Premier XL MKII USB boasts precision-wound 23-gauge signal conductors using Cardas Grade One Copper plus a 6% pure silver plating.

Hear Every Last Detail of Your Music

You want to hear every detail of your digital music files, movie soundtracks, and more. You don’t want even a trace of electrical noise potentially covering anything up and compromising the authenticity.

Jay Victor has the solution. Jay designed Pangea Audio’s Premier XL MKII USB cable for audiophiles to be ultra-quiet by physically separating the power-carrying conductors from the signal-carrying conductors. Both get their own separate cable leg, meeting only at the USB-A and USB-B connectors at each end.

Unlike its predecessor, Premier XL USB, the new MKII version doesn’t use two USB-A connectors on one of the ends, since most audiophiles don’t rely on their USB cable to power their DAC or other gear. One USB connector on each end keeps things neat and simple, while retaining all the advantages of the original XL design.

The new Premier XL MKII USB uses USB connectors that are just a bit narrower than the previous XL version, making it even friendlier to use in tight situations. It also features nitrogen-injected foamed PE polyethylene insulation, quad shielding, and a tough woven nylon braided jacket.

More Premium Features

Premier XL MKII USB is packed full of other premium features, too. It boasts precision-wound 23-gauge signal conductors using Cardas Grade One Copper plus a 6% pure silver plating.

Cardas Grade One Copper is mined in Arizona, then shipped to a New England factory where it is very slowly drawn into conductors in a process that includes reduction annealing between steps to further purify and meld the copper into what George Cardas calls “the most amazing audio conductor I have ever experienced. It is quite simply the best copper on the planet.”

Jay has the Cardas Grade One Copper wire shipped to a second factory, where the wire is plated with a 6% pure silver coating. “I have found silver plating is crucial to digital cable performance,” reports Jay, “and I use it in all my digital audio designs.”

It’s Not Just Zeros and Ones

We occasionally get questions about USB cables from customers who are getting into digital audio streaming. They wonder why it would be worth investing in an audiophile-grade USB cable when they’ve been told that all USB cables are created equal as far as digital signals are concerned – that a $5 cable conveys the “zeros and ones” of a digital stream just as well as a more expensive cable.

For the definitive answer, we asked Pangea Audio cable design expert, Jay Victor, “How can one digital USB cable sound better than another?”

“A USB cable is not just carrying a bunch of zeros and ones,” explained Jay. “The cable carries an electrical signal from one circuit to another. Lots of things can interfere with this signal, like radio frequency interference (RFI) and electromagnetic interference (EMI). Anything that affect that signal will cause distortion. Some of these distortions are bound to be audible.”

This made sense to us. We’ve heard differences between the various USB cables we sell. Some of our customers swear by USB cables costing $1,000 and more. So USB cable quality definitely matters. However, the cost of a high-quality cable doesn’t have to break the bank. Especially when the cable is made by Pangea Audio.

Sonically Superior Innovative Design

After years of making and selling the popular Pangea Audio USB-PC and USB-AG cables, Pangea Audio challenged Jay. How could he make these cables even better?

“I can think of two things right away. We can increase the gauge of the signal conductors and use a more advanced type of insulation,” answered Jay. “But give me a little time and I’ll think of some more things to improve.”

A few weeks later, Jay followed up. “I came up with three designs… My top-end cable, Pangea Premier XL MKII USB, will take any system into a new dimension,” beamed Jay. “It has an innovative design that’s sure to be sonically superior to anything on the market under $400.

“The main problem with all USB cables is that the power conductor is inside the jacket close to the signal conductors. You can reduce interference from the power signal with a separate shielding and common-mode (twisted pair) shielding of the conductors as I do in all my designs, but I have figured out an even better way.

“Why not remove the power leg completely from the equation by putting it in its own cable? Its only meeting points will be at the USB-A and USB-B connectors. I’ve tried this cable design in my own system and the improvement is somewhere between surprising and shocking. I mean ‘shocking’ as in shockingly good.”