Kimber Kable 4PR & 8PR Speaker Cable Review

[jinjuku]

Were you injured in the process? In either case, email me and I will give you a complete refund of your money. We want our readers to be 100% satisfied.

Was I injured? Refund what money? Sorry, I don't get it...

Referring to the fact the site and article are free. That you are not obligated in any way to heed the content of the review.

 

[foeth]

If Gene writes up a post about alien visitors who brought him speaker cable made from rare metals on their home planet, and they made his speakers sound better than ever, who are we to tell him he’s wrong?

If you're that gullible you'll take anything at face value. But if someone were that far gone, I'd consider it a waste of effort speaking to him. Especially because we can state with some confidence that the laws of physics do not change when using cables from Tau Ceti 6 or Sol 3.

Yes, turn to a machine to get hard numbers, but don’t let that machine tell you how to feel about something.

If the machine reminds me of my ex-girlfriend, do you really think I'd be able to hear this? Really, feeling about something does not change anything about the facts. Or perhaps you think that the machine knows it reminds me of my ex-girlfriend and should therefore be sounding differently. By stating this, it is clear that you do not trust measurements and, therefore, your opinion cannot be trusted to be based on facts. You could be telling me anything. In fact, you just did.

 

[zhimbo]

Here, in the thread, you have clarified that your recommendation is really only meant for people with money to spare and an already established predilection for "exotic" cables.

[...]

Put another way, if I were to word the summary myself, I would say, "I can recommend these Kimber cables because they have excellent measured performance and unique connectors that are especially well made. However, the performance is not greatly better than far less expensive alternatives and the recommendation is targeted towards buyers who can easily afford the higher cost and would benefit from the aesthetics and/or the unique connectors."

You mean, something like this? (all quotes from "Recommendations" and "Conclusion":

People shopping exotic cables aren’t typically factoring value into the equation. They want peace of mind that their cables will do no harm to their system and some even take it to the extreme thinking they will improve the transmission of the signal from their amplifiers to their loudspeakers.

As much as I like the WBT compression banana connectors, they come at a hefty premium of $72/pair. There is no sonic advantage to these connectors over their standard banana plug which runs $10/pair.

If you are on the market for high end exotic cables and your goal is transparency over glorified tone controls...

Plus all the numerous admonitions regarding the sonic equivalence to cheaper alternatives repeated throughout?

 

[CraigV]

If the machine reminds me of my ex-girlfriend, do you really think I'd be able to hear this? Really, feeling about something does not change anything about the facts. Or perhaps you think that the machine knows it reminds me of my ex-girlfriend and should therefore be sounding differently. By stating this, it is clear that you do not trust measurements and, therefore, your opinion cannot be trusted to be based on facts. You could be telling me anything. In fact, you just did.

I’m simply saying that humans are not machines. If we were, this conversation would not be taking place because the matter of reproducing sounds in movies and music (which play on our emotions) would be irrelevant. We are creatures ruled by our emotions, and when engaging that which effects us on this level, you can’t well remove that fact from the equation.


(On a side note, I’m not sure why I’m being quoted with my name being miss spelled)

 

[foeth]

(On a side note, I’m not sure why I’m being quoted with my name being miss spelled)

Sorry about that.

We are creatures ruled by our emotions, and when engaging that which effects us on this level, you can’t well remove it from the equation.

Yes we can, that is called science. If you say that it sounds different because we are human, you just admitted it wasn't the cable.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Referring to the fact the site and article are free. That you are not obligated in any way to heed the content of the review.

Of course I'm not obligated to heed the content! But, to say that the site and the articles are free is an awfully weak defence. That's tantamount to stating that the content is worth exactly what I paid - nothing. I for one, wouldn't sell the website short like that. It's a fantastic website, including this forum. I've learned a lot from Audioholics and received lots of helpful advice from forum members.

Gene has clarified his assessment of the value of these cables as high when compared with ultra-overpriced cables and I won't argue with that. Plus, he made no questionable claims about the cables' performance. Indeed he has made it clear that there is no perceivable difference. But, being moderately overcharged for a product is OK, while being grossly overcharged isn't? Where does one draw the line? I simply do not believe in paying any more for any piece of A/V equipment if it does not provide a coresponding increase in performance. Period.

In retrospect, I probably should've passed on commenting on the review because it wasn't really aimed at me. I would say that anybody who likes the "look" of his cables, doesn't mind paying high prices, but doesn't want to risk getting degraded performance, will appreciate it.

