Kimber Kable KCAG with WBT 0114 RG RCA plugs

[JCGardner]

Are these any good or should I get Blue Jean equivalent?

 

[dolynick]

I have an old set of Kimber Hero interconnects with the WBT RCA plugs. Nice cable and I really do like the tightening RCA plugs. Is it worth the price from a sonic benefit? Not really. I will make no claim on being able to pick them out of a blind test or anything like that. I would frame buying some Kimbers more of a "luxury" purchase because you simply want to, rather than any sort of value proposition. The price on KCAG is way beyond what I would consider though, unless I had piles of cash I felt like burning.

I'm not aware of any empirical tests that show a measurable advantage to expensive cables and I'm fairly certain the vast majority of users on this forum are firmly in the "no benefit to expensive cables" camp. You're unlikely to get any supportive comments about the Kimber KCAG in the replies.

Blue Jeans makes good quality cables at a relativelly modest price and generally well built. If you wanted to go a little "upmarket" without going crazy, they're a reasonable choice. World's Best offers a locking RCA plug as well that is in the same range as the Blue Jeans. Monoprice is also often recommended for more basic budget quality interconnect.

 

[TLS Guy]

Are these any good or should I get Blue Jean equivalent?

Kimber cable is way overpriced junk. It is got up to look flashy, but is not particularly well made.

Wire is wire, and you don't need to spend a ton of money on cables. There is zero benefit from high priced cables.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Kimber cable is way overpriced junk. It is got up to look flashy, but is not particularly well made.

Wire is wire, and you don't need to spend a ton of money on cables. There is zero benefit from high priced cables.

Gene uses Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables. I also use Kimber Kable 8TC.

Kimber do cost more than BJC and other generic cables. But Kimber also costs a lot less than other cables.

Kimber are NOT junk. Audioholics have written articles about Kimber.

Kimber Kable 8TC Speaker Cable Review

This is a review of the Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables. They measure, look and sound great.

www.audioholics.com

Kimber are also a lot prettier to look at as well. Most generic cables, including BJC, are ugly as hell to look at - if cable aesthetics are important in cases where people can’t hide them in-walls.

 

[cpp]

Gene uses Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables. I also use Kimber Kable 8TC.

Kimber do cost more than BJC and other generic cables. But Kimber also costs a lot less than other cables.

Kimber are NOT junk. Audioholics have written articles about Kimber.

Kimber Kable 8TC Speaker Cable Review

This is a review of the Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables. They measure, look and sound great.

www.audioholics.com

Kimber are also a lot prettier to look at as well. Most generic cables, including BJC, are ugly as hell to look at - if cable aesthetics are important in cases where people can’t hide them in-walls.

Starting around $13 a person can go to Amazon and buy all the pretty color braided sleeving they want and you to can turn that plain ugly cable into a high end expensive looking AUDIOPHILE cable.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Starting around $13 a person can go to Amazon and buy all the pretty color braided sleeving they want and you to can turn that plain ugly cable into a high end expensive looking AUDIOPHILE cable.

I have used cable sleeves in the past.

Do $13 Amazon sleeving look like this?

Everyone has their own personal preferences that they are happy with. If they are happy with $13 sleeving or BJC or any other cables, that’s cool.

The point is everyone is different and desires different things. Don’t expect everyone to like $13 sleeving or BJC or the same things.

The other point is, Gene has tested Kimber Kable and personally uses Kimber Kable. So they do cost more money, but Kimber are NOT junk cables.

Some people are willing to pay, some are not willing to pay. Not everyone wants the same thing.

 

[cpp]

The $13 Amazon sleeving looks like this?

Everyone has their own personal preferences that they are happy with. If they are happy with $13 sleeving or BJC or any other cables, that’s cool.

The point is everyone is different and desires different things. Don’t expect everyone to like $13 sleeving or BJC or the same things.

The other point is, Gene has tested Kimber Kable and personally uses Kimber Kable. So they do cost more money, but Kimber are NOT junk cables.

Some people are willing to pay, some are not willing to pay. Not everyone wants the same thing.

or this

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

or this

View attachment 65822

Oh Lordy. I have a lot of these in different diameter sizes I use to cover up all my wires, including my karaoke microphone cables.

Not in the same world as Kimber.

But again, if people are just as happy with these, that’s fine too.

 

[Movie2099]

Are these any good or should I get Blue Jean equivalent?

These cables don't need an introduction. They pretty much speak for themselves......... Who cares about the price. Just go to your local Best Buy and order a few pairs of these. You won't regret it!

 

[cpp]

Oh Lordy. I have a lot of these in different diameter sizes I use to cover up all my wires, including my karaoke microphone cables.

Not in the same world as Kimber.

But again, if people are just as happy with these, that’s fine too.

agree. The wife wanted me to color coordinate my speaker cords with her decor, I said, what !

 

[dolynick]

Gene uses Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables. I also use Kimber Kable 8TC.

I also have a couple runs of Kimber 8TC with WBT bananas in one of my systems. I picked it up 20 years ago but it was chosen because it wasn't exorbitantly expensive and worked well for trying a bi-wire config. The fancy WBT banana plugs were almost as expensive in the end.

 

[highfigh]

So, the Kimber 8TC cost $21/ft at the time of the review and the frequency response starts to drop off around 15KHz?

Sign me up!

 

[dolynick]

So, the Kimber 8TC cost $21/ft at the time of the review and the frequency response starts to drop off around 15KHz?

