Pangea Audio XL Interconnect RCA to RCA

The XL Is Where Pangea Stopped Holding Back

Pangea Audio introduced the XL in December 2022 as the top of its interconnect line. Jay Victor designed it after more than forty years of designing cables and connectors. The XL is where he applied all of it. That means Cardas Grade One copper, a multi-gauge conductor design, air-tube insulation and a plug that carries almost no metal.

Other length & termination options are available. Call us to discuss your needs.

Two Gauges of Copper in One Conductor

The conductors are Cardas Grade One copper, 99.9999 percent pure. What is new in the XL is the multi-gauge design. Jay Victor says he runs one gauge for the higher frequencies and another for the lower. He does not publish the formula. Pangea says years of experiments led him to it over a single conductor.

Air Tubes, Three Shields, and Almost No Metal in the Plug

Both the signal and return conductors sit in PE air tubes. An air tube is PE extruded as a hollow sleeve, so the conductor rests mostly in air, and air holds very little charge. The tubes must be extruded slowly or they collapse, and better manufacturing made them practical.

Three layers of shielding follow: a silver-plated copper braid, an aluminum and Mylar foil, and a carbon-filled PE layer. Pangea added the third as one more barrier to radio and electrical noise, chosen so it would not stiffen the cable. Its reasoning for three, not two, is that the middle layer gives noise a path to drain.

Why the Prime 750 Carries So Little Metal

The Prime 750 RCA plug is an ultra-low-mass design. Its center pin is hollow tellurium copper, gold plated straight onto the metal. Its ground contacts are beryllium copper springs, also gold plated. A polymer insulator, not a metal ring, holds the plug together. The shell is non-magnetic brass in black chrome.

Pangea's stated reason for the low mass is eddy currents. Heavier metal contacts, Jay Victor holds, allow small stray currents that a hollow pin and spring contacts avoid. Each connection is hand soldered. The black chrome plating is what Pangea calls scratch and chip resistant.

Who Is This Interconnect Best For?

• You are ready for the top of the Pangea line — Cardas Grade One copper in the multi-gauge layout Jay Victor reserved for the XL, so the conductor is the part you stop thinking about
• Your rack is dense with switching supplies and wireless gear — braid, foil and a carbon-filled layer form three separate barriers, so a busy shelf does not end up on the signal
• You swap sources and want the plug to hold — the Prime 750's spring contacts grip the jack's outer ring, so each plug seats firmly and stays put
• You route cable through cabinets and around corners — Pangea chose the carbon-filled shield because it does not stiffen the cable, so it bends where you need it without loading the jacks

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Run the XL from a line-level output, a DAC, streamer, CD player or phono stage, to a line-level RCA input on your preamp or integrated amplifier. Keep left to left and right to right at both ends. Push each plug straight on until the spring contacts take the jack.

The black chrome shell gives you a solid grip. Seat it, and it stays.

Measure the Path, Then Add a Little Slack

Measure the route the cable will really take between your components, around shelves and behind the rack. Then add a little slack. As audio legend George Cardas puts it, "A cable that's just long enough usually turns out to be just not long enough." Keep the left and right cables the same length. We recommend a matched pair.

A Long Run Between Components?

If your amplifier and speakers sit far from your source, we recommend a long interconnect over a long speaker cable. A really long interconnect affects system performance less than a really long speaker cable.

When Is It Time to Upgrade?

An interconnect often stays in a system for years, so it is easy to overlook. Look again when something else changes: a new DAC, streamer or phono stage, or a better amplifier.

Pairs Well With

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

• Integrated Amplifiers — the usual input end
• Digital-to-Analog Converters — DAC output to amplifier
• Music Streamers — streamer output to amplifier
• Power Cables — clean power at both ends

Frequently Asked Questions

What sets the XL apart within the Pangea line?

The multi-gauge conductor design. Jay Victor runs more than one gauge of Cardas Grade One copper in each conductor. The XL is the cable he built around it.

What is air-tube insulation?

PE extruded as a hollow tube, so the conductor rests mostly in air rather than plastic. The XL uses it on both the signal and return conductors.

Which components does it connect?

Any line-level source with RCA outputs, a DAC, streamer, CD player, tuner or phono stage, to a preamp or integrated amplifier with RCA inputs.

How is the XL shielded?

Three layers: a silver-plated copper braid, an aluminum and Mylar foil, and a carbon-filled PE layer. Pangea added the third as one more barrier to radio and electrical noise.

Is there a step up from the XL?

Cardas Clear Cygnus is the next step we recommend. It runs Cardas Grade One copper in a star-quad with Kevlar-core conductors. They sit in air tubes and end in Cardas GRMO plugs.

Need a Different Length or Connector?

The most popular configurations are shown on this page. If your system requires a different length or termination, call our audio experts. We’ll help you choose the right configuration and arrange a custom cable for your system.

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