Kimber Carbon Interconnect Review
Monday, 14th December 2020
The latest review of Kimber’s Carbon range comes from the pages of Hi-Fi Choice magazine.
The latest review of Kimber’s Carbon range comes from the pages of Hi-Fi Choice magazine. In their January 2021 edition they feature a short review of the Carbon analogue interconnect fitted with WBT-0114 Cu locking phono plugs (the silver, 0114 Ag is also available as an option).
This is Kimber’s first analogue interconnect to utilise the new carbon polymer layer between the VariStrand copper conductors and the Teflon dielectric. As the reviewer points out, “the carbon polymer fills the spaces in between the strands so that the physical geometry is maintained”. As this suggests, one advantage is to give the legendary woven cable a more consistent geometry but, according to Kimber, it also “reduces mechanically induced electrical noise and improves the uniformity of the voltage gradient within the insulating dielectric”.
The other innovation in this cable is the way the two channels are separated. Unlike most analogue interconnects, which come as a pair, “instead of simply twisting the wires together for left and right channels, the weave is maintained at the breakout”. We first saw this technique used with Kimber’s Axios headphone cables and it has now been applied to their Carbon range of speaker cables and interconnects. Apart from the convenience this design brings (it’s much tidier) it also has the advantage of weaving the two legs together and thereby enhancing the RFI-rejecting geometry.
The Carbon-branded WBT plugs fitted to the cable provide an excellent connection to your equipment. The clamping mechanism, which works in the same way as the chuck device in a drill, firmly clamps the outer contact against the RCA socket. The high clamping pressure not only guarantees a secure connection but also minimises transition resistance. In addition, any size variation in the outer contact of a socket is compensated for, thereby ensuring a perfect fit.
So how does it perform? The reviewer uses the cable to connect his valve preamp and monoblock amplifiers, playing Vivaldi’s L’Estro Armonico Concerto No.1 performed by The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and directed by Neville Marriner, and the effect of the new cable is readily apparent: “The music is full, open and refined, and the strings sound effortless and highly believable.” He also notes that “the soundstage is expansive and the imaging is particularly well focussed”.
To test the cable’s ability with vocals, he moves on to Simon and Garfunkel's Why Don’t You Write Me? from the famous Bridge Over Troubled Water album. Again, Carbon equips itself well, leading him to observe that “there’s no edginess to the bright CBS recording, and I’m propelled throughout this fast-paced song by the rhythm and timing, which are spot on”.
So, all in all, a very impressive result for the new addition, garnering a 4.5 star recommendation and the comment that “this top-class interconnect comfortably justifies its price”.
Magazine: Hi-Fi Choice
Issue: January 2021
Verdict: 4.5 stars recommended
Buy Kimber Carbon analogue interconnect here.
See the Hi-Fi Critic Review here
Written By Simon Dalton
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