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IEC 10A
UK 3 Pin Mains
QED XT5 X-Tube™ Mains Power Cable - UK Plug
£149.95 As low as £149.00 £124.17
SKU
XT5 UK
12 Months
New
24 hours
This single-minded determination to liberate the performance of hi-fi electronics of all kinds has resulted in XT5 - a mains cable that spotlights QED’s mastery of cable technology and sets entirely new standards of performance at the price.
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QED XT5 Mains Power Cable - UK Plug
With an unparalleled legacy spanning 47 years in engineering excellence and expertise, QED stands as a pioneer in the realm of specialist speaker cables. No other company has exhibited such unwavering commitment to research and development, accompanied by rigorous analytical listening tests, making them a true industry leader in hi-fi, home cinema cables, and connectivity solutions.
Recognising the profound impact that mains power quality has on the performance of hi-fi equipment, QED's relentless pursuit of excellence extends beyond speaker cables, and analogue interconnects. Now, their skilled engineers have applied their unique methodology to power cables, culminating in the remarkable XT5.
Driven by an unwavering mission to unlock the full potential of hi-fi electronics, QED presents the XT5 mains cable, showcasing their mastery of cable technology and setting new benchmarks for performance at an exceptional price point. Building upon their track record of delivering great and award-winning results, QED's engineers have harnessed their expertise to develop a mains cable that elevates the audio experience to unprecedented levels.
Discover the XT5 mains cable and experience the remarkable difference it makes to your audio system. QED's unwavering dedication to innovation ensures that every detail has been meticulously engineered to unleash the true potential of your cherished hi-fi equipment. Elevate your listening experience with QED XT5 - where performance meets excellence.
Features:
- X-Tube Technology
- Ferrite Insulation
- Complete Impedance Stability
- Radio Frequency Noise & Interference Elimination
- New Performance Benchmark
As with any QED cable, an enormous amount of attention has been paid to the materials and geometry of XT5. In a drive to minimise the degrading ‘proximity effect’ created as current density accumulates in the conductors nearest to each other, QED has applied the lauded X-Tube technology first developed for its award-winning range of loudspeaker cables. By more effectively regulating current flow to audio equipment, the equipment is free to perform as its designers intended.
The XT5 also features a ferrite-impregnated jacket – designed to shield the X-Tube conductor cores from mains derived radio frequency noise. As a result, high-frequency noise signals than can adversely affect the performance of audio electronics are effectively eliminated.
This kind of imaginative thinking and rigorous execution is typical of QED, and it means the XT5’s X-Tube configuration is way beyond what any nominal competitor can offer.
QED XT5 Power Cables is the beginning of a range of high-performance power products, which QED will be adding to over the coming months and years.
Large Cross-Sectional Area
The 4mm2 cross sectional area means XT40 exhibits very low resistance, allowing amplifiers to exert outstanding control over the speakers they are driving. In addition, its large cross sectional area makes it suitable for long cable runs.
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X-Tube™ TechnologyAt low frequencies both X-Tube™ and conventional stranded/solid core speaker cables convey signals in a linear way. However, at high frequencies, X-TubeTM retains a near-linear signal transfer, whereas the conventional cables fail to conduct uniformly across the entire conductor area. In standard speaker cables at high frequencies current flow is highest at the periphery with rapidly deteriorating current density towards the centre of the conductor. The effect of this is to reduce the actual cross sectional area of the cable at 15kHz to less than 75% of that at low frequencies. This results in higher distortion and compromises the performance of the cable. X-TubeTM with polycore technology exhibits much lower self-inductance and is therefore less affected by this problem. The polycore technology reduces loop inductance to levels only achievable using more costly and difficult to terminate cables. The result is more high frequency detail, less distortion and greater performance. |
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"I noted that, in particular, the XT5 benefitted finely-etched recordings with a wide dynamic range and low-level information. Relative to a cheap moulded IEC cable of the sort that's often bundled with equipment, there was a subtle but perceptible drop in the noise floor - in particular, the subtleties of the performance venue's acoustics become more evident." - (Read More) Hi-Fi World - January 2021 |
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"I am immediately aware of an improvement in sound quality, especially with the violin which is cleaner and Loveday's playing seems more effortless. As the piece builds to a climax, the deep bass and great dynamics of the recording are really well conveyed." - (Read More) Hi-Fi Choice Recommended - January 2021 |
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"It may look a little reserved in its appearance but the QED cable will dig out shy information residing at the back of the mix and offer it to the ear. So you won't miss a thing with the QED. The Audiophile Man - November 2020
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Specifications :
- Outside Diameter: 11mm
- Conductors: 99.99% Oxygen-Free Copper
- Capacitance: 100 pF/m
- Inductance: 0.7 uH/m
- Loop Resistance: 0.026 ohm/m
About QED Cables 
QED is an award winning British company with over 40 years of experience in the audio-visual connectivity industry.
