Kimber Forum

[moonhawk]

I used PBJs for many years, and a pair of bi-wired 4VS--or similar, they were blue and black--for my speakers. Tried some AQ cinnamon, pretty useless. Found a guy in Nebraska who hand made all silver cables for a very reasonable price, and used them for years. Single ended and balanced variations on a solid silver tri-braid with clear teflon dialectic. They were fabulous, clear open, detailed. Guy named Tom at White Zombie Audio.

When I upgraded my Parasound Halo A51 to to a Bryston 9BSST2 and re-arranged my gear, I needed longer interconnects. I couldn't find White Zombie anywhere, and eventually learned that Tom had gone blind and gone out of business. Very sad story, I wish i could get hold of him. So, I was back in the cable market again.

Since I like the sound of silver I tried a pair of AQ "Wind." They were clear and neutral, but not as detailed as I am used to, and have that characteristic "Blanket over your speaker" effect I find with Audio Quest. Also that stupid battery thingie--whatever!

Got hold of the Cable Co and borrowed a pair of KS 1126, and a pair of 1136, and purchased a pair of Bifocal Xs, based on extensive conversations with Steven at the Cable Co, and Nate Mansfield at Kimber. I went for the Xs because the Kimber site said XLs were for larger speaker systems, and my kit-built North Creek Music "Vision Signatures" are not that big, or full-range.

The Xs are fabulous. Open, clear full, and I loved both the hybrid copper and silver 1126s and the all silver 1136s, but, in for a dime, in for a dollar, I've decided to go with the 1136, because they have just enough extra "air", and openness, and depth that I wish I hadn't listened to them. Also, noticeably more fine detail, very subtle background noises, and faint harmonics. (At least to me--my ears aren't what they used to be.)

The only pick I have is that the interconnects are a wee bit lean, not bright or edgy, just a little light in maybe the upper bass, lower mid. So, after consulting with Steven again, he is sending a loaner pair of bifocal XLs to try out. they should fill in the sound about right. Even if they don't, I'll keep the Xs and the 1136s. I never thought I'd be able to find any cables I like better than my White Zombies, but these high end Kimbers are better, and by a wide margin.

I'll keep tabs on this thread and let you all know how this goes. I just placed the order for the 1136s and the loan of the Bifocal XLs yesterday, so I should get them sometime next week.

Happy New Year to all!!

[prepress]

Until now I didn't think interconnects made much of a difference unless they were at the pre/power connection. Yesterday changed my mind.

I've been a bit disappointed with the sound of my McIntosh C2300 preamp on the video side, with the audio for DVDs and BDs; even to the point I'm considering getting a C48 instead. In trying to get more out of my C2300, looking for greater weight to the sound such as I had with my previous solid-state preamp (an ARC LS3), I replaced the AudioQuest King Cobra IC on my BD player with Kimber Hero, which had been replaced by the KC before. The tubes in the 2300 are Mullards (new production), which I hadn't tried the Kimber with previously.

When I fired up the BD player with the Hero ICs, it made noticeable improvement in the weight of the sound, it filled in things a bit more and sounds more like what I was getting from my ARC LS3. On two of the three DVDs I tried, it wasn't a subtle change.

I may go back to Hero ICs for all my sources now. Oddly, I thought the Hero was thin in the bass when used as a pre/power connection. The KC was better, but it was replaced by Transparent MusicLink Plus two years ago. As for the Hero on my BD player, I'll spend more time with it to see if things change or not.

[McDaddy]

I've always been incredibly happy with every Kimber product I've tried or purchased. I can't say enough good things about Kimber and the products they offer at every price point.

[prepress]

Originally Posted by McDaddy

I've always been incredibly happy with every Kimber product I've tried or purchased. I can't say enough good things about Kimber and the products they offer at every price point.

How have the PK-10s helped your system? I almost bought them for my 501s, but they changed the jacket color to black. I preferred green.

[Rod#S]

Originally Posted by prepress

How have the PK-10s helped your system? I almost bought them for my 501s, but they changed the jacket color to black. I preferred green.

Black is just the new default colour. Something tells me Kimber offers many colours now. I've definitely seen grey and possibly even a red pair.

[prepress]

Originally Posted by Rod#S

Black is just the new default colour. Something tells me Kimber offers many colours now. I've definitely seen grey and possibly even a red pair.

I didn't see colors on the website last time I looked. Are these new?

[Rod#S]

Originally Posted by prepress

I didn't see colors on the website last time I looked. Are these new?

Yes, well relatively. Actually if you look at the website grey is showing so that must be the default as it is noticeably lighter than the black I have seen. You can also see there that Kimber has started using the new Wattgate connectors. There is yet to be any mention of available colours but if you check out their Facebook page there is an older post where you can see a bunch of different colours.

[McDaddy]

Originally Posted by Rod#S

Yes, well relatively. Actually if you look at the website grey is showing so that must be the default as it is noticeably lighter than the black I have seen. You can also see there that Kimber has started using the new Wattgate connectors. There is yet to be any mention of available colours but if you check out their Facebook page there is an older post where you can see a bunch of different colours.

Yes, mine are grey, and love them so much better than the green ones that are also in my system. The cable company has a library you can use to give the PK-10 gold and palladians a test run. I found that they created a much greater dynamic range with dead silent backgrounds and clean/deep bass (Palladians with the significant edge here and are used on my Linn and preamp). I ultilized their library years ago to test out many different brands before I decided to go with Kimber. Highly recommend...

[prepress]

Originally Posted by McDaddy

Yes, mine are grey, and love them so much better than the green ones that are also in my system. The cable company has a library you can use to give the PK-10 gold and palladians a test run. I found that they created a much greater dynamic range with dead silent backgrounds and clean/deep bass (Palladians with the significant edge here and are used on my Linn and preamp). I ultilized their library years ago to test out many different brands before I decided to go with Kimber. Highly recommend...

Uh oh. "Greater dynamic range." That's intriguing. I've been looking for that when watching DVDs, LDs and BDs. Short of going back to a solid-state preamp, maybe a better/heftier cord for my preamp will help. The combination of Hero IC on the BD player with the tubes currently in my C2300 (NP Mullards) yielded improvement. There's a WW Aurora 5.2 on it now, which is 12AWG. I know gauge isn't everything, but I might be curious enough to try a PK10. As I understand it, the main difference between the PK10 Gold and the regular PK10 is the connector, not the cord itself.

[jororupp]

Last year my dealer enabled a test of the Kimber top-line cables at my equipment: KS-1138 XLR, KS-2436 USB and KS-6068 with suitable jumpers.
It was amazing, such an improvement in detail and soundstage. It made me a Kimber fan.