Helicon 16 speaker cables utilize Wireworld’s patented DNA HELIX® design to maximize fidelity in a small flexible cable. Originally intended for use inside high-end speakers, Helicon 16 proved to be a truly excellent external speaker cable as well. These elegant cables preserve musical details and dynamics far better than many full sized audiophile cables.
Wireworld Helicon 16 cables have two flat conductors that are stacked together then twisted and enclosed within a thin clear jacket. Inside the two flat insulated conductors are eight pairs of parallel copper strands. The small gaps between those pairs are essential, because they create an efficient pathway for electromagnetic signal energy, improving audible and measurable fidelity. These cables are also very easy to strip and connect to speaker terminals. There are two versions of Helicon 16, the basic red/black version with oxygen-free copper conductors and the high-end white/black version featuring the best available OCC®-7N copper.
The conductor strands in most speaker cables are twisted and spiraled to create flexibility. Those twists and turns also create electromagnetic loss called eddy current resistance. In cables, the electromagnetic field is critical because it actually moves the signal. When the strands follow a twisted uneven path, the field is weakened. This slows down the leading edges of musical waveforms, blurring and coloring the sound. Electromagnetic losses are the main reason why music that has passed through cable sounds less detailed than the original signal.
The most effective way to minimize electromagnetic loss is to have multiple strands of both polarities close together and completely parallel, which is not possible with conventional flexible cable designs. Overcoming this limitation through decades of research, Wireworld developed the DNA Helix cable geometry (U.S. Patent 8,569,627), which enables flexible cable to have closely spaced and completely parallel conductors. Thanks to DNA Helix technology, music that has passed through Wireworld Helicon 16 speaker cable sounds distinctly cleaner, clearer and closer to the source than with conventional speaker cable.
