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

True Balanced Is the XLR Cable Jay Victor Built Without Shortcuts

Pangea Audio's True Balanced interconnect is the company's balanced cable for XLR gear. Jay Victor designed it with three separately insulated conductors and a two-layer outer shield. The signal conductor in each channel is solid-core Cardas Grade One copper. The returns are oxygen-free copper. Pangea says it set out to make a balanced cable that was affordable.

What Makes a Balanced Cable True

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

Cardas Copper on the Signal Line

George Cardas developed Grade One copper for his own cables. It is mined in Arizona and drawn slowly in New England, with annealing between steps. Pangea puts it on the signal conductor of each channel. A foil shield wraps each channel's conductors, two more shield layers cover the whole cable, and a nylon braid finishes the outside.

The Prime 500 XLR Plug, Explained

True Balanced 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 PE 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 are trying balanced for the first time — Pangea built it to make a real three-conductor XLR cable affordable, so the first step costs little
• Your source and amplifier sit far apart — a balanced line rejects noise picked up along the run, so a long cable stays quiet
• Your gear shares a shelf with power supplies — foil around each channel plus two outer shields keep radio and electrical noise 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 True Balanced 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 True Balanced 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 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.

Which components does it connect?

Any line-level source with XLR outputs, a DAC, streamer, CD player or phono stage, to a preamp or amplifier with XLR inputs. Both ends must have XLR jacks.

Is there a step up from True Balanced?

Cardas Clear Sky XLR is the next step we recommend. It is the entry to Cardas's Clear series, built on what Cardas calls Matched Propagation conductors in a quadaxial layout.

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