Kimber KS 1036 Silver RCA Cable Review

[Chrispy]

Medical doctors don't tend to do any research themselves.

So that makes them more susceptible to audio BS?

 

[tineared]

So that makes them more susceptible to audio BS?

No, living on a diet of vodka & oxycontin while trying to impress new nursing staff makes them susceptible to audio bs

 

[UK Sugden Fan]

Not at all. You can set up a blind test yourself. Have a friend or loved one swap the cables without you knowing. Then you play your system as you want, for as long as you want. Then the helper randomly swaps cables. Do this 10 times and see if you get 8 out of 10 right. Very easy to do and costs nothing.

Yes that's possible but is not the 'proffesional' type I was meaning, ie. those with an interest in getting listeners to fail. They are also able to use comparison switches with marginal electrical properties.

 

[UK Sugden Fan]

Sometimes, I kind of wish the polls here would allow us to see who voted how.

This is one of those times.

Just in case anyone else is interested I voted 'not terrible' on the basis that I feel reasonably confident that they sound OK, but I feel they are significantly overpriced.

The interconnects in my fairly modest system cost me £49 for a 1m pair, on offer from £129 which they quite soon went back up to.

My speaker cable is NAIM NA4 (I think that's the name it's been obsolete for some years) it's 40 years old and doesn't seem to be holding my system back. The last phrase is of course much of the basis of this site as it's a cable so can't make a difference.

 

[Chrispy]

Just in case anyone else is interested I voted 'not terrible' on the basis that I feel reasonably confident that they sound OK, but I feel they are significantly overpriced.

The interconnects in my fairly modest system cost me £49 for a 1m pair, on offer from £129 which they quite soon went back up to.

My speaker cable is NAIM NA4 (I think that's the name it's been obsolete for some years) it's 40 years old and doesn't seem to be holding my system back. The last phrase is of course much of the basis of this site as it's a cable so can't make a difference.

So you think speaker cables have "sound" you can distinguish sometimes? Really?

 

[Devnull]

It

Frustrates me that so many people believe that we know everything about cable characteristics that can be measured and have the capability to measure them.
I have had very little trouble hearing differences in cables for many years now.

Exactly what specific physical or electrical characteristics of cables can't be measured?

What impact does this unknown unmeasurable characteristic have on the signal?


I really want to know what I wasn't doing correctly when I was designing, modeling, specifying and testing cables and interconnects for a good portion of my engineering career.

 

[amirm]

Exactly what specific physical or electrical characteristics of cables can't be measured?

You can't measure the effect that the eye has on the perception of sound!

 

[Endibol]

fair enough, I've always seen the argument that cables like this just sound different even if they're identical electrically.

Of course, all that matters is their color

 

[Purité Audio]

Yes that's possible but is not the 'proffesional' type I was meaning, ie. those with an interest in getting listeners to fail. They are also able to use comparison switches with marginal electrical properties.

Who exactly has an interest in getting listeners to fail?
Listeners often perceive differences that disappear under unsighted conditions.
Sadly not many listeners perform comparisons with any form of control, ie unsighted/level matched, if they did snake oil manufacturers would soon cease to exist.
Keith

 

[VientoB]

Yes that's possible but is not the 'proffesional' type I was meaning, ie. those with an interest in getting listeners to fail. They are also able to use comparison switches with marginal electrical properties.

There are far most people with an interest in getting listeners to "pass", I would say.

 

[Ropeburn]

No, living on a diet of vodka & oxycontin while trying to impress new nursing staff makes them susceptible to audio bs

That's more accurate and funny than it has any right to be

 

[Ropeburn]

You can't measure the effect that the eye has on the perception of sound!

I propose measuring it in pounds of bovine manure.

 

[Mart68]

There are far most people with an interest in getting listeners to "pass", I would say.

Exactly. You'd think expensive cable manufacturers would be routinely commissioning third party independent blind tests to showcase the benefits of their products, but instead, nothing. Why is that?

