Todd, that sounds like a very good plan. The CAT5 is a known entity for you and will let you hear the benefits of the Helix geometry. Replacing the signal cable at a later date will build on what is hopefully a very good speaker cable.
This is very similar to my own approach when I made the helix IC’s and mains cables. When I made the IC’s I started with the silver signal conductor and then refined the the number of individual conductors using CAT5 in the helix neutral. I then replaced the CAT5 with a higher quality conductor.
How many 12 gauge conductors are you planning for the neutral?
How long are the cables you are making?
On the power cable I just finished instead of 2 x 12 gauge i decided to try 3 x 14 gauge - which came out to 9.262 AWG as opposed to 9.011 AWG for the 2 x 12, but much easier to work with.
Here’s a link to a useful wire gauge calculator
https://www.v-cap.com/awg-calculator.php
For the speaker cables I am going to build I’m trying a twisted pair for the helix neutral and a single 16 gauge mil-spec from TFA. It’s more to try the twisted pair as the neutral.
Regards - Steve
This is very similar to my own approach when I made the helix IC’s and mains cables. When I made the IC’s I started with the silver signal conductor and then refined the the number of individual conductors using CAT5 in the helix neutral. I then replaced the CAT5 with a higher quality conductor.
How many 12 gauge conductors are you planning for the neutral?
How long are the cables you are making?
On the power cable I just finished instead of 2 x 12 gauge i decided to try 3 x 14 gauge - which came out to 9.262 AWG as opposed to 9.011 AWG for the 2 x 12, but much easier to work with.
Here’s a link to a useful wire gauge calculator
https://www.v-cap.com/awg-calculator.php
For the speaker cables I am going to build I’m trying a twisted pair for the helix neutral and a single 16 gauge mil-spec from TFA. It’s more to try the twisted pair as the neutral.
Regards - Steve