Kimber KS 1036 Silver RCA Cable Review

[tomatotota]

Great job testing those RCA cables. Might even convince some of the skeptics. Now let’s see a speaker cable test

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I could be wrong but I believe that Amir's Revel Salon tweeters are made of Beryllium ... Everybody knows that Beryllium is not the same as silver, it is even toxic, so the differences cannot be heard through a Beryllium (toxic) tweeter; for that you need, a cloth dome, at least a diamond coated tweeter... That is the issue you run into when you do no apply proper Synergy to an audio system ... and by the way, did he (yes! Talking to you @amirm!!) used the matching speaker cable, for his audio evaluation? So the results on this tests/review are invalid ...

 

[JSmith]

Kimber KS1036 cable

From what I hear (pun intended), one needs to apply a few drops of this to the cable for optimal performance, even though this is technically for speaker cables users claim it works with RCA's as well;

I'm sure all kinds of veils will be lifted.

Nice job conclusively reminding consumers that this type of product is a complete waste of money and let's be frank here, a total scam.


JSmith

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

Are these guys supposed to be directional?
Please tell me that you tested it the other way around just to put that bubbe meise to bed

 

[Talisman]

That's about the cost of my entire 5.4.2 theater audio setup.
I don't know whether to laugh or... no, okay, I'll laugh. Some people are really stupid.

 

[Redman43]

"I know what you mean. But I find it terrifying.

Presumably there is no ban on such buyers breeding and voting."

Unfortunately no there's no ban on their procreation nor voting...
Kind of explains why our world is on the brink of extinction

 

[LuckyNat]

A 1m cable more expensive then my entire setup that gets close in price to the SOTA monitor like the Neumann KH420 and Genelec 8361A.
Thank you for reminding us such products exists, I've always been fascinated by the people that buy into such snake oil salesmen.

My tiny insight is of a divorced lawyer in the suburbs of London, Epping way, who would drop a few grand on cables .. just to try them out. Never sold them on, might give them away when the cupboard got full (info from someone I worked with once ).

 

[LuckyNat]

That's about the cost of my entire 5.4.2 theater audio setup.
I don't know whether to laugh or... no, okay, I'll laugh. Some people are really stupid.

But also not ... You don't have to be stupid to not understand science and to trust your own "feels" .

In fact, not understanding science is the *norm* and that means average intelligence over all and will include people with high intelligence but no interest in science at all ..

All you need is trust in what people market at you.

Lack of trust is not a sign of being clever, no matter how much we healthily skeptical people may feel it is ! In fact, being skeptical can also come from stupid people too - look at all the anti-science conspiracies and how prevalent they are.

Its about ignorance (of specific areas of knowledge) .. not intelligence .

 

[DavidMcRoy]

I love my Amazon Basics. There. I said it.

 

[FTB]

And the Earth is flat...

(at 4k $ better buy a DCA Stealth)

 

[hansik]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Kimber Kable KS1036 "Silver" RCA Cable. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $4,520 for a pair (1 meter).
View attachment 518589
While I did not care for the cheap plastic box it came in, the cable itself has a bit of style with that loose wooden piece with their logo and model number. The wire itself is flexible and lightweight which I appreciated. What I did not care for was the WBT connector:
View attachment 518590
It is locking which is nice. But if you look carefully, there is only one metal tab that makes connection with the female RCA connection. The other two are rather flimsy plastic tabs that get pressed into the connector for the "locking" function. Without turning the outer shell to lock it, it is super loose. Even after locking, wiggling the Kimber cable caused momentary noise and glitches. In contrast, the cheap Amazon Basics cable had nice, tight connectors that didn't have any of this fussiness and produced a much more secure connection.

The only thing I could find under "technical details" was this:

"Six 25AWG Black Pearl solid silver conductors drawn in diamond coated dies and insulated with virgin FEP dielectric under the most exacting tolerances which offer the purest transfers of the most demanding highest resolution signals. These interconnects produce silent backdrops for vivid tonal color and flawless creation of space, time and ultimately the soul of the performance."

Well, that doesn't tell us anything so let's measure.

Kimber Kable KS 1036 Silver Cable Measurements
My "reference" and comparison cable is 6 foot Amazon Basics RCA. I have had a good few years and it has held up to a ton of abuse. It is flexible and as noted, has tight but not overly so RCA connections. I think it cost about $12. I connected the Kimber to Channel 1 of my Audio Precision analyzer and the Amazon to Channel 2. Here is the comparison:
View attachment 518591

As we see, there is no difference whatsoever. There is a bit more mains pick up on Kimber but that could just be the analyzer or the environment. I placed an AC transformer next to both cables and both managed to pick up negligible amount of interference (not shown).

