Kimber KS 1036 Silver RCA Cable Review

[Speedskater]

For a modern RCA analog interconnect system, only two things matter.
1] The effectiveness of the shield to interference (shield needs to be connected at both end for best high RFI shielding).
2] Low end-to-end resistance.

Note that phono cartridge to pre-amp, microphone, musical instrument, digital and vacuum tube interconnects may have other requirements.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Note Two: a modern RCA analog interconnect system has a low output impedance and a high input impedance.
Some budget receivers, some battery powered units and some USB powered units may not fit that definition.

 

[GWolfman]

How is this even legal?!

Thanks @amirm for saving people the trouble.

 

[Gary_G]

That makes a good title for a video!!!

Do it !

 

[CapMan]

For a modern RCA analog interconnect system, only two things matter.

Three things - 3) it needs to be long enough

 

[Redman43]

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 copper or silver and have them think that their sound is better is nothing short of disgusting.

S.

Why ?
People who spend 10 or 20 THOUSAND on a cable DID NOT WORK 12 HOURS PER DAY TO AFFORD THEM.
They were born into filthy rich thieving families that left them that money. And ANYONE who can take those resources from them and put that money into something else deserves respect.

 

[sergeauckland]

Why ?
People who spend 10 or 20 THOUSAND on a cable DID NOT WORK 12 HOURS PER DAY TO AFFORD THEM.
They were born into filthy rich thieving families that left them that money. And ANYONE who can take those resources from them and put that money into something else deserves respect.

I see that as the job of the Government, not purveyors of snake oil.

S.

 

[Yevhen]

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

The cable will make a "significant difference"

 

[GWolfman]

The cable will make a "significant difference"

Yes, but only in the amount of money (not) left in your wallet!

 

[Ropeburn]

The cable will make a "significant difference"

Technically, the 50Hz signal from the socket is a mono bass. Will this cable turn it into a beautiful chord? That would certainly be significant.

 

[lordhumungous]

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

You know what P.T Barnum said !

 

[Redman43]

I see that as the job of the Government, not purveyors of snake oil.

S.

Your "government" is owned and financed by the "purveyors of snake oil".
The fact that you actually don't know that is mind boggling.
Or you maybe thought that your and mine wellbeing is what's keeping them awake at night. In that case I have a slightly used bridge to sell you, great price

 

[Power Pop 23]

Thank you to the ASR member who loaned this expensive cable to Amir for measurements.

 

[Billy Budapest]

I generally like the build quality of Kimber Kable—their “Ultraplate” RCA connector used in many of their cheaper cables is a thing of beauty—but do not expect any difference in measured performance. This review confirms that.

 

[JSmith]

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

I was hoping that would remain the case;

Do we have a Kimber employee or two lurking?


JSmith

 

[JayGilb]

Thanks Amir.

 

[RogerSmith]

This is exactly for the gullible fools, and there are many, who measure sound quality by price. "Once you get in the kilo buck regime of cables, you really hear all of these finer details. But people whose system is not resolving enough will tell that there are no differences. Poor them".

 

[delta76]

A fool and his money...

P.S. - Amir, I love the Panther with his hand in the piggy bank, nice touch!

those who buy this are probably have more money in their disposal than you & me will be making in our entire year - or not unlikely - life

The Emperor’s New Clothes! It baffles me how stupid some of the customers who can afford this expensive junk (yes, junk, given the design of the WBT connector) are. How did they make their money? No doubt, some must be fund-babies who did not sweat a drop to earn their wealth. Thank you Amir for an impeccable review.

they probably not stupid, they just don't care with FU money. Walk into a high end showroom and tell - not ask - "give me a 6 figures audio system". these cables are just a drop in the bucket.
true there are some fools that spent his entire saving into this audiophool madness but that's not the main targeted market.

 

[welwynnick]

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;

View attachment 518612

One of the funny things about snake oil is that it might actually help. Well, lots of different sorts of oil or grease, actually.

It seems counter-intuitive, but using a corrosion inhibitor dielectric such as certain oils can actually improve contact resistance in the long term.

A few years ago I was investigating a reliability problem with electronic warfare equipment, and found that the USAF had persistent problems with avionics connector unreliability on the F-16. IIRC they commissioned a university in Dallas and other defence bodies to research the problem and solution. As I recall, fretting causes mechanical abrasion between the mating connectors, causing tiny metallic particles with a high surface area to volume ratio that corrode quickly and increase the resistance between the contacts, even leading to open circuits. There was a huge amount of research, a cause was found, a solution developed, and the problem did go away. The evidence was very comprehensive and very compelling.

I suppose a domestic equipment rack isn't such a harsh environment as a fighter jet, but good connectors aren't good forever, even gold ones.

If you take your car apart, you will often find contact lubricant on many connectors, switches and relays.

 

[Robin L]

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

Not to mention bright and shiny.

There's a liquid aspect to the sound as well, a Piscean aura and emotive core.

I wish I could find the audio of a Firesign Theater line from "Everything You Know is Wrong!"—"I too was fooled by clever fakes like these; "Gas Music from Jupiter", indeed . . ."

 

[Heulpic]

I believe the cables did not perfomed because there were no power conditioner in the system.
I suggess the PowerPlant 20 from PS Audio at 10K$ or even better, the Shunyata Everest-X at 21k$. Needless to say, these PC work best with active isolation platforms like Seismion or Accurion.