Kimber KS 1036 Silver RCA Cable Review

[egellings]

When I’ve noticed differences in RCA cables, the first thing I’ve done is disconnect and clean them. Connector rectification is something that I’ve noticed, and that can make a difference.

Either that or just a loose, intermittent connection.

 

[audioholic63]

I love this discussion but...it is an ongoing “How Many Angels Can Dance On The Head Of A Pin” sort of thing. The cables in your system are not going to make up for any other deficiency in the signal chain. Power cables and power regeneration devices are not going to correct any actual electrical problems with your connection to the grid.

I like Kimber product to the extent that I have Kimber 4TC, 4VS, and 8PR, bought years ago at good prices and I use them in different systems – because they are here. In any one of those setups it will sound the same with 14 gauge OFC Amazon Basics. I have a 1m set of Kimber Hero interconnects. Traded for them years ago for an AudioSource Amp1 to a buddy who wanted to use the amp for some subs. It is a nice cable. I have never heard it make a difference in sound over other interconnects in the part of the signal chain where it sits (preamp to power amp).

This product is pure BS insofar as audio cables have a single purpose, transmit the voltage over a given distance and deliver it unaltered between points A and B. It does that but at a price that is in line with the old adage that cocaine is God’s way of telling you that you have too much money. Anyone is entitled to spend any amount of money they wish on whatever they wish but it would be better spent on concert tickets.

The best (most amusing) example of cable snake oil I can think of is not audio. Back in 1999 I was in a Circuit City buying some bulk speaker wire to rewire my brother-in-law’s very basic 2ch system. There was a Monster rack of product. The Cat5e patch cables labeled as “Y2K Compliant” were bad enough but they were selling RJ11 cables with the claim that they would fix all the garbage upstream that was keeping your 56K modem from reaching its full potential. They were very nice RJ11 cables. They had molded strain relief ends. I would have been proud to connect them to my modem – if they were free.

 

[Southall-1998]

@amirm

Many thanks for posting this review.

S.

 

[mns3dhm]

I’m always fascinated by the reaction to one of Amir’s piggybank reviews. They seem to trigger a large number of responses from those amongst us that are exasperated/ astonished/ annoyed by the stupidity rich and their spending habits. At $4500 the Kimber RCA cables are certainly overpriced, but if I came across these or something similar at an estate sale I wouldn’t hesitate to offer something ridiculous, like $45, just to see if the seller knows what they are.

 

[Svperstar]

Amir,

I just had someone arguing that detachable estat cables are "different" from cables like this and will make a huge difference in sound.

Maybe you can test detachable estat headphone cables if someone sends you some

 

[VientoB]

I’m always fascinated by the reaction to one of Amir’s piggybank reviews. They seem to trigger a large number of responses from those amongst us that are exasperated/ astonished/ annoyed by the stupidity rich and their spending habits. At $4500 the Kimber RCA cables are certainly overpriced, but if I came across these or something similar at an estate sale I wouldn’t hesitate to offer something ridiculous, like $45, just to see if the seller knows what they are.

Offering that much might raise suspicions. I'd offer $5

 

[lordhumungous]

Offering that much might raise suspicions. I'd offer $5

LMAO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[amirm]

Maybe you can test detachable estat headphone cables if someone sends you some

Sure. Due to very high impedances of the load, there can be interactions there that don't exist in normal cables.

 

[amirm]

I would love to see a video showing this measurable effect of resistance in either speaker or audio interconnects, and capacitance in same wires, and if audible then audio samples as well.

I don't have the audio sample part but can easily create one with very long cables. For now, here is a study I did on advertised "12 gauage" wires: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/when-12-gauge-wire-is-not-12-gauge.3/

As you see, the difference can be quite large. Dr. Tool's research shows that for broad resonances, 0.5 dB is threshold of detection. Using that, and the measurements in my article, you can compute the maximum length before this happens for speakers with such broad impedance curves.

 

[amirm]

Adding on, here is a measurement I made long time ago on Transparent Audio cable showing a roll off if the source impedance is high:

They are the ones with a box with some components in them which must couple with the input and cause that exaggerated roll off.

 

[RetroStereo]

Offering that much might raise suspicions. I'd offer $5

The only reason I might offer $5 is to recycle the crap on eBay. I'm quite sure some fool could be convinced to part with 1/10th its original price and I'd have no qualms at pocketing the profit. In an eBay auction environment or at something like an estate sale, making an offer of sale without ANY of the misleading claims, I'll take what I can get.

