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QED celebrates its 50th anniversary in style, with the introduction of its Golden Anniversary XT speaker cable
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QED celebrates 50 years with a special edition speaker cable
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
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.
"Their full-bodied balance should work brilliantly in many systems...In terms of performance, these cables get a lot right for the money…cables that will enhance your musical enjoyment without breaking the bank."
The Ear, Best Buy Award"The QED Golden Anniversary XT Loudspeaker Cables are a fantastic bargain for their asking price; the build quality, termination, and overall sound quality are very hard to fault."
ecoustics"They will grab as much detail from the music as the price point of these cables will allow. They will lower the noise and allow your hi-fi to shine. They also try their best to get out of the way, while giving the music itself a sense freedom but also a firm framework to work within…Again, it’s a trust thing. You can rely on the QED Golden Anniversary XT cables. "
The Audiophile Man, Deeply Groovy Award"I barely need to say that, compared to high-end cables costing 10x more, QED’s Golden Anniversary XT represents stunning value. It’s equally refreshing to discover a cable whose technical specification precisely matches that found in our independent testing. All of which contributes to the reassurance of a brand, and cable, offering no-nonsense sound and build quality at a great price. In the sparsely populated world of hi-fi bargains, this one is Golden! "
Hi-Fi News, Editor's Choice AwardQED’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.
Golden Anniversary XT uses a unique hybrid blend of 99.999% 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.
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™ 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.
