In a more Detailed Description...
Giving you the very best from this Multi Award Winning Cable.
- The multi-award winning Silver Anniversary XT cable delivers superior performance for all your hi-fi and reference home theatre needs.
- The Performance Range is the largest and most popular QED cable range, offering the optimum balance between sonic performance and value
- 'Even at this lower price, this QED cable doesn’t disappoint. This kind of transparency is difficult for rivals to match.'
- QED was one of the first companies in the world to recognise the importance of loudspeaker cables and introduced the first 79 strand model in 1976.
- Our subsequent designs have been built upon our continuing research into this vital link in the hi-fi chain, winning more industry awards than any other brand and are supported by our lifetime guarantee.
A REPUTATION FOR EXCELLENCE
- QED has an extensive range of high-quality products from entry level to high-end cables. Learn more about QED cable technologies.
The journey.....
- The QED speaker cable story began in 1973, with the launch of the world's first specialist speaker cables, QED 42 and 79 strand, now household names in the audio industry.
- Building on this longstanding British speaker cable heritage, QED embarked on an exhaustive research program into cable parameters which began in 1995 and continues into 2017 with the release of “The Sound of Science”, a 40 page White Paper distilling the research published since 1973 by QED.
- Because QED is committed to ‘top down’ design principles, it was only a matter of time before its extraordinary X-TubeTM technology became democratised.
X-Tube Technology
- Calculation can accurately predict the maximum skin depth at a given frequency for a particular conducting material making it possible to keep the diameter of the cables below the critical size determined by the maximum frequency expected.
- QED cables above 1.5 mm2 cross-sectional area utilize air core technology to obviate the skin effect by bundling several smaller cores together to make up a larger CSA.
- 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 mm2 cross-sectional area not all of that area is available for an analogue music signal to use.
- In previous QED cables 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 ac 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.
- QED’s engineers tackled the proximity effect and the skin effect by combining QED’s existing Aircore and X-Tube technologies.
Air Core Technology
- In loudspeaker cables electrical current does not flow smoothly because - rather like in a river - small eddy currents are formed.
- 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" increases resistance as frequency increases which has a detrimental effect on the fidelity of the sound you hear.
- QED Aircore Technology builds on the science of X-Tube Technology and eliminates this problem by using individually insulated twisted strands arranged around a hollow core to solve both the proximity and skin effects.
What is Airloc?
- Airloc™ is a form of cold weld system that permanently attaches QED Forté™ banana plugs to our entire range of speaker cables.
- One of the main reasons for choosing a QED speaker cable is the superior d.c. resistance characteristics offered by our exclusive use of 99.999% oxygen free copper conductors.
- It seems a shame then to ruin all this attention to detail by neglecting the most vulnerable area of the speaker cable chain - that of the physical interface between cable and amplifier or speaker terminals.
- Seen under a microscope the surface of a typical copper strand is very rough and so using normal screw type terminals - such as found on binding posts or cheap banana plugs - electrical contact is only made in a relatively small number of places.
- Add to this a layer of oxidation - which is inevitable if copper is exposed to the air for even a short time - and the combined resistance of the cable and its termination can creep back up to levels present in a more inferior cable.
- By using a cold weld crimp type termination Airloc plugs squash the conductors and plug together to improve contact area and reduce resistance.
- As can be seen in the graph, by the time the full pressure has been applied the resistance of the joint has reached a minimum value.
- Now, because all the air has been removed from the joint there will be no oxidisation of the contact surfaces either so the low resistance will remain for the lifetime of the cable.
- During the cold weld process the cable and plug become one solid piece of metal.
- Since the copper contact has been effectively removed from the resistance equation we can concentrate on the plug to terminal resistance.
- If a bare wire termination method is used the exposed copper quickly oxidizes increasing the resistance of the cable, which has a detrimental effect on the fidelity of the sound you hear.
- Available as an option, QED Airloc plugs eliminate this problem by preventing oxidization and providing a gold plated mating surface which remains low resistance for ever.
What are Forté Plugs?
- The plugs themselves are made of solid brass which has roughly twice the resistivity of copper.
- For this reason our 4mm banana plug was devised so that its cross sectional area would be at least double that of the cable to which it was connected effectively cancelling out the extra resistance of the plug material.
