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In Reply to: An authentic XLO Reference 2 Type 10A posted by Duster on April 20, 2007 at 10:33:03:
What version are you looking at? I have purchased the Ref 2 in bulk for the last 10 years...and it's always been 2 blue, 2 brown, 2 green, and 1 drain.Alan
Follow Ups:
An XLO Reference 2 Type 10A, purchased about 10 years ago (I re-terminated it a few times since then). It was factory terminated with the usual Hubbell HBL5965VBLK Valise AC plug (clamshell type) and Schurter 4300.0603 IEC connector. It was not a DIY version.The US power cord color code is Black, White, and Green. The color code you mention is the European/UK color code: Brown, Blue, and Green w/Yellow. Perhaps the bulk cable you purchased was a European/UK product version (and maybe the only version available for sale in bulk form within the US)...
I know the cable codes...the cable you are describing doesn't exist anymore. Percy sells the XLO Ref 3 Type 10A which has been down graded with a plastic outer jacket...now it's called the Ultra 10.Alan
There is another downgrade: from 6N copper to 4N according to XLO brochure. Just wonder how that affects the quality of the cable.
Duster, I think you are right about different codes for within and without US. Garth, who is in Europe, talked about brown, blue and grenn/yellow. Not illogical to have different color codes for different regions - to avoid confusion.Also on my XLO (or should I have stuck with ALO?) the shield drain wire is connected at plug end and not IEC end. This could be interpreted as a non-factory terminated cable. But I am concerned whether or not the cable itself is genuine XLO. So let me give further description of the cable.
1. Both AC and IEC plugs have "MADE IN HOLLAND" on their backs. Furthermore, there is a taped on label P-320 on the curved side of the AC plug, and C-320 on the IEC plug - both with black letters on silver background.
2. On the purple jacket of the cable, it says: "XLO/ELECTRIC(TM) REFERENCE 2 TYPE 10A FIELD OPTIMIZED AC POWERLINE by XLO ELECTRIC, U.S.A. Protected by US Patent No. 5.110.999" (Note: (TM) is actually in superscript).Please comment on these.
However, the cable sounds very, very good and bear the family sound of XLO. (I'm using several XLO Signature 1.1 and also Ref 1 in the past. My speaker cable is also XLO Ref Type 5. All new when purchased. So I'm quite familiar with the house sound of XLO, at least in earlier years.) I wouldn't have opned it except that I have to swap the L and N wire at the plug end since I'm in Australia. As a matter of fact, most people outside US should do this if they purchase power cables with US plugs. Reason: the IEC end is universal, the plug end is regional.
Image: eBay item "Holland" P-320/C-320 AC connectorsMy XLO Reference 2 Type 10A is marked, "XLO/ELECTRIC™ REFERENCE 2 TYPE 10A FIELD OPTIMIZED AC POWERLINE UL 2464 E56253 MADE IN USA".
Your cable markings being different might be the correct XLO markings for a product intended for markets other than the US. Besides, a counterfieter would take care to duplicate the exact markings of a real product.
The "Holland" P-320 AC plug and C-320 IEC connector seem to be knockoffs with "similar" model numbers as Oyaide AC connector products. There's been a big problem with fake Oyaide AC connectors being sold on eBay and elsewhere. Perhaps the makers of knockoff AC connectors are now marking them, "MADE IN HOLLAND" (I'll bet big money that the stuff is made in China), in order to avoid legal problems.
It's easy to guess that the product is DIY since they got the floating shield connected backwards -- not hard to do "wrong" since a common understanding is to float all shielding at the load end, but power cords with only a foil shield (no braided shield) are often terminated with the shield floating at the AC plug end.
So, the AC connectors may be dodgy, but that does not automatically mean the cable is a fake. However, since the cable has three L, three N, one Ground, and a drain wire, it seems suspect (email XLO about this issue).
eBay item "Holland" P-320/C-320 AC connectors link:
- http://cgi.ebay.com/2-HOLLAND-GOLD-COATING-PRE-AMPLIFIER-POWER-CORD-PLUG_W0QQitemZ330099485608QQcmdZViewItem (Open in New Window)
Bingo, Duster. The Holland plug Ebayer is the same one who sold me the XLO 10A. The cable was advertised as located in Hong Kong, but it was sent from China! Your guess is probably right.Now all we need is verifciation from XLO. Before I posted, I had emailed XLO about it and still awaiting their reply. The reason for my posting here was to look forward to stimulating exchanges like yours and others.
Thank you all and I'm wating for XLO to respond before I contact the ebayer. But the cable does sound very good, real or fake. It beats my Belden 83803 by a mile and brings out the weaknesses of the Belden.
Cool :-)BTW, whether or not the cable is authentic (since you mention it sounds good to your ear), you can re-terminate it with authentic Oyaide AC connectors to substantially upgrade it's performance. I had an opportunity to examine and listen to a knockoff rhodium Oyaide P-037 AC plug purchased on eBay from a seller in Hong Kong. The AC plug when compared to an authentic Oyaide P-037 sounded quite unimpressive. I think it's safe to assume that the plating was actually nickel rather than rhodium, and the blades showed no sign of being polished, in fact the surfaces were slightly pitted as all unpolished blades will show. I sent the fake P-037 to The Lotus Group (Oyaide's US distributor) for examination which helped the US distributor and Oyaide in Japan to better identify counterfiet products. Here's The Lotus Group's web page concerning the matter (the Oyaide web site has also posted an alert):
http://www.lotusgroupusa.com/Guarantee.htm
Just FYI, here's a link to a post of mine about re-terminating an XLO Reference 2 Type 10A power cord with Oyaide AC connectors:
Thanks for the link to a very enlightening review.
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