Chord Epic XL - single-wire - banana ChordOhmic

Epic XL combines elements of our Epic and Signature Reference/XL speaker cables. A specially chosen soft PVC internal jacket is added to correctly space the shielding and minimise mechanical noise. A high density braid and foil shield is applied to each set of conductors and this is in turn protected by a translucent outer jacket, again chosen to reduce unwanted mechanical noise. Each set of Epic XL is built to order at The Chord Company. The conductors are twisted together and clamped in place before being terminated with either banana or spade connectors. By separately shielding the positive and negative conductors of each speaker cable run, we can produce a version of Epic that sounds markedly more refined and musically coherent. It’s particularly good at carrying micro-dynamics and detail and brings great separation and definition to instruments and voices.

Source components and loudspeakers are evolving. The level of resolution that used to be the preserve of high-end audio has trickled down to some surprisingly affordable designs. The downside is that they may well show you things you don’t want to hear – like your cables! Epic XL takes a crucial step forwards in performance by using separate shields for each conductor. That means neutrality, less noise, a bigger and more immersive soundstage and most of all, it means getting new joy from your existing music collection. It’s a cable that can transform a good system into something quite spectacular.

Spcifications:

• Conductor Silver plated, high purity OFC
  
  
• Insulation XLPE
  
  
• Configuration Twisted pair
  
  
• Shielding Individually shielded positive and minus conductors. High density foil and 95% coverage metal braid. Translucent PVC outer jacket
  
  
• AWG 12 (3.31 mm2)
  
  
• Diameter 2 x 7.5mm

Chord Ohmic 4mm Silver Banana Plugs 

Our new ChordOhmic silver-plated loudspeaker plugs are designed to bring both the electrical and sonic benefits of silver to speaker cables everywhere. The new plugs will be fitted to all Chord Company speaker cables, as well as being separately available as a retro-fit upgrade, enabling this revolutionary 4mm connector to improve other brands of cable, too.

For many years we have been using silver-plated copper conductors in our designs. Our silver-plated designs are paired with silver-plated connectors. Using silver in cables can be misunderstood, as many people still associate the use of silver with a bright, overbearing sound characteristic. In our experience, however, this brightness is actually caused by a poor choice of insulation material rather than the silver! The only major exception to this rule has been Chord Company gold-plated (4mm/spade) speaker connectors.

Why not gold?

Although gold is generally perceived to be the best plating material for high-quality connectors, its only major advantage is its total resistance to corrosion (not normally a domestic issue!). In our experience, the customer also associates it with performance and quality due to gold’s high commercial value. Matters are further complicated by the various other plating materials on offer in the hi-fi industry (e.g. rhodium, copper, brass and nickel) with each having wildly differing prices and claimed performance levels.

Science, statistics and misinformation as we see it!

Gold is, in fact, the third most conductive metal available. It is outperformed by both copper (+140% better) and silver (+148% better). Better conductivity means lower resistance and therefore, less signal loss. Less signal loss means increased performance – as expressed by Ohm’s law! Hence the name of our new speaker plugs.

Although pure copper is a good conductor, at room temperature it is susceptible to oxidisation and drastically drops in conductivity when oxidised. Plating the copper can protect it from this process. Plating materials include tin (25% as good as gold), nickel (33% as good as gold) and rhodium (50% as good as gold).

Crucially, silver-plating not only makes sense from an electrical point of view, it gives an audibly superior result during listening tests, when compared with gold plated connectors.

What about tarnish?

It’s a common mistake to think that because silver oxidises it is a poor conductor. The reality is that silver does not oxidise until it reaches 170 C. It does, however, tarnish at room temperature, reacting with sulphur in the air.
Although tarnished silver is not the nicest thing to look at (on ornaments or cutlery), electrically, it is less troublesome.

Tarnish (normally silver sulphide) is a soft and malleable material and can be easily moved aside with very little force. We ensure these forces are present in our speaker plugs and spade connectors. The diagram below illustrates the fact that no matter how smooth a contact looks to the naked eye, it is still quite rough at a microscopic level. There are limited points of actual contact, even under fairly high levels of force. By simply moving a connector in and out of the socket, it is possible to effectively clean the contact points. Ensure all equipment is switched off before doing this simple maintenance procedure.

Plugs will also benefit from a major clean, using a good contact cleaner or enhancer.

Above: Top section shows a low compression connection. Lower section shows the deformation of the plug and socket when compressed together. This compression displaces the soft tarnish as well as increasing the contact area.