Sign me up!

View attachment 65824View attachment 65825

So you're suggesting that "wire isn't just wire" and the type of wire used does actually matter and influences the sound?

 

[highfigh]

So you're suggesting that "wire isn't just wire" and the type of wire used does actually matter and influences the sound?

I have never said, written or posted that "wire is wire" if there's nothing inherently wrong with it but this, by rolling off the high end, has something wrong with it.

I had a WT3 woofer tester that measured resistance, impedance, inductance and capacitance- it clearly showed frequency response issues and I posted about that- if you look for it (probably not worth the time because it was more than ten years ago), you would see some of the results from various cable types.

The point about cable I agree with is that the differences are generally too small to hear and the amount of flowery BS that's used to describe the sound is like reading a fairly tale, written by a child. The price of $21/foot in 2013 is now more than $27/foot, but that only accounts for the value of the dollar, a 2m pair is now $552 with a single banana plug at each end, which is $60 more than the cable with bare ends and the plugs don't look like anything that should cost $60/four pieces.

I would use the WT3 to test cables now, but it stopped working when the MS upgraded their OS and the company wouldn't do anything for me. If anyone has an older computer, it may still work, but I'm not sure, since it doesn't show anything about compatibility mode for older OS.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

So, the Kimber 8TC cost $21/ft at the time of the review and the frequency response starts to drop off around 15KHz?

Sign me up!

View attachment 65824View attachment 65825

Drop off what?

Those are NOT Frequency Response graphs.

Are you talking about the Inductance?

The lower the inductance, the better.

“All 3 Kimber models of cable exhibit very low inductance. Due to the braided geometry of these cables, not only are they low inductance, but their inductance profile vs. frequency is ruler flat for the entire audio band. By weight of comparison, the inductance of the 8TC and 8PR was a mere .037 uF/ft and .041uH/ft, respectively; which was nearly four times lower than the 10AWG Bluejeans speaker cables that I revere so much.”

So the Kimber inductance is 4 times lower than BJC, which means a lot better (on paper) since lower Inductance is better.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

So you're suggesting that "wire isn't just wire" and the type of wire used does actually matter and influences the sound?

In terms of electrical measurements (resistance, inductance), Kimber have EXCELLENT measurements. That’s why @gene uses Kimber in his own system and why some high-end speaker companies actually use Kimber inside their speakers.

But I doubt anyone can actually HEAR the improvement.

 

[dolynick]

I have never said, written or posted that "wire is wire" if there's nothing inherently wrong with it but this, by rolling off the high end, has something wrong with it.

If wire is rolling off the high end as your post suggested, then wire clearly does matter and can influence sound.

The general argument when this sort of thread comes up is that expensive wire makes no difference. Your post seemed to be suggesting otherwise. So if your post was in support of expensive wire making a difference (which the tone generally did not), then that's interesting. If it was not in favor of the expensive wire, then you really can't post a graph like that to run down the wire on a technical level and try to have it both ways.

 

[dolynick]

In terms of electrical measurements (resistance, inductance), Kimber have EXCELLENT measurements. That’s why @gene uses Kimber in his own system and why some high-end speaker companies actually use Kimber inside their speakers.

But I doubt anyone can actually HEAR the improvement.

It was more of a comment on the way he posted graphs suggesting the wire was inferior when I gathered that his argument was that "high end wire" doesn't do anything.

As for myself, I've used cheap wires and I've used some comparatively rather expensive cables. The argument that electrically, there's no practical difference based on data makes sense. That being said, science is, by its very nature, the process of continuing to look for explanations for things that we currently may not understand fully yet either. I'm willing to leave my mind open enough to accept there may be some differences, but also doubt that any changes are going to be night and day, if even audible at all to most

So when it comes to wires in terms of a hobby like this, my view is spend what you're comfortable with and what makes you happy. If you can afford crazy prices on some of these wires without breaking a sweat and it enhances your satisfaction with your system, then you do you. As I said in my first response though, I see it as more of a luxury expenditure rather than a practical one.

These days, for me, that tends to be something like some Mogami Gold or BJC Canare 4S11 (in the $10-$15 per foot range) for speaker wire if I want to go upmarket. And even then, I know it's mainly because I just want to spend that much rather than any major gains. Kimber's lower end is a little outside of my preferred price range these days, but I'm also happy with the 8TC I did spend more on way back when. I'm also entirely happy with my Cardas Neutral Reference (~$100 per foot) that I splurged to try when dropping fairly large sums on the rest of the stuff being purchased at the time, but I wouldn't do it again unless I won the lottery or something.

My last traditional speaker wire purchase (just before XMas this year) was a 250' spool of Monoprice 12 gauge CL2. The cost of shipping was about 40% of total spend. I'm perfectly happy with its performance in the application I had for it. After that, it was some paper flat Monoprice under-carpet wire - which was another experience in and of itself as I had never used anything like that before.

 

[TLS Guy]

Actually it was Peter Walker of Quad that used to tell these idiots, 'That wire is wire."

Personally I don't spend time gazing at wire, and it is not part of my room decor.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

So when it comes to wires in terms of a hobby like this, my view is spend what you're comfortable with and what makes you happy.

I agree. And it applies to other hobbies and preferences.

You and I and others believe that everyone usually knows what’s best for themself when it comes to hobbies and preferences.

But some people talk as if everyone should always agree with them; as if they know what’s best for everyone else.