Intro
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We dare say that anyone who is seriously involved with HiFi knows Kimber Kable. Partly for that reason we found it a sad that the brand was not really available in the Netherlands for a long time. Via the Dutch webshop / importer Heak we have now been able to borrow a few models. Among other things for the big cable tests. Now, as a preview, first an interesting ‘trio test’ to see what an extra investment in cabling exactly delivers. We test the Kimber 8PR, Kimber 12TC and the Kimber Monocle XL.
Kimber Kable is an American cable brand founded by Ray Kimber. In the 1970s, Ray Kimber worked in the AV industry. At that time, many discos were being built where audio and video had to work together. However, lighting interfered significantly with the audio system. Shielding the speaker cables worked, but in turn reduced the quality of music playback. Ray Kimber bit into that problem and eventually came up with the braided cable assembly. This braided construction not only reduced noise, but also proved a solution to RF and improved – according to Ray Kimber – overall playback quality.
The test candidates
So we were able to borrow a lot of Kimber Kable from Heak. Both for the research project of the RCA interconnects and those of the speaker cables.
We also borrowed another Monocle XL and a 12TC to get a nice overall picture of the brand. The Monocle and 12TC are 2.5 meters long and could not be included in the cable tests, as all speaker cables had to be 3 meters long for the measurements.
By going from the relatively affordable Kimber 8PR – 609 Euros for 2.5M – to the Kimber 12TC – 1579 Euros for 2.5M – and finally listening to the Kimber Monocle XL – 4195 Euros for 2.5M – we should get a good idea what an additional investment brings.
Braided
Striking about Kimber is that braided construction. Both the 8PR and the 12TC show this very clearly. The big difference between these two cables, is that the 8PR – the name says it all – braids 8 cores per pole (+ / -). With the 8PR, that equates to 10AWG total per pole (+ or -).
With the 12TC – quite surprisingly – it involves 12 leads per pole. That then comes down to 8AWG per pole. That gives lower resistance, which in turn results in more control of the amplifier over the speaker.
The Monocle XL also involves 12 wires per pole. However, these are braided around a special core. Also, higher quality materials have been used for the dielectrum. What that results in you can read further on.