- QED then plates the connector with high purity gold which has a resistivity almost as low as copper but more importantly does not oxidise in air.
- The relatively smooth gold surfaces provide a larger contact area than the uneven copper strands in the cable and because the gold will never oxidise the contact surface remains clean and low resistance for life.
- The new Forté plug pin section is designed to maximise contact area throughout the wide tolerance range encountered in 4mm amplifier and speaker sockets.
- Here some are quite tight whereas others are loose, so the spring loaded Forte blade is designed to fit into smaller and larger sockets with equal insertion force.
- This means that the contact area is maximised and the connection remains uniformly tight.
Low Loss Dielectric
- It is not generally appreciated that the electrical signals moving at or near the speed of light in a wire do so via the medium of electromagnetic (EM) waveforms which exist within the dielectric which surrounds the conductors as well as within the conductors themselves.
- The movement of electrons along the conductor merely facilitates generation of the EM waveform as their drift velocity is much slower - being only a few centimetres per second.
- It is therefore important to ensure that the dielectric material used to insulate and protect the central conductors of the speaker cable is of a type which ‘permits’ the establishment of EM waveforms without appreciable loss.
- Dielectric losses are directly proportional to the permittivity of the material used and as this a measure of each material relative to that in a vacuum it should be as close to unity as possible.
- QED’s research has shown that low capacitance cables are generally preferred in listening tests over high capacitance counterparts and this is usually because low loss dielectrics have been utilised.
- The use of LDPE and careful control of conductor spacing results in a cable with a very low capacitance per meter and a dissipation factor (loss tangent) of 0.0001 at 10 kHz
99.999% Oxygen Free Copper
- Speaker cables have to carry a lot of current. If the electrical resistance of the cable is too large, part of the music signal will be lost, causing a detrimental effect on the fidelity of the sound you hear.
- To stop this from happening QED makes the resistance of their speaker cables as small as possible. This is done by using the largest practical cross-sectional area of copper within the size constraints of each cable.
- In order to squeeze the last drop of performance from the conductors QED make sure that there are no impurities in the copper which would defeat the object of making them so large.
- That’s why they use 99.999% oxygen free copper exclusively.
Unlike most other manufacturers QED offer an unlimited lifetime guarantee
FEATURES
- 99.999% Oxygen-free copper conductors
- X-Tube technology for consistent signal distribution
- Low DC resistance ensures signal fidelity
- Insulation LDPE jacket with 100% coverage of aluminium mylar tape wrap
SPECIFICATIONS
- Cross-sectional area 2.5 mm2
- Jacket outside diameter 3.96 mm
- Loop inductance 0.52 μH/m
- Dissipation factor @ 10 kHz 0.0001
- Conductors 10 x 19/0.13 mm
- LDPE jacket with 100% coverage of Aluminium
K6Believes
We try our upmost to ensure that our customers are completely satisfied and receive an excellent eBay experience.
- If you have any issues at all, please do not hesitate to contact us before opening a case.
- We will always aim to do the best to resolve any issues. We will only pay the return delivery costs if the item was delivered wrong or it is faulty out of the box.
- Any valid purchase made from us that carries a warranty, is ONLY valid in the UK.
- Therefore, if you have any problem that is covered by your warranty, you will have to return the item to us in the UK, at your cost.
For Returns
- The returns process must be started within 30 days of your initial order.
- We ask that all items returned Unopened, Sealed and complete with original packaging.
- Any items that are damaged or have parts and accessories missing will be subject to a re-stocking fee or in some cases even rejected.
- Please ensure you contact us before returning the item to obtain a returns reference.
- You must also ensure you include your name, eBay ID, and the reason for the return; it will speed up the refund process.
- Refunds are processed with the same payment method as the original purchase.
Domestic Shipping
- We provide delivery for Free, using Royal Mail Tracked on all of our UK orders, as long as you complete your order before 1.45pm Monday - Friday
(Excluding Bank holidays).
International Shipping
- We have started to use eBays Global Shipping Programme (GSP).
- This has been recommended for its costs and efficiency for both ourselves and you the Customer.
- These items will be sent to a Global Shipping Programme (GSP) depot in the UK by ourselves, then the GSP will then take over the shipping process.
- (if Size or Weight allows, we will try our best to bundle items together if ordered in separate transactions)