Kimber Kable Impression's and Reviews

brandon090

Vintage is my,way of life
Over the last few weeks ive had an exceptional time with Kimber Kable’s Nate Mansfield who has assisted me in choosing some of the best sounding speaker cable and interconnects for the money intended for my vintage listening setup. My setup consists of JBL L100 speakers and a Pioneer SX-1250 receiver running into my media server with all music ripped into 320kbps or higher.

The following cables I had on loan from Kimber Kable were;

Interconnects

  • GQ Cu Mini
- Retail's for $130 for 2m

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  • GQ Hb Mini
- Retail's for $810 for 2m

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Speaker Cable

  • 8VS
- Retail's for $184 for 2.5m

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  • 8TC
- Retail's for $376 for 2.5m

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Packaging

The packaging I have seen on Kimber Kables is phenomenal. Depending on the cables, it may come in retail packaging or a Pelican case inscribed with “Kimber Kables” and the collection name of the cable. I happened to have retail packaging on my cables, but none the less still very high quality.

Build Quality

I was immediately impressed by the build quality of the speaker cable when I inspected them. The tight braid was easily the best part, until I looked at the very high quality connectors which were precisely soldered into place by Kimbers high tech soldering techniques. Unlike other cable companies these cables were very high quality, with a consistent tight braid and proper soldering so that they were to never come undone. The interconnects were of the same build quality except with TechFlex which was transparent black so that the braid was to be seen through it. A y-splitter divided the sleeving from the braid which lead up to the connectors which were very high quality resembling the speaker cable.

Sound Quality

The more I ran both the 8VS and 8TC speaker cable I heard an ever increasing treble and soundstage difference in the 8VS which I found not to sync very well with my system. I preferred the more neutral tonality and brightness of the 8TC after 120 hours of burn in with my system as the JBL’s and Pioneer are known for being neutral and transparent. Each cable was run approximately 300 hours with differences occurring ever 50-100 hours of burn in.

Song Shootout

8VS: Sweet Potato Pie made famous by Ray Charles-Warm and jumpy, a little warmer on the highs than 8TC, crisp yet warm, airy wide soundstage in the mids vs. 8TC better transparently in voice, good sharp/crisp bass, made the music pop like sparking water, trumpet throughout was crisp and direct, Ray Charles voice was very lively as it would have been in New York.

8VS: Love Won’t Let Me Wait made famous by Luther Vandross-crisp saxophone, airy fluffy voice, airy mids with sax, good airy soundstage, outstanding treble, jumpy at times with sax vs. 8TC saxophone very piercing and lively, bass was jumpy and very controlled, his voice was very clear and precise with good deep extension in his voice.

8VS: Start All Over Again by Dave Koz- deep lows, airy highs, crisp voice, sharp instrumental vs. 8TC deep and jumpy, slightly raw in the beginning like Adele, slight crisp in voice, saxophone was very lively and sharper than on crappy/lower grade speaker wire, good extension to music overall, upbringing is very grand and flowing with good depth and crispness to the saxophone parts, her voice in the solo was very deep and precise and clear throughout the solo.

8VS: Indian Summer by Chris Botti- airy instrumental with wide soundstage, treble very good with drums, crisp sharp trumpet vs. 8TC Billy Kilson on the drums were very on target, and very poppy and hippy, trumpet was very revealing when played alongside the drummers.

8VS: Fields of Gold made famous by Celtic Women- airy voice, airy highs with wide soundstage, wide soundstage is what is best to describe this song, great theatrical upbringing by one of the Celtic women, vibrato was consistent from beginning with good extension in the mids vs. 8TC voices were very clean and hollow, the voices were clear and rhythmic but recessed and detailed, the voices were clear and dense, the music is glittery and very magically with slight added texture to the music.

8VS: What Ive Been Waiting For by Brian McKnight- good clear and crisp extension in mids, as well in highs vs. 8TC lows in bass are deep, voice is clear cut and direct.

Conclusion

My system consisting of neutral, transparent components required something that would balance the sound out and make everything that much more concert like and not Auto-Tuned with fake highs and voices untrue to the artist. I personally preferred the 8TC for various reasons including that it was transparent and neutral and that it made my system feel more as if I was actually there listening to the artist. The 8VS would sound great with a warmer system consisting of a Marantz or a Sansui, I just didn’t have mine in while doing this review. For the value these cables give, it would be a no brainer for any audiophile to go out and buy these. I can guarantee you’re getting something you will be able to hear a difference from, because I know I did and my ears are just like yours.
 
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Great write up, I couldn't imagine my system without my 8TC's. Mind you I haven't tried many others, but I'm so happy with them they will be there for years to come. Base has excellent authority while remaining very tight, a nice lush midrange with very revealing clearity, and a beautiful top end, that used to be harsh to my ears with previous cales is exactly where I want it.
 