In 1973 Bob Abraham and Ian Vine founded QED Audio Products and changed the way people think about hi-fi cables. By the time QED 79 strand speaker cable was launched in 1978, it wasn’t looked upon as ‘just another speaker cable’ but was instead regarded as a serious hi-fi component, making a fundamental change in the way people thought about cables.
QED's reputation for innovation and technical excellence is known throughout the world. The latest computer-aided design techniques allow their research and development team to keep pace with technological advances and deliver products that achieve the highest levels of performance and reliability. This is why QED products are recommended by so many of the world’s leading hi-fi and home theatre equipment manufacturers.
QED offer a range of connectivity products spanning from both consumer and installation cables, wireless products and switching devices to satisfy every audio visual need.
QED is Europe's number one award winning connectivity brand and has won more prestigious cable awards from ‘What Hi-Fi? Sound & Vision’ magazine than any other brand (Awards 1981–2013).
Specifications :
- Outside Diameter: 11mm
- Conductors: 99.99% Oxygen-Free Copper
- Capacitance: 100 pF/m
- Inductance: 0.7 uH/m
- Loop Resistance: 0.026 ohm/m
UK Delivery
1. We use Royal Mail 1st Class Services as a Standard Postage Option
Orders received before 4.30pm Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) are usually dispatched the same day by FIRST CLASS post (unless premium postal or timed courier services are selected), subject to stock availability. Over 98% of our orders are usually delivered the next working day including Saturdays.
Standard delivery is usually within 2-3 working days, although 98% of all orders are delivered the next working day including Saturdays . In extreme cases, such as delivery to the Highlands and Islands, this may take 3 days.
All items are fully insured and come with an invoice from Futureshop.co.uk. We use the Royal Mail for delivery of small packages and DPD or Interlink Express for items that weigh over 2KG. Items over 2KG are fully insured and will usually be delivered within 48 hours of placing your order Monday to Friday subject to stock availability. For International orders, we use FedEx Services where customers have selected this option.
Please note, special orders for non-standard cable lengths or custom-made cables may be subject to longer delivery time-scales. This may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
We offer 'Free UK delivery on orders over £99' subject to the following terms & conditions:
- Applies only to orders with £99 or more of items (including VAT at the UK rate), at FutureShop.co.uk
- Free Delivery on orders over £99 utilises Royal Mail First Class postal service for items weighing under 2KG. For items weighing over 2KG, we use DPD next working day services which deliver from 9.00am to 6pm within mainland UK (excludes Royal Mail Special Delivery Services and timed next day delivery services by UK Mail).
- Applies only to deliveries to addresses within mainland UK and Northern Ireland addresses. Applies only to orders that are to be delivered to a single Mainland UK delivery address.
- You will not be eligible for free delivery on your order if any items are cancelled or returned for a refund, bringing the total order amount below £99. Where items are returned, the refund due will be the cost of the item less any postage costs.
- We reserve the right to change or discontinue 'Free delivery on orders over £99 promotion at any time.
- FREE DELIVERY FOR ORDERS OVER £99 OFFER DOES NOT APPLY TO TRADE CUSTOMERS.
