X-Tube technology

QED XT3 power cables feature a specially adapted version of X-Tube™ Technology similar to that used in our speaker cables but specifically tuned to be appropriate for this new application. The braided individual cores in the live and neutral conductors are made small enough that they are not affected by the eddy currents from adjacent cores which help contribute to the proximity effect.

Because they are effectively isolated from one another the carefully calculated twist rate of the strands means that no two conductors remain next to each other in the parallel configuration for more than a few millimetres, further enhancing the even current flow along the cable at all frequencies. The separate bundles are individually insulated using K130 PVC to control cable capacitance and provide the level of electrical isolation demanded by international safety standards, the whole arrangement is provided with a hollow LDPE core to control cable inductance. In this way the correct phase relationship between voltage and current is not altered by the cable parameters, further decreasing distortion when compared to an ordinary power cable.

Complete practicality

XT3 is designed to be as thin and flexible, and thus practical, as possible. Only the live and neutral cores have been given the X-Tube treatment described above – the earth core (required only under fault conditions) is left in a conventional geometry. And because X-Tube geometry enables the whole cross-sectional area of the cable to be kept to a tidy 1.5 mm sq, XT3 is supremely flexible and usefully slim despite its audiophile potential.

Specifications

• Conductor type: X-Tube
• Metallurgy: 99.999% oxygen-free copper
• Cross-sectional area: 1.5 mm sq
• Capacitance: 86 pF/m
• Inductance: 0.50 μH/m
• Loop resistance: 0.026 ohm/m
• Dielectric strength: 2 kV (ac for 15 mins)
• Complies with: EN50525; EN60320; EN60884
• Outer jacket: Black Pearl
• Nominal outside diameter: 10.2 mm
• Plugs: CEE 7/7
• Connector: IEC C13 794

QED XT3 safety & type testing

There are many alternative brands of audiophile mains products on the market but even a cursory investigation reveals that many do not have the full set of required safety test reports and type testing certificates demanded by international legislation.

Rest assured, this is not the case with QED power cables. Because of the constraints which we placed on the design, the cordage fits into standard, high-quality plugs and connectors which fall into the parameters described by the harmonised standards.

In addition, the completed cord set including any additional overmould, covers and branded strain relief items added by us have been fully type tested to EN 60320, EN 60884 & EN 50525 by an accredited certification body and found to be fully compliant. Regular testing of the product at our production facility as set out in the annex to these standards is also carried out. A full test report is available on request from [email protected].

Because mains plugs and connectors are not generally supplied as standard with gold plated pins, any that you might see for sale have usually been variously modified after manufacture by the reseller. This is not a good idea, as any type-testing certification which might be available for the product will have been invalidated by this process; effectively a new “type” has been created which is not the subject of the test report.