Yep...... Do like my Silver Streak & PBJ ICs. But, the OP is wrong about our ears. No two are the same. We each hear what we hear.
 
And, I quote:
................ because I know I did and my ears are just like yours.
Perhaps you were speaking mediphorically, but not the way I read it. Nonetheless, Kimber makes great cables and good cables, regardless of the company, make a difference.
 
I also run 8tc and have yet to try anything else. Maybe one day when I am not feeling lazy I will get out my nordost flatlines to compare. I am happy enough with how everything sounds right now where I just don't feel the need though!

Thank you for the review.
 

I'd like to humbly suggest that the prices brandon090 listed seem to be reversed regarding the general cost for the 8VS and the 8TC, as the 8TC is roughly twice the price of the entry level 8VS. Speaking of 'humble', most anyone who has tried Kimber's rather reasonably priced PBJ might find that it outperforms a fairly emabarrassingly wide array of higher-priced offerings from competitors.

I used the older 8TC that has the black and blue colored insulation, enjoyed it for years and always liked the performance; then tried the newer, clear/white 8TC. The older was excellent, yet the newer was actually better sounding, at least in my system. My purchase was based solely on hope and faith: hope from the performance of the older 8TC and faith in Kimber's excellent reputation. You might imagine how rewarding it was to hear a significant improvement, as I bought the newer 8TC sight unseen and unheard.

Back when I only had the earlier black and blue version of 8TC, I almost got swept up in the Nordost Blue Heaven craze, until a friend kindly brought his set over for me to try. It was a crash and burn revelation that instantly turned into a huge dissapointment. He saved me the time, trouble and headache of getting a set that I would have had to immediately remove and eventually return or sell. OTOH, please understand that I'm not here to make any claim against Nordost in general, as it undoubtedly performs well in certain systems and equipment configurations.

There are cable companies the make all sorts of claims; some valid, others not so much, all the way down to claims that just aren't so. Some claim "inter-strand interaction" that potentially occurs when multiple conductors are in contact, could cause all sorts of diode-type anomalies that are detrimental for an audio signal. Although this might be potentially possible with some types of inferior conductors and/or certain extreme conditions, Kimber handily eradicates any notion of this as a factor for consideration in line-level and spkr cables of their superior materials and design.
 
And, I quote:

Perhaps you were speaking mediphorically, but not the way I read it. Nonetheless, Kimber makes great cables and good cables, regardless of the company, make a difference.

Correct, thanks for understanding.


I'd like to humbly suggest that the prices brandon090 listed seem to be reversed regarding the general cost for the 8VS and the 8TC, as the 8TC is roughly twice the price of the entry level 8VS. Speaking of 'humble', most anyone who has tried Kimber's rather reasonably priced PBJ might find that it outperforms a fairly emabarrassingly wide array of higher-priced offerings from competitors.

I used the older 8TC that has the black and blue colored insulation, enjoyed it for years and always liked the performance; then tried the newer, clear/white 8TC. The older was excellent, yet the newer was actually better sounding, at least in my system. My purchase was based solely on hope and faith: hope from the performance of the older 8TC and faith in Kimber's excellent reputation. You might imagine how rewarding it was to hear a significant improvement, as I bought the newer 8TC sight unseen and unheard.

Back when I only had the earlier black and blue version of 8TC, I almost got swept up in the Nordost Blue Heaven craze, until a friend kindly brought his set over for me to try. It was a crash and burn revelation that instantly turned into a huge dissapointment. He saved me the time, trouble and headache of getting a set that I would have had to immediately remove and eventually return or sell. OTOH, please understand that I'm not here to make any claim against Nordost in general, as it undoubtedly performs well in certain systems and equipment configurations.

There are cable companies the make all sorts of claims; some valid, others not so much, all the way down to claims that just aren't so. Some claim "inter-strand interaction" that potentially occurs when multiple conductors are in contact, could cause all sorts of diode-type anomalies that are detrimental for an audio signal. Although this might be potentially possible with some types of inferior conductors and/or certain extreme conditions, Kimber handily eradicates any notion of this as a factor for consideration in line-level and spkr cables of their superior materials and design.

I do appreciate you bringing that to my attention. I also have to agree on the statement of how some companies make snake oil cables which i have never had from a Kimber product.
 
I've used dual runs of 4TC for the past few years. Works well. Much happier with it than most of the previous stuff I've used.
 
Thanks to the op for the well-organized and interesting review. Well done! I think Kimber is definitely one of the go-to cable brands for those looking to get something fancy that won't put them into bankruptcy. :D

Speaking of 'humble', most anyone who has tried Kimber's rather reasonably priced PBJ might find that it outperforms a fairly emabarrassingly wide array of higher-priced offerings from competitors.

