Pangea Audio Premier XL True Balanced™ Interconnect - XLR to XLR - Various Lengths

Premier XL Is the Flagship of Pangea's Balanced Line

Pangea Audio's Premier XL True Balanced is the top of the company's XLR range. Jay Victor gave it a multi-gauge conductor design in Cardas Grade One copper, PE air-tube insulation and three layers of shielding. Pangea introduced it as its new flagship in December 2022.

Two Gauges of Copper in One Conductor

Jay Victor has designed cables for more than forty years, Pangea says. For the XL he combined conductors of more than one gauge. He describes it as one gauge for the higher frequencies and another for the lower, and calls even that an oversimplification. He does not publish the recipe.

Air Tubes on Both the Signal and the Return

Both the signal and the return conductors sit in PE air tubes. An air tube is polyethylene extruded as a hollow sleeve, so the copper rests mostly in air rather than plastic. Air stores very little charge. The tube has to be made slowly or it collapses, which is why it was long limited to costlier cables.

Three Shields, None of Them Stiff

Three layers of shielding wrap the conductors: a silver-plated copper braid, an aluminum and Mylar foil, and a carbon-filled PE layer. Pangea says the middle layer gives radio and electrical noise a path to drain away. The carbon-filled layer is a recent addition and does not stiffen the cable.

What Makes It a True Balanced Cable

An XLR cable carries the music on two lines, positive and negative, with a third for ground. Your amplifier compares the two and rejects noise that appears on both. Pangea says some cheap XLR cables use two conductors and make the shield carry the ground. The XL keeps all three and leaves the shield to shield.

The Prime 500 XLR Plug, Explained

The Premier XL ends in Pangea's Prime 500 XLR plug, also sold as the XLR 500. The pins are one-piece solid metal, gold plated, set in advanced polymer insulators. The machined metal cover is black chrome, a baked-on finish Pangea chose because it resists chipping. A spring latch locks the plug into the jack. Every plug is soldered by hand.

Who Is This Interconnect Best For?

• You want the top of Pangea's balanced line — the XL carries the multi-gauge conductor design and all three shields, so there is nowhere further to go in the brand
• You want air-tube insulation on every conductor — signal and return both sit in PE air tubes, so the insulation is no longer the compromise
• Your gear shares a shelf with power supplies — braid, foil and a carbon-filled layer keep what the rack radiates off the signal
• You want a plug that locks — the Prime 500's spring latch clicks into the jack and holds until you press it
• Your components have only RCA jacks — the Premier XL is XLR at both ends and will not fit an RCA jack. Choose from our Interconnects with RCAs instead, or call us and we will match the connector

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Run the Premier XL from a balanced XLR output on your DAC, streamer, CD player or phono stage to a balanced XLR input on your preamp or amplifier. Keep left to left and right to right. Line up the pins and push until the latch clicks. Press the latch tab to release the plug.

Then listen. Other and longer lengths available. Call for prices.

Pairs Well With

An interconnect is one link in the chain. It usually joins these categories.

• Digital-to-Analog Converters — balanced DAC output to amplifier
• Music Streamers — streamer output to amplifier
• Integrated Amplifiers — the usual input end
• Speaker Cables — the last link to the speakers

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Prime 500 XLR?

Pangea's own XLR plug, also written XLR 500. It has gold-plated one-piece solid pins, a machined metal cover in black chrome, polymer insulators and a spring-type locking mechanism. Pangea solders it to the cable by hand.

What is the multi-gauge conductor design?

Each channel combines conductors of more than one gauge, all Cardas Grade One copper. Jay Victor found the mix sounded better to him than a single gauge. Pangea does not publish the gauges.

What is air-tube insulation?

Polyethylene extruded as a hollow tube, so the conductor rests mostly in air rather than plastic. It has to be made slowly or it collapses. Both the signal and the return conductors get it here.

What makes it a true balanced cable?

It has three conductors: one for the positive signal, one for the negative, and one for ground. Pangea says some cheap XLR cables use two and make the shield do the ground's job. This one keeps the shield separate.

Is there a step up from the Premier XL?

Cardas Clear Cygnus XLR is the next step we recommend. It runs Cardas Grade One copper in a star-quad with Kevlar-core conductors that sit in air tubes.

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