October 29, 2015

  • XLO Signature 2.1, Part 2

    In late 1992, XLO began advertising their then-new Signature series. Production had not yet ramped up, so initially, products from the Signature line were only available from a small number (perhaps a dozen) of specially-chosen U.S. dealers.
    IMG_2663
    When the XLO Signature interconnects and jumper cables rolled out, they came packaged in Ziploc-ed anti-static plastic bags [the speaker cable always came in a circular canvas bag]. For a good 2.5 years, the Signature series languished, until Jonathan Scull's review appeared in the September 1995 issue of Stereophile. That popular review caused sales of the Signature series interconnects to take off [the speaker cable's price was simply too high for most audiophiles, even well-heeled ones, so sales only modestly increased]. And by then, XLO had phased out the anti-static Ziploc bag, in favor of the corrugated plastic box (above).
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    Scull apparently did not have any balanced audio gear, so he did not review the balanced XLO Signature 2.1 line-level interconnect with XLRs.
    IMG_2680
    I'm sorry that this box is in tatters. Let's just say that my audio friend did not take good care of the box.
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    However, my friend did take very good care of the interconnect itself, which is still in tip-top shape. According to him, he purchased this particular pair some time in 1996. As the pair has been in regular use between a preamp and power amp ever since its original purchase, this Signature 2.1 has seen 19 years of regular playing time. Though constructed of Teflon, the Signature 2.1, by being skinny, is flexible. It hails from a time when my then-girlfriend, ACS (who was not skinny, but could be either flexible or inflexible, depending on the situation), still worked a few hours a week at Victoria's Secret. Back then, she said that the Signature 2.1's black/magenta/gray color scheme resembled some of the get-ups displayed at VS stores. ACS also said this color scheme made "every season feel like Valentine's Day." How cool and sexy is that? I was in love ♡♡♡