Free Delivery on orders over £99 utilises Royal Mail First Class postal service for items weighing under 2KG. For items weighing over 2KG, we use DPD or Interlink Express next working day services which deliver from 9.00am to 6pm within mainland UK.
Free Delivery for orders over £99 excludes Royal Mail Special Delivery Services and timed next day delivery services by DPD or Interlink Express.
2. Special Delivery UK - Guaranteed Next Working Day
We have 99.9% of the UK covered With Royal Mail Next Day Special Delivery. We guarantee delivery to most UK addresses by 1pm the next working day. This includes Northern Ireland, Jersey and Guernsey. Some places take longer to deliver to but we still guarantee delivery within three working days by 5.30 PM.
For the Next Day Special Delivery service, orders must be received by futureshop.co.uk by 4.30pm weekdays. Orders after the 4.30pm deadline cannot be guaranteed for same day dispatch.
Please note, Royal Mail Special Delivery for next working day may not be possible where non-standard cable lengths are ordered. If this is the case, the item will be shipped via The Royal Mail Special Delivery service as soon as the cable is custom made.
For orders weighing over 2KG, we reserve the right to ship items using Next Day Pre-Noon Courier Services where Royal Mail Special Delivery option has been selected.
3. Channel Islands & Northern Ireland
We accept orders from all Channel Islands including Alderney, Jersey, Guernsey and Sark. Unless you select a premium service, Items weighing under 2KG are delivered using our standard UK delivery option above. For items weighing over 2KG, a surcharge may be applied for all deliveries to the Channel Islands as well as Northern Ireland.
European Countries
Deliveries to EU member states are subject to 20% VAT. We offer the following shipping services:
- Royal Mail First Class International Untracked Airmail Services - Items are usually delivered within 10 working days.
- Royal Mail First Class International Tracked Airmail Services - Items are usually delivered within 3 to 7 working days.
- DHL Express International - Items are usually delivered within 24 to 48 hours. DHL orders must be received by 3:30pm for next day service to most destinations in Europe
- Federal Express International Priority - Items are usually delivered within 24 to 48 hours. FedEx orders must be received by 3.00pm for next day service to most destinations in Europe
- Federal Express International Economy - Item are usually delivered within 48 to 72 hours
Worldwide - Excluding UK & Europe
Deliveries outside of the EU are not subject to 20% VAT and so the 20% tax on items is automatically deducted when you login or register.
We offer the following shipping services:
- Royal Mail First Class International Untracked Airmail Services - Items are usually delivered within 15 working days.
- Royal Mail First Class International Tracked Airmail - Items are usually delivered within 10-15 working days.
- DHL Express International - Items are usually delivered within 48 hours. DHL orders must be received by 3:30pm in order to ship items the same day, subject to stock availability.
- Federal Express International Priority - Items are usually delivered within 48 hours. FedEx orders must be received by 3.00pm in order to ship items the same day, subject to stock availability.
Where the actual weight of the package significantly exceeds the shipping cost charged on orders, we may write to you for an additional shipping charge. For larger orders, items may be shipped in multiple packets.
Customer Reviews
4.7 /5.0 of 3 Reviews
Audio sounds "right" for first time
Adam
28 Oct 2023
Verified Buyer
I was initially sceptical that power cables could make a difference, with them being situated "before the signal is generated", but eventually, curiosity won out. I tried a normal and thicker gauge variety of an entry-level audio-grade cable to discover that, yes, things change, albeit as a tradeoff. Both widened the soundstage and boosted the amount of bass, at the cost of more overall distortion and rolling off of the treble, the effect of which was greatly exaggerated with the thicker gauge cable, to the point of sounding utterly "wrong" and unlistenable for more than a minute, with a return to the standard power cable being an actual physical relief.
Fascinated that a power cable could have such a dramatic impact on the sound, I set out to try and understand how and why that worked and to see if I could find another cable that was designed to address this worsening-with-thicker-guage phenomenon. Enter the QED XT-5, which, from what I can see, is almost alone in being a power cable designed to reduce skin and proximity effects.
