Cable Asylum: REVIEW: XLO LE-5 Cable by Luminator

Model:	LE-5
Category:	Cable
Suggested Retail Price:	$1000/stereo foot + $1500 termination
Description:	speaker cable
Manufacturer URL:	XLO
Model Picture:	View

Review by Luminator on August 21, 2008 at 11:52:25
IP Address: 66.47.253.226 Add Your Review
for the LE-5

First, click on these links:

Part 1 : packaging, description, Cable Cooker
Part 2 : burn-in, internal bi-wire, stiffness, bulk
Part 3 : floor

And also:

LE-J-S jumpers
LE-J-S in use

10 years ago, my friend Al upgraded from XLO's Signature 5.1 to Limited Edition LE-5. He had the Thiel CS6 and Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage. As he intended to use the LE-5 on the CS6, Al's LE-5 was a single-wire version. But when I went over to his place, he had the Guarneri Homages hooked up. He was using the old Signature series bi-wire jumpers. I was somewhat familiar with Al's ol' system, and yes, I thought his new LE-5 made the older Signature 5.1 sound slightly grainier, and more constricted and "airbrushed."

But the cable comparison wasn't Al's focus. He told me and another audio buddy to sit down, have some snacks, and enjoy some tunes [sorry, I don't recall what we were listening to]. Al then said, "Watch this!"

He then picked up the LE-5 off the wooden floor, and propped them on ceramic towers. Indeed, the sound became freer, more open, and less muffled. The other audio buddy just groaned, and muttered, "Why should an $8000 cable suck, simply because it's on the floor?"

I just quietly giggled.

Over the years, Al and our other audio acquaintances picked up several samples of XLO's LE-5. Some had spades, others had Deltron bananas. Some were single-wire, others were internally bi-wired. We did not acquire the Cable Cooker until 2003. And that is when all of our cables took off.

By then, some of our cables were years old, well used. But that amount of usage was no match for even 1 day on the Cable Cooker. By experimenting with multiple samples of the LE-5, we've come to the conclusion that its optimal Cook time is 5-6 days. That is a day or two longer than most other speaker cables, but well worth the wait.

Perhaps the funniest event occurred when Al replaced his big ol' Guarneri Homage and Thiel CS6 with the dinky and cheap NHT SuperZero. We had to use ample amounts of Blu-tak under the SuperZeroes, in order to stop the thick, stiff, and heavy LE-5 from pulling the speakers off of the stands.

But the sonic results were not funny. We had already used the SuperZeroes with, among others, the XLO Unlimited Edition speaker. That UE-5 told us that the SuperZero, given quality signal, was nowhere near as grainy, hashy, weak, and thin as commonly believed. Going with to the top-of-the-line LE-5, even the modest SuperZero showed that the LE-5 was free of the UE-5's bass heaviness. Here, the $229 SuperZero was taking the $8500 LE-5, and confidently conjuring up true high-end sound. While bigoted audiophiles blather about the price mismatch, those who listen know what a joy that SuperZero/LE-5 was.

We moved out the SuperZero and SF stands, and put back the Thiel CS6. Here, the CS6 reinforced the fact that the LE-5 is rather well-balanced, tonally, top-to-bottom.

In my review of XLO's Limited Edition interconnects , I wrote that they warmed up harmonics, foreshortened soundstage depth, and took away some of the music's incisiveness. The LE-5 speaker cable, alas, still does these things, but not nearly to the degree that the interconnects do. In fact, many listeners will state that, rather than warming up the music from within, the LE-5 is simply free of grain and hash.

The LE-5 tends to set up the soundstage starting from the wall behind your speakers, to some point halfway into the room. Remember my friend Lina? She was the one who likened the Conrad-Johnson MV-55 to walking into a spa's large communal shower room. While listening to the Simaudio Andromeda/P-8/W-8 with XLO LE ICs and speaker cables, Lina noticed that the stage was "in the room." Some audiophiles (such as yours truly) may refer to this as "Row E perspective." I didn't have my notepad handy, but Lina said something like this:
Ah, this is more like after you've showered and drip-dried, so you're already clean and warm. It's like when you don't even grab a towel, and just walk naked into a steamy sauna. ...And if anyone's in there, it's just one or two of your friends.