As an aside, Kimber's "Isomike" recordings are absolutely amazing and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. I just won't buy the cable...

 

[CraigV]

Sorry about that.

I wasn’t implying you were doing it on purpose, I thought it was a weird hiccup in the system.

Yes we can, that is called science. If you say that it sounds different because we are human, you just admitted it wasn't the cable.

...but that makes it no less a valid point. The machine used to analyze the cable doesn't care if it's listening to a sine wave or music, but I do!

 

[engtaz]

Very well written review.

Thanks

 

[mtrycrafts]

Overall I am a big fan of the Kimber 8PR speaker cables and I plan on utilizing my review samples in my reference system quite heavily not just because they perform well but because the package as a whole is of excellent quality and design. I fell in love with their banana terminations and wish that their competition would go back to the drawing board and make more cost effective cloned solutions. If you are on the market for high end exotic cables and your goal is transparency over glorified tone controls, then I highly recommend the Kimber 8PR speaker cables. It’s refreshing to find an exotic cable vendor that discloses all performance metrics of their products, doesn’t wrap them in snake oil and delivers a reference level performing product that scores high in pride of ownership. Highly recommended!

I like this, Gene:
My wife never claimed she could hear the difference all the way from the kitchen while she was cooking up some chicken Marsala.

What did she claim then

 

[gene]

What did she claim then

It was ready to eat and I am never late to a meal, especially when she is cooking

 

[mtrycrafts]

Yes, we read the damn review! But, the question still goes begging - why did he bother to do it at all, if there is no real benefit in buying these cables?

Perhaps because it wasn't reviewed before or part of the original cable article?
Perhaps to show its measurements?
Perhaps because they look good and has very nice connectors?
Perhaps some may want to buy them for whatever reason?
Perhaps.... on it goes?

 

[mtrycrafts]

.... It's been pointed out that Kimber Kable is a sponsor, ergo a review of that company's products was inevitable, I guess.

I still love ya Gene!!

Are you trying to imply that AH should not review any 'sponsor' products?
If so, why not?
If not, why even bother posting what you did?
Or, do you want them to be like CR? No advertisements so they can be fair about a review? In this case, better have a deep pocket

 

[mtrycrafts]

...
What bothers me is the statement, "Highly recommended!"
....

Why would that be? Is price the only criteria to recommend something, highly or somewhat, or in between? I think not.
Some have other reasons for buying things than price alone, do you disagree?

 

[mtrycrafts]

Was I injured? Refund what money? Sorry, I don't get it...

I am sorry to hear that

 

[mtrycrafts]

...In retrospect, I probably should've passed on commenting on the review because it wasn't really aimed at me. I would say that anybody who likes the "look" of his cables, doesn't mind paying high prices, but doesn't want to risk getting degraded performance, will appreciate it.

As an aside, Kimber's "Isomike" recordings are absolutely amazing and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. I just won't buy the cable...

Now you have it, in retrospect

I didn't know they make recordings, thanks

 

[Matt34]

My bet? This thread will have 120 replies and 1400 views by the end of the day.

Gene, you need to do a review on power cables next, drum up some more traffic to the website.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Are you trying to imply that AH should not review any 'sponsor' products?
If so, why not?
If not, why even bother posting what you did?
Or, do you want them to be like CR? No advertisements so they can be fair about a review? In this case, better have a deep pocket

I wasn't trying to imply anything - I had forgotten that Kimber Kable was a sponsor and when the fact was brought up in another post, it just came to mind that I've seen reviews of many, many products from manufacturers who sponsor the website. So, what I meant was that I shouldn't have been surprised that the review was done. Does that make sense?

I realize that sponsors are required, if the site is to remain free. If I misspoke (mistyped?), it wasn't intentional.

 

[mtrycrafts]

My bet? This thread will have 120 replies and 1400 views by the end of the day.

Gene, you need to do a review on power cables next, drum up some more traffic to the website.

And, after that, cable lifter. I may even read it.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Now you have it, in retrospect

I didn't know they make recordings, thanks

Just google "Isomike". If memory serves, it's all classical and jazz. There was a recent 40% discount for Isomike recordings. The ad appeared on the Audioholics site - how ironic, eh?

 

[mtrycrafts]

....So, what I meant was that I shouldn't have been surprised that the review was done. Does that make sense?

I realize that sponsors are required, if the site is to remain free. If I misspoke (mistyped?), it wasn't intentional.

Yes, that does make sense, thanks
And, since I see an ad for that Monster Minigolf, that review may be in the future.