1) Tried it and no-one could distinguish their product from a much cheaper one.
2) Not tried it since they already know that their product in fact offers no improvement.
3) They already make a ton of money so they don't feel the need.

 

[Robin L]

Exactly. You'd think expensive cable manufacturers would be routinely commissioning third party independent blind tests to showcase the benefits of their products, but instead, nothing. Why is that?

1) Tried it and no-one could distinguish their product from a much cheaper one.
2) Not tried it since they already know that their product in fact offers no improvement.
3) They already make a ton of money so they don't feel the need.

4) They know better than to kick a hornet's nest.

 

[Ropeburn]

It really this simple.

 

[Kevinfc]

Thank God I found this site before I wasted another penny on stratospherically priced cables again.

 

[xray]

Thank God I found this site before I wasted another penny on stratospherically priced cables again.

It's unfortunate they got you the first time but it's never too late. Many of us have been in your shoes in the past.

 

[RigorDude]

I bought a set 'as a giggle' and laughed the other side of my face once I tried them, as they're bloomin' good! Dressed to the nines with external woven jacket and terminated with fancy-wanky looking plugs on each end, they'd easily sell to higher end clients for several hundred quid for a 1.2m pair.

By the way, for some years now, the RCA plugs consisting of a return/negative 'pin-in-plastic-housing' has been a thing in audiophool circles, and even better if a copper pin as well... I tried them and found them a pain to solder up (maybe I needed a dinky-tip iron?).

Was the overall capacitance tested please as this is one thing that may just give a subjective impression (I didn't say 'difference')?


P.S. I do remember proper high quality silver conductors making naff-all difference over good copper BUT, something always seemed to be going on with silver PLATED wire, both speaker and signal. No idea why and obviously no objective evidence, but I've tended to avoid 'hybrid' wires like this for a considerable time now.

(Speaker wires, QED Silver Anniversary, Chord Co. Rumour and Odyssey and interconnects made using the same basic conductors - Chorus? Other interconnects using microwave frequency cable with silver (plated?) inner conductor - Chord Solid and NVA Soundpipe from memory.)

Seconding this motion. Capacitance, inductance, and resistance are the measurable parameters that potentially affect signal transmission, and these data are sometimes provided by cable makers — even Kimber does this, though not for their really pricey stuff.

So why not measure that, @amirm, instead of harmonic distortion and rise time? Granted, the latter are things that are easy to measure with the AP gizmo. Perhaps the “phase difference” graph could pick up on reactance effects, but the fact that it is absolutely ruler flat suggests otherwise.

Also, I’d love to know where the ASR member bought the cable that (s)he lent to Amir. Was it a from an authorized dealer or directly from Kimber? Much as with Rolex watches, expensive cables bring out the counterfeiters. Did the donor actually pay $4,250 for it?

 

[VientoB]

Seconding this motion. Capacitance, inductance, and resistance are the measurable parameters that potentially affect signal transmission, and these data are sometimes provided by cable makers — even Kimber does this, though not for their really pricey stuff.

So why not measure that, @amirm, instead of harmonic distortion and rise time? Granted, the latter are things that are easy to measure with the AP gizmo. Perhaps the “phase difference” graph could pick up on reactance effects, but the fact that it is absolutely ruler flat suggests otherwise.

Also, I’d love to know where the ASR member bought the cable that (s)he lent to Amir. Was it a from an authorized dealer or directly from Kimber? Much as with Rolex watches, expensive cables bring out the counterfeiters. Did the donor actually pay $4,250 for it?

The values of capacitance. Inductance and resistant that are acceptable are well known. If a cable falls outside these values it will be detrimental in some way, but in the acceptable range you are not going to hear a different. There isn't much value in measuring these things unless the cable sounds bad.

 

[Mart68]

Seconding this motion. Capacitance, inductance, and resistance are the measurable parameters that potentially affect signal transmission, and these data are sometimes provided by cable makers — even Kimber does this, though not for their really pricey stuff.

So why not measure that, @amirm, instead of harmonic distortion and rise time

Frequency response is measured though and this is the only parameter that would be affected by high capacitance or resistance, isn't it?