All right, pervs. The last time I mentioned Lina, I already had to answer your deviant e-mails. Lina is a good friend of mine. Her writing is less stiff than mine. She is not self-conscientious, and has an ease in chronicling feminine/personal topics, such as shaving, plucking, waxing, piercing, dining, shopping, massaging, and clubbing. We've seen each other naked, and ~~it's nothing to write home about~~ she said it's okay to let you know she's "just another average girl." ;-)

Getting back to the real topic, yes, I agree with Lina's assessment. The LE-5 sets up shop in your room, so it does make the music seem more immediate, like entering a sauna, as opposed to the large locker room. And there's nothing sterile, harsh, brittle, or skewed (unless, of course, your system really does sound that way).

However, when you compare the LE-5 to other high-quality competitors, such as Nordost Odin and Tara Labs ISM The One, you find that the LE-5 does ultimately fall short in the areas of see-through transparency, contrast between music and space, musical sharpness, and sheer invisibility.

I have fielded many questions about which is "better": a single-wire LE-5 with the LE-J-S jumper, or an internally bi-wired LE-5. And of course, the answer is, "it depends."

It depends on what bi-wire speaker you already have. In general, I felt that the internally bi-wired LE-5 yielded a smoother, more coherent picture. However, the single-wire LE-5 with LE-J-S jumper could sound more open, with more sparkle around the outer edges.

It depends on whether or not you intend to keep your current speakers. In Al's case, he traded in the bi-wire Guarneri Homage for the single-wire Guarneri Memento. Thank goodness he started off with the single-wire LE-5. Had he started out with a bi-wired LE-5, he would have had to send it back to XLO for re-termination. So, for people who swap speakers all the time, it may be safer to get the single-wire LE-5 first, and later on order the LE-J-S jumpers, as needed. Alas, those jumpers are a whopping $2500 for a set of 4, so plan and budget accordingly. OTOH, the guy who had the Totem Hawk in the link above got the LE-J-S first , despite costing more than the Hawks themselves.

Regardless of configuration, it depends on what electronics and cables you already have. For example, the Simaudio P-8/W-8 err slightly on the warm side. To some listeners, this will go hand-in-hand with the LE-5's modest warm-up of harmonics. But to other listeners, the Simaudio's and LE-5's warmth will be too much of a good thing. If you have another brand of interconnect, you may be better off getting that brand's speaker cable, rather than the XLO LE-5. Naturally, an Inmate e-mailed me, "What about matching the warm LE-5 with your cooler, more clinical Mark Levinson gear?" It's more than just a tonal match. Other facets are affected, such as imaging, power, quietness, and scale. While some listeners liked the tonal match of my No. 326S/431 and the LE-5, others did not like the scale of the imaging, or the portrayal of instrumental textures.

Nevertheless, in the ten years which my audio buddies and I have used XLO's LE-5, truckloads of gear have come and gone. Still the LE-5s remain. So long as we have the Cable Cooker, the LE-5 is a solid, consistent performer, a prime example of what high-end audio cables can and cannot do. I know that the immature audiophiles always want me to pick a "winner," or state that such-and-such a product is "the best." Well, that's not how life works. Nor is that how speaker cables work. You have to line up (and perhaps rank) the factors which are important to yourself. You have to take these reviews and posts, and ask if the information and experiences warrant further investigation on your part. IOW, don't go blindly into the sauna. Maybe you really wanted to go into the hot tub instead. Maybe you'll end up with Al and Lummy, instead of Lina, LOL! Or maybe you don't like spas at all -- in which case, steer clear of the LE-5. ...Meaning Lummy's done his job :-)

-Lummy The Seahorse

Product Weakness:	stiff; heavy; requires 5-6 days on the Cable Cooker for optimal performance; does not like to be placed on floors; 8mm spades are too large for most binding posts; not available in other colors
Product Strengths:	available in various lengths and terminations; grain-free; no black colors (yes!); clearer than XLO's matching Limited Edition interconnects

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: everything up to the Simaudio W-8
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): everything up to the Simaudio P-8
Sources (CDP/Turntable): everything up to the dCS Puccini
Speakers: from the NHT SuperZero to the Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento
Cables/Interconnects: Nordost Odin, Tara Labs ISM The One
Music Used (Genre/Selections): rock, pop, Hawaiian, R&B, dance, cartoons, movies, TV shows
Time Period/Length of Audition: 10 years
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	everything up to the Simaudio W-8
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	everything up to the Simaudio P-8
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	everything up to the dCS Puccini
Speakers:	from the NHT SuperZero to the Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento
Cables/Interconnects:	Nordost Odin, Tara Labs ISM The One
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	rock, pop, Hawaiian, R&B, dance, cartoons, movies, TV shows
Time Period/Length of Audition:	10 years
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner