Kimber TAK-Cu Tonearm Cable review
Wednesday, 10th August 2016
The Kimber TAK-Cu is a superior cable for use with high quality turntables capable of higher resolution reproduction - models from the likes of Roksan, Michell and Linn for example.
Because of its importance in carrying the signal from the tonearm to your phono stage, the tonearm cable "should be near the top of any list of upgrades to your turntable" wrights Neville Roberts. This, he points out, is not only due to the importance of cable quality in transferring that signal but also because of potential interference issues. The TAK-Cu achieves these aims admirably through the use of hyper-pure copper, Kimber's RF reducing weave and an additional proprietary shield. The effects are plain to hear: "when I play some music" he reports, "the cable does a fine job and conveys a really clear sound with excellent timing and rhythm". Specifically, when listening to Dave Brubeck's version of The Trolley Song, he finds that the cable conveys the emotion of the song superbly, with a great sense of clarity and realism.
Moving onto a classical piece, the TAK-Cu is more than capable of following the highs and lows of Mozart's Symphony No.41, Jupiter, by the London Philharmonic. He observes that the replay is "both musical and well controlled" and "the strings in the quieter sections are delightfully delicate and contrast strikingly with the livelier moments".
This Roksan Xerxes 20+ Turntable is an ideal candidate for TAK-Cu
TAK-Cu is just as impressive with vocals too. To test its ability in this area, Neville uses a recording of Simon and Garfunkel's The Boxer which he knows to be a "rather bright recording".
The cable "doesn't disappoint, showing no Sounds of Sibilance (!)" Moreover, again it shows its ability to get to the heart of the music by bringing out those subtleties in the performance that make it so engaging. This can often be a problem with drums, but not here: "when the rhythmic patting of the drums begins, the sound is tuneful and musical and not just a thump on the skins".
Gaining 4.5 stars and a recommendation, Neville concludes that the TAK-Cu tonearm cable "is great at conveying all the complexities of the music and is certainly worthy of consideration if you are looking for an upgrade to your record deck".
Magazine: Hi-Fi Choice
Issue: September 2016
Verdict: 4.5 stars recommended
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Written By Simon Dalton
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