British audio specialist QED has announced its Golden Anniversary XT speaker cable to commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary this year.
The new Golden Anniversary XT will join QED’s current five-star model, the capable Reference XT40i, and promises to deliver the sonic benefits of a high-end speaker cable at a relatively competitive price.
The new speaker cable integrates X-Tube Plus technology to provide a more even, consistent performance across frequencies. X-Tube Plus essentially sets a cable’s conductive material around a central hollow insulating rod, avoiding the ‘skin effect’ that pulls high-frequency analogue music signals to the conductor’s exterior. The result is a more even and consistent performance across the spectrum of audible frequencies.
The Golden Anniversary XT also utilises a hybrid oxygen-free copper and Ultra-Pure Ohno Continuous Cast Copper blend for an improved signal path to give “outstanding signal retention” at “a fraction of the price”.
The dielectric material insulating the central conductors, meanwhile, is made from low-density polyethylene (‘LDPE’), which works in tandem with the cable’s X-Tube Plus arrangement to deliver greater efficiency and a dissipation factor that is “barely measurable”, according to QED.
The cable also uses the Airloc cold-weld system for attaching QED’s Forté banana plugs to the entire range of the company’s speaker cables, including the new Golden Anniversary XT. Forté banana plugs provide resistance to oxidation by essentially rendering the cable and the plug a single unified entity, thus protecting against degrading and weakening in vulnerable areas such as the link between the cable and the speaker/amplifier.
Want to check it out in person? The speaker cable will be making its first appearance at the High End Munich Show from the 18th to the 21st of May in room A (Atrium) 4.1, F110.
The QED Golden Anniversary XT will be available to purchase in June from QED retailers, priced at £27 / €35 / $40 per metre.
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Read our QED Reference XT40i review
