Over the last year, Chord Company has been rolling out its new XLPE (Cross-linked Polyethylene) insulation technology into its speaker cable line-up with the introduction of a handful of new models. The EpicX is the latest, coming in to replace the original PTFE-based Epic that arrived a decade ago.
We can vouch for XLPE to a rather large extent, with the insulation material part and parcel of the RumourX (£18/m) speaker cable we have just dolled out a 2019 What Hi-Fi? Award to. The EpicX sits above it at £60/m, but below the ChordMusic and Sarum T cables that use a higher-performing Taylon insulation instead.
The EpicX is a shielded design based on the company’s Odyssey X (£30/m) cable, with both using the same 12 silver-plated oxygen-free copper negative and positive conductors, which are insulated with XLPE before an outer PVC jacket is applied. But to up the performance and justify its higher price, three additional layers of XLPE are applied to the EpicX over its sibling.
As is now customary with Chord’s newer cables, EpicX cables come terminated with the company’s silver-plated ChordOhmic plugs. If you want a tailor-made length or jump the build queue at the factory, the cable can also be professionally terminated by participating Chord Company dealers equipped with the new ChordOhmic Hex Gun tool.
EpicX is available now, priced at £60 per metre, with factory termination (banana) for an extra £120.
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