QED XT25 Test

QED - REFERENCE XT25   What are the features which make this cable so special? X-Tube™ technology first came to prominence in 2005 with the launch of the world renowned Silver Anniversary XT, the most highly awarded mid-range cable in the world, winning the What Hi-Fi Product of the Year three years in a row. These design principles also grace the multiple award winning XT40 speaker cable and XT25. As frequency increases, electrons flow more and more towards the periphery of a conductor so that if the frequency is high enough only a very thin layer (or skin) on the outside of the conductor is used. This “skin depth” varies for different materials at a fixed frequency and in copper it means that if a conductor has larger than 0.66 mm 2  cross-sectional area not all of that area is available for an analogue music signal to use. In SAXT the “skin effect” problem was effectively eliminated by the use of X-Tube™ Technology which works by placing all of the conducting material around a central hollow insulating rod. However, for a.c. signals, changing magnetic fields generated by the flow of current set up eddy currents in nearby conductors which force current to flow only in areas furthest away from conductors carrying current in the same direction and vice versa. This “proximity effect” has a detrimental influence on current distribution in a speaker cable even if it utilises X-Tube™ Technology. With XT25 we tackle the proximity effect and the skin effect by combining our existing Aircore™ and X-Tube™ Technologies into a new X-Tube™ variation. By forming the conductors into a tube-like shape with a hollow centre, current densities at higher frequencies are maintained because the electric field which contributes towards the skin effect acts towards the centre of the conductor from where the conductive material has been removed. At the same time instead of using a braided structure a ring of conductors is formed into separate bundles with only a loose electrical association which are then twisted into a 90 mm lay so that no single conductor bundle remains on the inside or outside of the cable (and therefore prey to the proximity effect) for long enough for it to become an audible problem. This geometry promotes a more consistent signal distribution making for a more    What makes XT25 unique? 1. Award winning heritage guaranteed All QED cables are designed using the top down principle. XT25 represents the core musical performance trickled down from our money-no-object Supremus cable in a more affordable package. QED has won more What Hi-fi? Awards than any other single brand and with XT25 this heritage is delivered at a sensible price. Unlike most other manufacturers, QED offer an unlimited lifetime guarantee which means that if your cable ever fails to deliver to its full potential during its lifetime we will replace it free of charge. 2. X-Tube™ Technology....but with a twist In loudspeaker cables high pitched sounds are forced to travel towards the outside of the conductor and so are able to use less and less of the available cross-sectional area as the pitch increases. This is called the “Skin Effect”. It means that for high frequencies the resistance of the cable appears to be much higher than it does for lower pitched sounds. Eddy currents in one conductor can affect the current flowing in an adjacent conductor so that currents flowing in the same direction move away from each other. This “Proximity Effect” also increases resistance as frequency increases. These phenomena have a detrimental effect on the fidelity of the sound you hear. The XT25 variation of QED X-Tube™ Technology solves these problems by creating a hollow tubular conductor geometry out of individual conductor bunches through which each frequency can pass with equal ease when compared to traditional solid or stranded conductors. 3. Low-Loss Dielectric Music signals in a loudspeaker cable move back and forth many times every second. The insulating material used...

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