. I have NEVER heard a trace of the sound that you experienced. Nor have my friends (Jeff Day at Positive Feedback, for example). In fact, Jeff is the one who introduced the Duelunds to many of their users, including me.

I totally believe that you heard what you say you did, just wondering if there's some related cause (not necessarily efficiency), as many hundreds of us have never run into that issue.

In my case, as far as system/room set-up is concerned, I don't think that is the issue. :rolleyes:
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Jim,

TAD E1 speakers, 88db @4 ohms. RRC REF250SE or CAT JL7 and Soulution 560 DAC w/leedh direct to amp.

If not Enklein, still be satisfied with copper and silver combo.

We all have different systems and taste so not surprised Duelund copper works for you.
 
I was using Gotham 54025 (bi-wire cable used as mono-wire near AWG 10, about USD8.4 per meter) cable with CMC 0638-WF banana for my 89dB speakers at home. My impressions of changing to Duelund Dual DCA12GA (USD31.95 per meter) bare are:

- More details
- Better instrument separation
- Perhaps tonally better and perhaps more realistic
- For a particular music (an electronic remix of a movie soundtrack) that I found to be too harsh to listen to previously, the Duelund tamed it and makes it tolerable
- In spite of a thinner gauge I have not noticed any drawback in any aspect
 
I am on AQ WEL Signature and I tried changing to Duelund. A few days later back to AQ!!

Duelund - to me was "fine" - neutral and organic sound, but the ecstasy of getting the finer details from the AQ Wel or the second set of Nordost TYR2, missing from Duelund.
 
wklie said:
I was using Gotham 54025 (bi-wire cable used as mono-wire near AWG 10, about USD8.4 per meter) cable with CMC 0638-WF banana for my 89dB speakers at home. My impressions of changing to Duelund Dual DCA12GA (USD31.95 per meter) bare are:

- More details
- Better instrument separation
- Perhaps tonally better and perhaps more realistic
- For a particular music (an electronic remix of a movie soundtrack) that I found to be too harsh to listen to previously, the Duelund tamed it and makes it tolerable
- In spite of a thinner gauge I have not noticed any drawback in any aspect
Click to expand...

Hi Peter

Thank you for your completely unbiased opinion on cables - a place where most fear to tread - especially those making Hi Fi products.

It is a "breath of fresh of air" to read unbiased assessment of cables - rare as "rocking horse shit" - please do not EVER stop - honesty will always win - eventually.

Your advice on this site is greatly appreciated by everyone of us one read this thread & this from a one who does not own a Lumin product - PLEASE never stop - thanks...
 
I am a cable-skeptic person. But after repositioning my speakers, I needed longer speakers cables. I ended up purchasing Duelund 16ga speaker wire because they are inexpensive.
As a bonus, since several “golden ear” audiophiles speak so highly of these cables, it prevents comments from folks that claim that I should use cables that cost thousands of dollars.
Cheap and “blessed” by the golden eared guys makes a good combination for me.
 
I got Duelund’s after recommendation from Jim Smith. They replaced my prior set quite capably, but after a few months, I thought I wasn’t getting as much from the R-1s as I should. I bought a set of used cables (Elrod Master Statement) from a trusted source and the difference was not subtle and was well worth the $$. I do agree with everyone that the Duelund represents HUGE value for the $$ (something like $4 or $500 for a set of speaker cables), but I also agree with the many that feel that there is something to this cable thing (and one can get more out of speaker cables than Duelund offers). My used set of speaker cables with which I replaced the Duelunds was about 20x that price, but it was worth it (to me, in my system, my ears, etc., et al). I am still running Duelund interconnects with the Schroeder effect (and am scared for my wallet to try anything else).


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tinned-copper conductor wire is a subject near and dear... early on, i followed jeff day's writings and testing of the then new duelund wire. inspired by his enthusiasm for the wire, i started with the DCA16GA for speaker wire in my system and then went on to add I/Cs.

since then i have experimented pretty extensively with tinned-copper wire. for those interested, there are quite a few dimensions to explore:

first, there are three manufacturers of tinned-copper wire that have gained a following among audiophiles: belden, duelund and western electric.

next ,there is obviously the gauge / AWG of the wire.

in my system and to my ears, i find the western electric wire to have a little more air and be a bit more dynamc than the duelund. also for SC, i find the 12 awg to be richer and more textured than the 16 awg wire which is a bit leaner but with slightly cleaner highs.

similarly, i like the 20 awg wire for I/Cs over the 16 awg wire which seems to balance the 12 awg SC.

so, there is plenty of opportunity to tailor the sound of tinned-copper wire audio cabling to one's system and listening preferences.

i can see why those who prefer silver wire conductors in their system might not find tinned-copper wire to their liking... for the rest of us, tinned-copper wire offers an unbelievable value proposition with a price/performance ratio that is crazy off the charts.

enjoy!! ...and, use the cash you save on cabling for other new gear.

:)
 
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