Eh, not so much in my experience. Frankly, although the PBJ is a solid design for the price, just about everything I've tried at or above its price point was preferable, but this is dependent on personal tastes and the specific audio system being used of course.

...
Some claim "inter-strand interaction" that potentially occurs when multiple conductors are in contact, could cause all sorts of diode-type anomalies that are detrimental for an audio signal. Although this might be potentially possible with some types of inferior conductors and/or certain extreme conditions, Kimber handily eradicates any notion of this as a factor for consideration in line-level and spkr cables of their superior materials and design.

Again I'm going to have to be the dissenting voice here. The conditions under which strand-to-strand interaction occur are not extreme at all, they are there whenever the stranded-wire design is utilized. Your claim that Kimber "eradicates" this notion doesn't make any sense because Kimber actually use solid core conductors for their top-of-the-line "Kimber Select" series.

And again, my personal experience with a wide variety of name-brand cables at all kinds of price points, and years of experience designing and making my own DIY interconnects, have shown that in general solid core conductors or ribbon conductors are superior.

Finally, on this subject, and since this is a review of Kimber Kable products, I'll note that one of the absolute best interconnects I've ever owned and used was a pair of KS 1021, which use Kimber's "Black Pearl" solid silver for the positive and solid copper for the negative. Unfortunately they're extremely expensive, but if you're shopping in that price range, I recommend giving them a try. Kimber's Silver Streak is awesome too, IMO.
 
...My system consisting of neutral, transparent components required something that would balance the sound out and make everything that much more concert like and not Auto-Tuned with fake highs and voices untrue to the artist....

I'm not getting this. If your system is neutral and transparent why do you need to balance the sound out? And make it more concert like? Are those test songs live recordings?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stereo_type
Speaking of 'humble', most anyone who has tried Kimber's rather reasonably priced PBJ might find that it outperforms a fairly emabarrassingly wide array of higher-priced offerings from competitors.

Lin:
Eh, not so much in my experience. Frankly, although the PBJ is a solid design for the price, just about everything I've tried at or above its price point was preferable, but this is dependent on personal tastes and the specific audio system being used of course.

Lin, you should have made that "...solid design...", "stranded":D

Lin, notice how I presented my findings with the suggestion of "might", so you're free to clear up your sweeping generalizations with at least some hint as to what 'everything at or above...' might encompass. I'll note your handy disclaimer about the dependency and specific audio system, tho.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stereo_type
...
Some claim "inter-strand interaction" that potentially occurs when multiple conductors are in contact, could cause all sorts of diode-type anomalies that are detrimental for an audio signal. Although this might be potentially possible with some types of inferior conductors and/or certain extreme conditions, Kimber handily eradicates any notion of this as a factor for consideration in line-level and spkr cables of their superior materials and design.

Lin:
Again I'm going to have to be the dissenting voice here. The conditions under which strand-to-strand interaction occur are not extreme at all, they are there whenever the stranded-wire design is utilized. Your claim that Kimber "eradicates" this notion doesn't make any sense because Kimber actually use solid core conductors for their top-of-the-line "Kimber Select" series.

Nor does your claim make any sense, when Kimber themselves use stranded conductors in several different products they manufacture and sell. Lin, again it seems that you missed my intended point and took my entire concept way out of context, so you might want to review the complete sentence as presented.

As an aside, I had moved on from ICs to spkr cable, KK 8TC to be specific, although I know several ICs they offer do in fact, use Varistrand as well. It looks like you took my use of 'eradicates' to extremely, as it was obviously followed by 'notion'. Present or not in any detectable form, I've found that KK obliterates that notion as a critical factor with their offerings of Varistrand products and what I stated about "inferior...and/or extreme conditions..." also still stands as valid.

Lin:
And again, my personal experience with a wide variety of name-brand cables at all kinds of price points, and years of experience designing and making my own DIY interconnects, have shown that in general solid core conductors or ribbon conductors are superior.

And again, feel free to share your opinion as an opinion only; not necessarily fact, as I'll accept your personal experience as such at face value, yet not as some sort of final word or conclusive statement overall. Please allow me to add the fact that another sweeping generalization simply doesn't go far enough to factor highly enough in the face of the infinite numbers of environmental variables, from equipment choices to physical ears, plus thoughts/opinions, maybe more, as this list goes on...

Further, how could you possibly know who has/hasn't also done extensive research, testing, and IC construction? Does that make you an expert? Maybe it helps, maybe not, so I'll offer another viewpoint: I question how this actually impacts the general subject of a review of KKs. Yes, I also happen to share this, the design and construction aspect with you and no, it's not necessary for 'credentials'. No one needs IC and/or spkr cables construction as some sort of a "requirement" to understand or enjoy this part or any other, within the audio hobby.

