August 6, 2012

• XLO Reference Type 5, Part 13

  Ah, late summer 1982.  My family went to the Shirokiya at Ala Moana Center.  We bought a Sanyo boombox for around $100.  In those days, that was a lot of money.  It had AM/FM stereo, with slide tuning.  There were no presets.  The cassette deck did not have auto reverse, but it could record.  For domestic use, it used a detachable powercord.  The chassis side had two prongs, kind of like some modern-day DVD players.  For portable use, the boombox used, I believe, 6 D batteries.  Those big-ass batteries made the boombox heavy!

  While in a bedroom, I got carried away, gyrating to Steve Miller Band's "Abracadabra," and fell on the boombox, LOL!  I guess I didn't know any better.  While groovin' to the boombox, did I know about speaker cables?  Hell no.  Well, who knows what the audiophiles are groovin' to, but they want me to start recapping the original XLO Reference Type 5 speaker cable.
  
  Because of the Ref Type 5's stiffness, you must order it in the correct length.  Any excess will be difficult to deal with.  It simply will not coil.  Nor will it bend to your liking.  My sample is a bit too long.  So I had to loop it over and behind the powerline conditioner.
  
  In general, banana plugs are the superior connector.  But sometimes, if the cable is hanging from binding posts, there may be strain on the Ref Type 5's leads.  Again, that old demo pair at Ultimate Sound had a tear in the wrap enclosing the leads.
  
  Like most Teflon-covered cables, the Ref Type 5 is susceptible to dust and static, so keep it clean.  The electrostatic fields near floors (especially carpet) can wreak havoc on the Ref Type 5's performance.  So be sure to keep it off the ground.  It's not magic; you won't have to sing "Abracadabra," but you will have to use some common sense.
  

  • 3:31 am
  • 1 Comment