QED Golden Anniversary XT Speaker Cable

QED celebrates its 50th anniversary in style with the introduction of its QED Golden Anniversary XT speaker cable. Representing the culmination of five decades of dedicated and extensive research, engineering, and audio expertise, the 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 while at a real-world price.

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. 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 ensuring Golden Anniversary XT is a speaker cable with even, overall consistent performance across the audible frequency range.

Ultra-Pure Ohno Continuous Cast Copper Conductors

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.

Due 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. This hybrid theoretically improves 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, the dielectric material which insulates and protects the central conductors of the cable must do 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 with both high efficiency and a barely measurable dissipation factor.

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, which also includes Golden Anniversary XT. 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.

Technical Specifications

• 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: 0.0090
• Conductors: 9 x 19/0.13 mm OFC + 1 x 19/0.13 mm UP-OCC
• Insulation: LDPE jacket with 100% coverage of golden/mylar tape wrap
• Plugs and spades: QED Airloc Forte banana plugs