I've called into question several sweeping statements Lin shared with little or no backing evident. Despite these issues, I'll openly offer the fact that I personally, partially agree with some of Lin's findings regarding solid core conductors. I don't remain convinced that they are the absolute, conclusively final Holy Grail for ICs and they most certainly aren't necessarily so for spkr cables from my POV. This would be from everything I've tested, heard, experienced, yet please don't only take my word for it; this is shared by multitudes of others, or how else would you be able to explain the myriad numbers of high-end, high-performance stranded cables in existence on the market and in high-end systems, Kimber's own included?
 
I'm not getting this. If your system is neutral and transparent why do you need to balance the sound out? And make it more concert like? Are those test songs live recordings?

From my experience with my gear (Pioneer SX-1250, and JBL L100's) i have found that setup clear, neutral, and transparent. The 8TC have very much sharped that same sound, without adding warmth or unwanted sounds that i would not like with this particular setup. Something like the 8VC gave my system warmth, which i did not particularly like, and would be better suited for a Marantz/Sansui setup or similar.
 
Lin, you should have made that "...solid design...", "stranded":D

Here I admit you've got me.

Nor does your claim make any sense, when Kimber themselves use stranded conductors in several different products they manufacture and sell. Lin, again it seems that you missed my intended point and took my entire concept way out of context, so you might want to review the complete sentence as presented.

Not sure what you mean here. My point was that I feel Kimber makes good cables, but that you (speaking of "sweeping generalizations") think they "eradicate" the strand-to-strand interaction concerns by making great stranded wire speaker cables and interconnects, when in fact their most expensive and supposedly best cables utilize solid core wire.

It looks like you took my use of 'eradicates' to extremely, as it was obviously followed by 'notion'. Present or not in any detectable form, I've found that KK obliterates that notion as a critical factor with their offerings of Varistrand products and what I stated about "inferior...and/or extreme conditions..." also still stands as valid.

Eradicate and obliterate are extreme words. And again, if they "obliterate" the notion of stranded wire being inferior then why do they themselves use solid wire for their upper-tier products?

And again, feel free to share your opinion as an opinion only; not necessarily fact, as I'll accept your personal experience as such at face value, yet not as some sort of final word or conclusive statement overall.

Where did I say my word is fact? It's amusing to me that you're making accusations of sweeping generalizations when you're the one who's actually using extreme language and making sweeping generalizations - which btw is why I originally felt the need to offer an opposing point of view. My personal experience has been that solid wire sounds better to me in almost every instance I've tried it, compared to stranded. That doesn't mean I think that's the end of the story, or that everyone will agree - but I absolutely disagree that Kimber's lower-end products somehow "eradicate" any notion that strand-to-strand interaction could negatively impact the sound, or that it might be better to use solid or ribbon wire for hi-fi audio.

I've called into question several sweeping statements Lin shared with little or no backing evident.

Are you a lawyer or something? :scratch2: I doubt anyone but you read my thoughts above and felt I was declaring things as if they were fact and not opinion. It seems more likely to me that you're reacting this way because I've offended you, which was not my intention.
 
From my experience with my gear (Pioneer SX-1250, and JBL L100's) i have found that setup clear, neutral, and transparent. The 8TC have very much sharped that same sound, without adding warmth or unwanted sounds that i would not like with this particular setup. Something like the 8VC gave my system warmth, which i did not particularly like, and would be better suited for a Marantz/Sansui setup or similar.

So you mean the 8TC have enhanced resolution without skewing the tonal balance of your system?
 
So you mean the 8TC have enhanced resolution without skewing the tonal balance of your system?

The cables them self have made my system a slight brighter, while making everything crisper, clearer/neutral,etc.

I'm not buying. If you want neutral and transparent, why add warmth to an already warm Marantz?

You took this comment out of context, and IMO a lush sounding cable such as the 8VS should buff out the warmth of a Marantz or Sansui while adding a bit more low end bass, and transparency to the music.
 
Great write up, I couldn't imagine my system without my 8TC's. Mind you I haven't tried many others, but I'm so happy with them they will be there for years to come. Base has excellent authority while remaining very tight, a nice lush midrange with very revealing clearity, and a beautiful top end, that used to be harsh to my ears with previous cales is exactly where I want it.
I used 8 TC happily for some years until I figured out the dulling of upper treble wasn't caused by ageing valves etc but by the oxidisation of 8TC under the dialectric. It's probable Kimber have solved this problem since, I hope so as it was a slow, insidious process that took me ages to isolate.
 
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