Please note, I am not reviewing any kind of audio quality...since my stance on cables and SQ gains is that it's not worth it for that. However, I decided to go with something to make my home theater look good, since I will have to deal with visible cable runs (landlord said NO to running them under the carpet). And after much deliberation and price cehcking...I could get a finished product for $50-75 more than DIY, but without the hassle of sleeving over a hundred feet of cable....so I bit.
Well, teh cable got to me three days after ordering, and was very nicely packed as well. Inside the box was three reels, each reel was for different cable lengths (2x50ft, 2x12ft, 1x6ft). In the hub of each reel was a velveteen pouch containing various connector tips that can be used on the cable to make it work with whatever equipment you use (they have banana, flex pin, barrier spade, driver terminals, and splice joints to attach another cable to it). The end boots of the cables slide up to go over the shaft of the tips, so to keep the look clean.
On to appearance, the cables have a almost mnagenta shade of purple fabric sheathing over them, which looks pretty darn good and overall has a very quality look about them. The cable ends are very well done, with moded parts covering the solder joints at teh connector ends, as well as where the sleeving begins. These cables are prone to curling up if you twist them, which can be a real pain to deal with on the longer cables.
Once installed...well they sure do look pretty
as far as sound, they work as expected, and despite having changable tips, I could not hear anyhting odd when moving the cables around while playing back some audio.
In summary, I feel these are pretty decent cables for those who want to have something that looks decent and doesnt cost much more compared to buying the parts and making it yourself. The build quality is good, the packaging was great, and the speed of service was great. Oddly enough for a cable, it gets my seal of approval!
K&B 5-channel cable set.
Linear Mode
