I've been testing the new Sigma XC for about a week now, and in my testing it is ideal as a power cable for power distributors/conditioner e.g. Denalis, Triton V3s, etc. No, wait, It is
frickin' amazing as a power cord for power conditioners.
The new Sigma XC (and the new Sigma NR v2) represent signficant improvement over the previous generations Sigma power cords, and in my experience, provide a completely new and "breakthrough" level of improvement.
I'll be posting my review of the new Sigma NR (which COMPLETELY blew my mind) v2 shortly, but let me speak to the new XC:
The new XC is not quite as quiet as the new Sigma NR V2 PC (as you would expect from not having an NR noise filter). Instead it trades off incredible speed, dynamics, quickness for some degree of noise reduction functionality. It has a beautiful crisp and clean musical presentation that reminds me of a medium-format photograph from the 100 megapixel Fujfilm GFX100.
Using the Sigma XC, the presenation is FAST, FAST, FAST and CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN and CRISP, but never edgy, glare-y or strident. Again, think of perfectly sharp photo from the GFX100. In Prokofiev's
Romeo and Juliet by Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland Symphony, there are two very dynamic passages:
The Quarrel and
The Fight.
Dynamic Transient Current Delivery (DTCD) is the key functional response for this type of power cord and this type of music, and the new Sigma XC delivers DTCD at a level of performance that I have, quite simply,
never experienced before.
The Quarrel and
The Fight are musically very complex passages, with the full orchestra at times playing a breakneck, frenetic pace. The orchestra scales from soft to VERY loud and back to a lovely soft and delicate quality very dynamically and extremely quickly, and the XC lets the amp have all the current it needs when it needs it. This power cord is like driving a Ferrari 488 and getting it "on the cam", it just...sings.
In summing up: for PDs (power distributors), the new Sigma XC sets a new level of performance for this type of power cord. I know that statement might sound familiar from many audio reviews, but let me state this again: I have NEVER experienced the degree of improvement, performance, and musical qualities from power cords that I've experienced from the new Sigma XC and NR v2 PCs.
For components, the new Sigma NR v2 is gobsmackingly-good. More on that bad-boy shortly.
