Chord Company Epic XL Speaker Cable

The Chord Company’s Epic XL combines elements of Chord’s 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.

Chord Company Epic XL (or rather its predecessor Epic Reference) used PTFE insulation and until the arrival of Taylon®, was Chord’s “go to” material. Although expensive, it offered the best performance.

Material technology is constantly developing and improving and alternatives to PTFE are now available. While the high cost of Taylon® prevents us from using this in Chord’s Epic range, we were able to find a version of XLPE (Cross-linked Polyethylene) that following extensive listening tests, proved clearly better than PTFE.

Technical Specifications 

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
mm2: 3.31
Diameter: 2 x 7.5mm