However, It really annoys me when a salesperson at an audio boutique tries to convince me that I need to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars to interconnect audio components. And when they bring out $500 (or more: the Synergistic Research SRX XL is over $20,000) replacement power cables, that just adds insult to injury. If I were running the Federal Trade Commission, I'd prosecute the lot of them - manufacturers and vendors - for fraud.

I'm perfectly happy running Belden 12-guage zip cord for speaker wire (added banana plugs to one end and spade lugs to the other myself), WBC XLR cables, Cable Matters USB cables and Monoprice RCA cables. They work and work well. That's all I ask of them.

 

[Hindsider85]

They DO look nice though...

 

[IngMishael]

That which is unmeasurable, as they like to say.

I won't say who it was, but an audio manufacturer recently approached my objective stance on measurements by asking if I was religious and then insinuating faith/the belief you hear a difference means a difference exists.

You will NEVER convince everyone with objective data. Just won't happen.

lol you're very much not liked by some of these zealots on one of the forums rife with this BS.
I'd paraphrase what one said in response to a post asking about 1ET9040BA and Hypex Amps and their "musicality"

here's the comment - "The reason Buckeye doesn't talk about his amplifier sound is because, and I quote this is coming from him all his amplifiers are "true to source". A straight wire with amplification. What about other amplifiers like the AHB2? Well they are also 'true to source' and thus sound completely identical.
That is his claim, whether they sound identical or true-to-source or not, I cannot report.
Personally I find him very lacking in knowledge. Saying things like 'all op-amps sound identical when implemented properly' and 'measurements tell the absolute truth'. "

you must have hurt their feelings not indulging in their expectations of amp makers making shit up for marketing lol

 

[Bland_username42069]

Looks like a synergy issue in your system.

Silver needs Rhodium rca sockets and at least a DSD128 stream to reveal a more holographic soundstage.

 

[milosz]

why didn't you do a listening test? something can't be measured. Silver should sound clean, that's what I want to hear!

/s

If they can't be measured, likely they are not objectively real. Do a double blind test yourself with a silver cable and a copper cable. If you do not know which cable you are listening to, they will sound the same. Any differences that people think they hear in cables like these are due to placebo effect - it's all in their minds.

You expect silver to sound clear - so when you listen to a what you know is a silver cable, your mind will fool into thinking there's a difference in sound. This is the difference between subjective and objective - the reason it's called psychoacoustics and not just acoustics. These differences vanish in double blind testing, as has been shown repeatedly. Read Floyd Toole's work.

 

[amirm]

He was being sarcastic.

 

[delta76]

If they can't be measured, likely they are not objectively real. Do a double blind test yourself with a silver cable and a copper cable. If you do not know which cable you are listening to, they will sound the same. Any differences that people think they hear in cables like these are due to placebo effect - it's all in their minds.

You expect silver to sound clear - so when you listen to a what you know is a silver cable, your mind will fool into thinking there's a difference in sound. This is the difference between subjective and objective - the reason it's called psychoacoustics and not just acoustics. These differences vanish in double blind testing, as has been shown repeatedly. Read Floyd Toole's work.

Some one missed the /s sign

 

[Buckeye Amps]

lol you're very much not liked by some of these zealots on one of the forums rife with this BS.
I'd paraphrase what one said in response to a post asking about 1ET9040BA and Hypex Amps and their "musicality"

here's the comment - "The reason Buckeye doesn't talk about his amplifier sound is because, and I quote this is coming from him all his amplifiers are "true to source". A straight wire with amplification. What about other amplifiers like the AHB2? Well they are also 'true to source' and thus sound completely identical.
That is his claim, whether they sound identical or true-to-source or not, I cannot report.
Personally I find him very lacking in knowledge. Saying things like 'all op-amps sound identical when implemented properly' and 'measurements tell the absolute truth'. "

you must have hurt their feelings not indulging in their expectations of amp makers making shit up for marketing lol

Yea, it is super surprising how many people take issue with me being upfront and direct, even when it means I am NOT upselling them or I am actively trying to save them money with the truth.

 

[rebbiputzmaker]

In extreme cases only. Just how dirty were they is really the question I was asking.

Yea, it is super surprising how many people take issue with me being upfront and direct, even when it means I am NOT upselling them or I am actively trying to save them money with the truth.

Honesty can be a rare thing these days, hence people have trouble recognizing it sometimes.

 

[Chrispy]

Honesty can be a rare thing these days, hence people have trouble recognizing it sometimes.

Especially in the current political context