Chord Company has introduced its latest insulation technology, XLPE, to two further loudspeaker cables. The Wiltshire A/V cable specialist, who has been hand-building its cables in England since 1985, has upgraded both its Odyssey and Epic cables with XLPE.

The new OdysseyX and EpicXL have both been upgraded from PTFE (often referred to as Teflon™) to XLPE (Cross-Linked Polyethylene) and will join a number of recently launched loudspeaker cables.

XLPE made its first appearance in the September 2018-launched SignatureXL speaker cable and has since trickled down into RumourX and ShawlineX, which have now been joined by OdysseyX (A/V cable) and from Chord Company’s mid-price options, EpicXL.

OdysseyX is a heavier-gauge version of Chord Company’s RumourX loudspeaker cable. It uses the same materials as RumourX, yet its heavier-gauge conductors (also found in Chord Epic and EpicXL speaker cables).

The new OdysseyX has silver-plated OFC conductors in a twisted-pair configuration. Its white PVC outer jacket has an 8mm diameter which is discrete enough to be unobtrusive in a typical A/V system.

EpicXL combines elements of Chord company’s Epic and (more expensive) SignatureXL speaker cables. It mixes the separately shielded conductor design from Chord SignatureXL with the silver-plated, XLPE-insulated 12AWG conductors of Chord Epic.

Also featured, is a specially chosen soft PVC internal jacket which is added to correctly space the shielding and minimise mechanical noise.  A high-density braid and foil shield is then applied to each set of conductors which is protected by a translucent outer jacket; again, chosen to reduce unwanted mechanical noise.

The conductors are twisted together and clamped in place before being terminated with either ChordOhmic 4mm banana or ChordOhmic spade connectors.

In addition to the new XLPE dielectric, all factory terminated speaker cables are now supplied with the new ChordOhmic speaker plugs. The silver-plated ChordOhmic plugs have drawn on the company’s 34-year history in UK cable design and manufacturing, and are engineered to bring both electrical and sonic benefits of silver to speaker cables.

Price and availability

OdysseyX is available now priced at £30 per metre

EpicXL is available now priced at £600 for a factory-terminated 1.5m pair; £200 per extra (mono) metre

OdysseyX and EpicXL cables are available both off-the-reel or terminated at the UK factory. Demonstration sets are available at most Chord Company retailers.

*OdysseyX and EpicXL are offered with a lifetime warranty which includes defective materials and workmanship but excludes normal wear and tear, failure to follow instructions and/or any unauthorised repairs or modifications.