The Cable Test
Yankee
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,599
Opinion:
Adam I predicted the Purist's warmth would sway you over, I was assuming your setup was a little hot. I am convinced Kimber makes a neutral (to lean) sounding RCA, one I also favor. My silver streak kicked out the monster and even the wireworld RCAs though I thought the tone of the WW was overall better (WW did add a little whiteness to the HF but the Silver Streak gives a little extra zing to brass).
In my home system I found the Monsters, AQ and some others to give an artificially wide soundstage (good width and depth on all recordings) the expensive WW and ALL Kimbers did a good job of making intimate music sound small and grand music sound large. In a car all bets are off on staging and equipment but the Monsters, MIT, AQ, and the latest Straightwire Maestro always sounded a little congested and ‘phasey’ to me.
It is my opinion that the cables properties tend to mate with he electronics they are associated with and all experiences with a cable are not the same for that reason.
Adam I predicted the Purist's warmth would sway you over, I was assuming your setup was a little hot. I am convinced Kimber makes a neutral (to lean) sounding RCA, one I also favor. My silver streak kicked out the monster and even the wireworld RCAs though I thought the tone of the WW was overall better (WW did add a little whiteness to the HF but the Silver Streak gives a little extra zing to brass).
In my home system I found the Monsters, AQ and some others to give an artificially wide soundstage (good width and depth on all recordings) the expensive WW and ALL Kimbers did a good job of making intimate music sound small and grand music sound large. In a car all bets are off on staging and equipment but the Monsters, MIT, AQ, and the latest Straightwire Maestro always sounded a little congested and ‘phasey’ to me.
It is my opinion that the cables properties tend to mate with he electronics they are associated with and all experiences with a cable are not the same for that reason.
I think your next test should include equipment with both digital and RCA capabilities and compare the fibre optic cable vs the Kimber Cable RCA. It might be cheaper to go digital than to go with Kimber Cable ; )
Thread Starter
1000 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,783
JohnVroom, I was very surprised about the Kimber cable. In my Dads super high end home system, the PAD cables rule. The Kimber has been lying in a pile in his basement for years because of this. If I were to blindly buy a high end cable, I would buy Purist. I've heard it sound good on a very wide range of equipment.
Now all that said, I haven't listened to the system with any of my 3 different tweeters yet. The Kimber might still be too bright, but for now with just my mids running, I'm in heaven. I actually sat for quite a while listening to Dire Straits last night with a smile on my face. To me, that is success!
As for the other tests, I won't be doing any of them. I don't locally have access to an Alpine PXA-H700 or any of the Zapco gear.
As for the price of the Kimber silver, yes it's a lot more than a PXA-H700. Probably closer to a PXA-H900. But for me, the cable is free, so I've lucked out.
Adam
Now all that said, I haven't listened to the system with any of my 3 different tweeters yet. The Kimber might still be too bright, but for now with just my mids running, I'm in heaven. I actually sat for quite a while listening to Dire Straits last night with a smile on my face. To me, that is success!
As for the other tests, I won't be doing any of them. I don't locally have access to an Alpine PXA-H700 or any of the Zapco gear.
As for the price of the Kimber silver, yes it's a lot more than a PXA-H700. Probably closer to a PXA-H900. But for me, the cable is free, so I've lucked out.
Adam
Interesting results. So, are these results as audible as say, changing the speaker itself? It would seem so with words such as 'horrible' and 'massive improvement'.
If you got the time, whip up a set of home-made RCAs (twist tightly some 20 ga. alarm wire with a drill and put some metal ends on them) and pick up some 'dollar store' 18 ga. speaker wire and compare. [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]
If you got the time, whip up a set of home-made RCAs (twist tightly some 20 ga. alarm wire with a drill and put some metal ends on them) and pick up some 'dollar store' 18 ga. speaker wire and compare. [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]
Guest
Posts: n/a
^ See now THAT is a good idea. When you look at the sad fact that some 'high end' cables really are nothing more than a pair of 24ga wires in a killer looking flex sheath it makes you wonder [img]smile.gif[/img]
18ga may be a little light though for speaker - I like 16-14 myself just for durability.
18ga may be a little light though for speaker - I like 16-14 myself just for durability.
Thread Starter
1000 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,783
^^I've done that before with a REALLY high end home system. It works, but I would venture to say that it would deppend on the components as to how good it would sound. So once again, you can't tell until you try it. I'm not going to knock low buck solutions...because Dukk is right about the killer looking sheaths. I've got 4 XLN Pro cables to prove it.
Moving on...
Adam
Moving on...
Adam
