Hi-Fi Choice review Kimber's Hero-Cu
Monday, 12th June 2017
Neville Roberts reviewed Kimber's Hero Cu interconnect in the June issue of Hi-Fi Choice magazine.
This is the first time this cable has been reviewed with the WBT 0102Cu phono plugs, an upgrade option over the standard Kimber UltraPlate plugs. In addition to the advantages provided by the low mass design of their 'Nextgen' plugs, one of the key bonuses of the WBTs is the way they are designed to clamp onto the RCA phono sockets on your equipment. "As a consequence of this clamping mechanism", writes the reviewer, "any dimensional inaccuracy in the outer contacts of the female sockets are compensated for".Click here to buy
As is customary, they listen to a number of different tracks to see how the cable performs, starting with Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Mandolins, Strings and Continuo. This piece, he says, "is delightfully well balanced, especially between the mandolins and the orchestra". Here, he reports that the sound is both "smooth" and "detailed". But how does that detail reveal itself with more strident instruments such as the trumpet? Does this translate into edginess? Clearly not, as they reveal that the Concerto for Two Trumpets, Violin, Strings and Continuo from the same CD "is similarly well balanced". He finds that the "trumpets have no unpleasant edge" and are "well positioned out in front of the soundstage".
Moving onto a full-blown orchestral rendition of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, he suggests that the "the piano is excellently reproduced and very melodic". There is a slight downside here though, as he finds that "the orchestral crescendos are a touch overblown and the playing is not quite as effortless as in the quieter sections" This is an interesting point because he argues that, despite this, he still says that "this doesn't detract from [his] enjoyment of the music and [his] general impression is that the Hero-Cu interconnect is conveying a great performance". I say this is 'interesting' because this reflects our own experience with Kimber cable in general; that is, all things being equal, the musical performance is consistently at the forefront of the sound and will always draw the listener in regardless.
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How does it sound with rock music then? For this test he moves to a recording of Pink Floyd's Louder Than Words and finds a similar experience to the classical CD. Here, he says that:
It goes without saying that, when it comes to Pink Floyd, the guitar playing is an essential part of the mix, which he describes as "rich and tuneful"; just as it should be. Likewise, when the bass kicks in during one of the intros, it does so with punch and panache.
He concludes his listening with a challenging organ piece performed by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, where he finds that "the powerful organ is full, deep and refined" whilst "the violins are bright and cheerful" and "all the sections of the orchestra are perfectly positioned within the soundstage".
It does a lot right then, and across all the pieces he auditioned the cable with, he experienced "great detail and refinement", leading him to give the Hero Cu a solid recommendation and 4.5 stars.
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Magazine: Hi-Fi Choice
Issue: June 2017
Verdict: 4.5 Stars Recommended
Written By Simon Dalton
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