What might such a cable do for me? Unexpectedly, I am solving a problem that has been plaguing me for nearly 40 years.
Ever since I was a child, reproduced sound of any kind (radio, TV, records, CDs, etc) all shared one element in common, which made them sound fundamentally wrong: the top part of the frequency spectrum felt like it had been "chopped off", and the lower end of the spectrum always sounded abnormally loud and distorted. Having grown up around live instruments and choirs from a very young age, I was always confused as to why anything played back was so different. The XT-5 fixing those issues was the last thing I could have expected from a cable.
The first XT-5 I plugged into my amp. Voices in choral pieces now behaved as I expected from a live performance, cymbals actually sounded like cymbals instead of something unpleasant and annoying, and fingerwork on a bass guitar was now fully articulated and focused into a defined point instead of being an enlarged blob of vague and hard-to-follow notes, and overall there was much more control and better timbre. I soon got another for my front end/DAC and was once again surprised, this time to hear that there were new details and vocal layers revealed in music I'd been listening to for decades. Separation, clarity and imaging improved, as did tonal and timbral accuracy. And in the case of both cables, there was quite a clear reduction in the noise floor.
Overall, it's been a very interesting experience, proving that sometimes those audio upgrades that don't make immediate sense are worth looking into.
I'll likely end up ordering more of these... I just hope that QED goes on to release an even better version of this at some point!
Fascinated that a power cable could have such a dramatic impact on the sound, I set out to try and understand how and why that worked and to see if I could find another cable that was designed to address this worsening-with-thicker-guage phenomenon. Enter the QED XT-5, which, from what I can see, is almost alone in being a power cable designed to reduce skin and proximity effects.
What might such a cable do for me? Unexpectedly, I am solving a problem that has been plaguing me for nearly 40 years.
Ever since I was a child, reproduced sound of any kind (radio, TV, records, CDs, etc) all shared one element in common, which made them sound fundamentally wrong: the top part of the frequency spectrum felt like it had been "chopped off", and the lower end of the spectrum always sounded abnormally loud and distorted. Having grown up around live instruments and choirs from a very young age, I was always confused as to why anything played back was so different. The XT-5 fixing those issues was the last thing I could have expected from a cable.
The first XT-5 I plugged into my amp. Voices in choral pieces now behaved as I expected from a live performance, cymbals actually sounded like cymbals instead of something unpleasant and annoying, and fingerwork on a bass guitar was now fully articulated and focused into a defined point instead of being an enlarged blob of vague and hard-to-follow notes, and overall there was much more control and better timbre. I soon got another for my front end/DAC and was once again surprised, this time to hear that there were new details and vocal layers revealed in music I'd been listening to for decades. Separation, clarity and imaging improved, as did tonal and timbral accuracy. And in the case of both cables, there was quite a clear reduction in the noise floor.
Overall, it's been a very interesting experience, proving that sometimes those audio upgrades that don't make immediate sense are worth looking into.
I'll likely end up ordering more of these... I just hope that QED goes on to release an even better version of this at some point!
It works......
Hazzer
2 Jan 2021
Verified Buyer
Cliche I know, but, this cable does take away a veil or two and reveal clarity, micro dynamics and tonality that were simply missing before it was installed. That was before burning in and, a few hours later the bass, which was variable in quantity and quality, has now stabilised and underpins the music convincingly, so much more to my music. Good investment and a substantial upgrade for my listening experience, getting more out of my modest but ever more capable system.
Chamber music, jazz, and blues/soul/fusion are smoother and more dynamic and only my Marantz SACD player getting the benefit so far. Other mains cable and distribution block are Kimber, and pretty good, until the QED found it sway into my system.
Chamber music, jazz, and blues/soul/fusion are smoother and more dynamic and only my Marantz SACD player getting the benefit so far. Other mains cable and distribution block are Kimber, and pretty good, until the QED found it sway into my system.