Pangea Audio's New Flagship XLR-to-XLR Audio Interconnect with Multi-Gauge Conductor Design
If you're serious about getting the best sound from your system and your audio gear has XLR connections, step up to Pangea Audio's new flagship True Balanced cable. Pangea Audio Premier XL gives you even more performance for its price than our bestselling True Balanced Premier SE, and that's saying a lot.
What's so special about balanced XLR connections versus using an RCA-to-RCA cable? Most audio cables have just two conductors. They consist of a solid core center conductor that carries the positive charge and a braided outer wire that carries the ground signal and also acts as a shield against RF (radio frequency) and EM (electromagnetic) noise. That’s a problem if you want top performance from your gear. Mixing RF/EM noise with the ground signal wire pollutes the audio signal.
Balanced XLR audio cables feature three internal conductors plus an outer shield. One conductor carries the positive signal, the second conductor carries the negative signal, and the third conductor grounds the two circuits on either end together. This design provides superior RFI and EMI shielding and promotes greater signal integrity between electronic components.
True Balanced Design
Watch out for cheaply made XLR-terminated audio cables which look like balanced cables but actually aren't. Those manufacturers use only two conductors in their cables, instead of three, and then they 'cheat' by using the cable’s braided shield for both circuits. </p<
In creating the Pangea Audio True Balanced Premier XL audio interconnect, Jay Victor applied all the knowledge to the task that he had gained in over forty years of designing high-end audio cables. He included three independently-insulated conductors plus a two-layer outer shield. Then he took the design a significant step forward by adding Multi-Gauge Conductor Design using premium Cardas Grade One Copper. Each conductor is wrapped in smooth-sounding PE insulation.
Multi-Gauge Conductor Design
Just like the Premier SE audio interconnect, the new True Balanced Premier XL features Cardas Grade One Copper conductors – the purest and best-sounding copper on the market. This time, however, Jay upgraded the conductors using a Multi-Gauge Conductor Design. After years of experimentation, Jay discovered that this particular Multi-Gauge Conductor Design produced better sound than using a traditional single conductor.
What’s Jay's formula? He won’t reveal his secret. He says he’s using one conductor for the higher frequency and another for the lower, but that is an oversimplification. The proof is in the listening, and here the Premier XL performs better than any other cable in its price class, offering greater transparency and more detail, especially in the highs and lows.
Premium PE Air Tube Insulation
Both the signal and the return conductors are insulated with PE air tubes, which, until very recently, were previously found only on much more expensive audio cables. This manufacturing technology has improved, and Pangea Audio is now able to use these advanced insulators, while keeping the price tag affordable.
The PE air tube manufacture is far more difficult than standard PE insulation. The cable must be processed more slowly to prevent the air tube from collapsing during this process – which is why this type of insulator is otherwise only used on the most expensive audio cables on the market. This type of insulator is far superior to other types because air is the ideal insulator.
Superior Triple-Layer Shielding
True Balanced Premier XL feature three layers of shielding to combat RFI and EMI noise. These layers consist of a silver-plated copper braided shield, an aluminum/mylar foil shield, and finally a carbon-filled PE shield. This last item, the carbon-filled PE shield, is a recent innovation and provides another layer of shielding for an even quieter cable without compromising cable flexibility.
While more is not always better, triple-layer shielding is far superior to dual-layer shielding, because the middle layer provides the ideal pathway to drain unwanted radio frequency (RF) and electromagnetic (EM) noise – thus maintaining the purity of the audio signal.
Pangea Audio XLR 500 Connectors
True Balanced Premier XL uses top-grade XLR 500 connectors. "It took me months of searching to find these beauties," says Jay Victor. "I rejected dozens of prototypes. For a time, I was worried I wouldn't be able to find connectors that were technically superior and not cost a fortune. Finally, one of my sources sent me a set that knocked me out. They feature gold-plated solid pins, machined metal covers, advanced polymer insulators, and a high-quality locking mechanism. I had them plated in black chrome because it resists chipping and scratching – and, besides, I just love that finish."
Factoring in these connectors along with the Multi-Gauge Cardas Grade One Copper conductors, the PE Air Tube Insulation, and the triple layer shielding, True Balanced Premier XL audio interconnects feature more advanced technology than other cables selling for as much as twice the price.
