QED celebrates 50 years with special edition Golden Anniversary XT speaker cable

British audio specialist QED celebrates its 50th anniversary in style, with the introduction of its Golden Anniversary XT speaker cable. Representing the culmination of five decades of dedicated and extensive research, engineering and audio expertise, Golden Anniversary XT speaker cable is the ideal upgrade for any hi-fi enthusiast who wants to experience the sonic benefits of a high-end speaker cable - but at a real-world price.

Key features at a glance

• NEW X-Tube™ Plus technology combines X-Tube™ with Aircore™ to deliver an even, consistent performance across the entire audible frequency range.

• Ultra-pure Ohno Continuous Cast Copper and 99.99% oxygen-free copper conductor blend helps improve the signal path and signal retention.

• Low Loss Ultra-Uniform Dielectric insulation boosts efficiency and reduces signal loss.

• Airloc™ Forte banana plugs use a cold weld system for permanent attachment to the cable for improved contact area and reduced resistance.

50 years of innovation

QED has been designing and engineering class-leading and award-winning analogue and digital cables for five decades - and the Golden Anniversary XT is the latest demonstration of the company’s expertise.

Quality Electronic Design (QED) was formed in 1973 by forward-thinking hi-fi enthusiasts, Bob Abraham and Ian Vine. The company is now considered the original cable brand, having released QED 79 Strand, widely recognised as the world’s first “specialist” loudspeaker cable. This product demonstrated how cables could have a tangible impact on audio performance.

QED’s Genesis Report on loudspeaker cable design followed. This research established scientifically proven principles, which are as valid today as they were 28 years ago and informs all QED cable designs, including the pioneering X-Tube™ technology that enables precise and consistent signal delivery across the entire frequency range.

X-Tube™ Plus technology

QED’s innovative and proven X-Tube™ technology places a cable’s conductive material around a central hollow insulating rod - and the result is the elimination of the ‘skin effect’ that would otherwise force high-frequency analogue music signals to the outside of the conductor. And by combining X-Tube™ technology with its equally effective Aircore™ technology, QED also reduces the ‘proximity effect’ that can disrupt current distribution in a speaker cable. The result is X-Tube™ Plus: a ground-breaking cable geometry that ensures Golden Anniversary XT is a speaker cable with even, consistent performance across the entire audible frequency range.

Ultra-Pure Ohno Continuous Cast Copper conductors

Golden Anniversary XT uses a unique hybrid blend of 99.99% oxygen-free copper (‘OFC’) and Ultra-Pure Ohno Continuous Cast Copper (‘UP-OCC’) to give the improved signal path and outstanding signal retention of ultra-pure copper conductors - but at a fraction of the price. Thanks to class-leading research and engineering, QED Golden Anniversary XT is the most affordable and attainable speaker cable to exploit the advantages of the continuous-casting process, with this hybrid theoretically improving the path for transients and high frequency detail not available using just OFC alone.

Low-Loss Ultra-Uniform Dielectric insulation

If a speaker cable is to perform to its maximum potential, it’s important that the dielectric material which insulates and protects the central conductors of the cable does so efficiently. Golden Anniversary XT uses a specially developed and formulated low-density polyethylene (‘LDPE’), which works in unison with the cable’s X-Tube Plus configuration to deliver a speaker cable that has high-efficiency and a dissipation factor that is barely measurable.

Airloc™ Forté banana plugs

Airloc™ is a specially developed cold-weld system for permanently attaching QED Forté banana plugs to the company’s entire range of speaker cables, Golden Anniversary XT included. The most vulnerable area of the speaker cable chain is the physical interface between the cable and the speaker or amplifier to which it’s connected - without effective termination, oxidation can occur, degrading the cable’s performance. By using a cold weld crimp-type termination, Forté banana plugs offer maximum resistance to oxidation - for the lifetime of the cable - by effectively turning the cable and the plug into a single, unified object.

QED Golden Anniversary XT is available in June from QED retailers priced: £27 / €35 / $40 per metre. Learn more at www.qed.co.uk.

Technical specification

Cross-sectional area 2.5 mm²

Wire gauge 14 AWG

Jacket outside diameter 11.5 mm

Loop inductance 0.58 μH/m

Loop resistance 14.8 mΩ/m

Capacitance 42.0 pF/m

Dissipation factor @ 10 kHz 0.009

Conductors 9 x 19/0.13 mm OFC + 1 x 19/0.13 UP-OPCC

Insulation LDPE jacket with 100% coverage of golden/mylar tape wrap

Plugs and spades QED Airloc™ Forte banana plugs

To buy the QED Reference Ethernet cable and discover other QED products please visit www.qed.co.uk