Next, I tested wideband frequency response and phase:
View attachment 518592
View attachment 518593

I know, I know, "what about time domain." Here is the rise time of a 20 kHz square wave, hugely magnified to show its rising edge:
View attachment 518594

Couldn't be more identical if we tried.

Then I decided to go crazy and used both interconnects for S/PDIF digital! Yes, I fed both square wave signals and ran the jitter signal through them. Both produced essentially the same response as no cable (internal AP loopback):
View attachment 518595

There was a tiny bit more spikes on Amazon but it is double the length and in tests like this, slightest difference creates such variability.

Conclusions
The Kimber KS 1036 has identical electrical performance as my ultra cheap (but well built) Amazon cables. Testing was performed way outside of audible range and still no difference was found. In the lengths used, use of silver does nothing for signal transmission with such high impedances.

I did not care at all for the WBT connectors on the Kimber. Their locking is not very secure and the plastic tabs could break. I forgot to mention that the shell that rotates to tighten or loosen, can completely fall off, rending the cable useless! I thought WBT made good products but this one isn't one of them.

KS 1036 is quite expensive even by high-end prices. Just going up to 2 meters to match my Amazon cable doubles the cost to tear inducing $8,000!!! Yes, there are cables north of $20,000 but still, this is pretty high. Company needs to upgrade the plastic box it comes in as I have bought $50 IEMs with better feeling of luxury than this thing.

I guess if there is any "good" news is that the KS 1036 doesn't make anything worse as some of its competitors do.

I can't recommend the Kimber KS1036 cable. You knew this I am sure but you have some data to back it up!
-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8

My "favorite" cable is a Siltech Triple Crown LS.
Yours for only 105 466 USD

​

Is there a discount coupon?

 

[Talisman]

But also not ... You don't have to be stupid to not understand science and to trust your own "feels" .

In fact, not understanding science is the *norm* and that means average intelligence over all and will include people with high intelligence but no interest in science at all ..

All you need is trust in what people market at you.

Lack of trust is not a sign of being clever, no matter how much we healthily skeptical people may feel it is ! In fact, being skeptical can also come from stupid people too - look at all the anti-science conspiracies and how prevalent they are.

Its about ignorance (of specific areas of knowledge) .. not intelligence .

Possible, but I stick to my theory: spending $4,500 on an RCA cable is synonymous with stupidity.

 

[Cogito]

I've often argued that "audiophiles" are the most gullible people ever.

 

[Ropeburn]

I have nothing but respect for manufacturers of these things (cables and so on)
Their ability to persuade morons to part with tens of thousands of dollars for piece of copper or silver and have them think that their sound is better is nothing short of amazing

They stand on the shoulders of giants though. Decades of snake oil marketing, that Kimber certainly had a part in, but is only one of hundreds. Their main profit comes from the sum of built up myths and delusions.

 

[Yevhen]

The current rating is "100% waste of money". I think it's the first time we all agree on something! I feel sorry for the company, though.

 

[daniboun]

That's theft! And it's carcinogenic too !!!

https://www.belabservices.com/en/post/california-proposition-65-what-is-it-and-what-is-its-impact?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21920625086&gbraid=0AAAAABmycGz_SyD1KVa4oZt2Tbtzpb3i1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj5fQxLOpkwMVz6X9BR3KvyjWEAAYASAAEgK3XfD_BwE

 

[JSmith]

Kimber Kable - About Us

For over three decades, Kimber Kable has led the audio/video cable industry in technology and precision manufacturing. Today, we are more committed than ever to producing products of preeminent technical merit and performance. Kimber Kable

kimber.com

He hit the road with a few spools of cable and some modest test equipment. He first showed that there was a testable difference in cables and then would do a simple "before and after" test, replacing regular speaker cables with Kimber Kable. For these tests Ray would choose the most modest system in the dealer showroom. The result was very obvious - it made a significant difference.

JSmith

 

[Rzezniq]

You can essentially buy 2 used pairs of Kef R11 non meta for a price of this cable. Amazing people fall for this.

How about mains Chord cable for a small cost of £4800? I bet it would go nicely with Kimber.

 

[Ropeburn]

You can essentially buy 2 used pairs of Kef R11 non meta for a price of this cable. Amazing people fall for this.

How about mains Chord cable for a small cost of £4800? I bet it would go nicely with Kimber.

Butbut when I play a monophonic bassline with a Chord cable, will it sound bad?

 

[sergeauckland]

I have nothing but respect for manufacturers of these things (cables and so on)
Their ability to persuade morons to part with tens of thousands of dollars for piece of copper or silver and have them think that their sound is better is nothing short of amazing

I have nothing but contempt for manufacturers of these things (cables and so on)
Their ability to persuade morons to part with tens of thousands of dollars for piece of copper or silver and have them think that their sound is better is nothing short of disgusting.

S.