@garebear @guidocorona
I have now had my new pair of 1M XL PCs (20A) accepting continuous current for more than 300 hours. My observations are based on comparing the XLs to CBs on Jef Rowland M925 mono amplifiers. The XLs are plugged directly into Porter Ports on 2 separate dedicated 20A circuits. Besides the XLs, I am running a full loom of Cardas CB PCs and ICs, except for a Shunyata Sigma NR PC (20A) between the wall and the power conditioner. In my system and in my room the XLs are presenting more detail, without "etch", in the higher registers than the CBs. The XL's bass, mid-bass particularly, is tighter than the CBs. This is a good thing IMO. Initially, the XLs appeared to widen the soundstage about 6 inches over the CBs. However, by the 150 hour mark, that feature seemed to retreat and has not returned. Consequently, I could not say with confidence that the XL has a wider soundstage. The XLs do present a deeper stage than the CBs. It is not greatly deeper; but it is clearly present in my system. Most importantly, I previously opted to run the CBs into a power conditioner rather than into the wall because the system sounded better that way. I haven't yet tried the XLs into the power conditioner. I prefer the XLs into the wall over the CBs into the power conditioner. I agree with Guido musical can be neutral. I classify CBs as "neutral" and "musical." The overriding feature of the XLs is they provide more detail than the CBs, without promoting fatigue. If you are currently a happy user of Cardas Clear or Clear Beyond PCs, I would be surprised if you weren't satisfied with Cardas Clear Beyond XL PCs on high output amplifiers. IMO they qualify as a beneficial upgrade. Lastly, the XLs are very flexible, although the wall plug end is longer and wider than the CBs. If you have limited space between your rack and wall or in your audio cabinetry, this could be a complicating issue.