Stereophile Recommended Components Awards 2021
Monday, 26th April 2021
The April 2021 edition of US magazine Stereophile includes their annual ‘Recommended Components’ awards. Selecting stand-out products from every category of Hi-Fi, the cables section highlights no less than 6 selections from the Kimber range: Hero Cu with WBT-0114 Cu plugs, PBJ (Timbre), Tonik, 4PR, 8VS, 8TC & Orchid digital interconnect.
Hot on the heels of The Absolute Sound Editors' Choice Awards, Kimber also received numerous plaudits in Stereophile magazine's coveted Recommended Components awards for 2021.
The Stereophile Recommended Components list is a joint effort by the magazine’s collection of reviewers, most notably Technical Editor John Atkinson. It’s important to note that the “ratings take into account not only what [they] heard during the review period but also continued experience with the product (if any) after the formal review has been published”. This means that, where possible, inclusion is the result of long-term experience with the product rather than just a short review period.
Given that all the Kimber products in the list have been around for many years – some over 40! – you can be confident that the cables are well known!
Here’s a list of the award-winning cables:
Kimber Tonik
Kimber Tonik with black UltraPlate phono plugs
The start of the Kimber range of analogue interconnects, Tonik represents a great value choice for those moving on from the freebies included with kit.
“Though they lacked the resolution of much more expensive interconnects, the Toniks "offered clarity without brightness, and reasonably good amounts of color, texture, and touch. For [the price], that was A- okay with me," said AD” (Art Dudley).
Click here to view Tonik
Click here to read the Hi-Fi Choice review of Tonik
Kimber PBJ (UK equivalent is Kimber Timbre)
Kimber PBJ with UltraPlate phono plugs - the 'original' Kimber interconnect
PBJ was Kimber’s first interconnect, the result of a suggestion from Russ himself! Although still available – we offer it as a DIN interconnect and also as the basis for our AC and DC link cables – PBJ has been superseded by Timbre, so what goes for the former also goes for the latter; and a bit more!
"With the PBJs in his system, SM [Sasha Matson] heard greater clarity, detail, depth, and presence… muscular, insistent, and precise”
Click here to view Timbre (UK equivalent)
Click here to read Jason Kennedy on Timbre
Kimber Hero Cu with WBT-0114 phono plugs
Kimber Hero Cu analogue interconnect with WBT-0114 Cu phono plugs
Hero Cu has not been officially reviewed in Stereophile but was previously used in reviewing by Jon Marks in his column "The Fifth Element" and has impressed so much as to be included in the Recommended Components list.
Click here to view Hero Cu
Click here to read the Hi-Fi Choice review of Hero Cu with WBT-0114 Cu phonos
Kimber 4PR Speaker cable
Kimber 4PR speaker cable with 'cut and stripped' ends - the cable that started it all.
The start of it all. Even after 40+ years this venerable cable still shows the intrinsic ‘rightness’ of its design; how many other products are still winning awards after four decades?
“Practically unchanged since its introduction in 1979, the 4PR is Kimber's most affordable speaker cable… 4PR offered greater nuance, detail, clarity, and bass control”
Click here to view Kimber 4PR
Click here to read the Hi-Fi Choice review of Kimber 4PR
Kimber Kable 8VS
Kimber 8VS speaker cable fitted with Kimber banana plugs
Taking a couple of steps up from 4PR, 8VS doubles the number of conductors and introduces Kimber’s unique VariStrand technology for a more balanced performance.
“Compared to Kimber's 4PR, the 8VS offered similar tonal qualities but presented music with even greater urgency, drama, and purpose”
Click here to view Kimber 8VS
Kimber 8TC
Kimber 8TC speaker cable with Kimber banana plugs
Like Hero Cu above, 8TC has not been officially reviewed in Stereophile but was previously used in reviewing by Jon Marks in his column "The Fifth Element" and has impressed so much as to be included in the Recommended Components list.
Click here to view 8TC
Click here to read the Hi-Fi+ review of 8TC
Kimber Orchid
Kimber Orchid digital interconnect with studio-grade XLR plugs with silver-plated contacts
Using the finest materials and proprietary technology, Kimber keep the secrets of Orchid close to their chests, and understandably so; this is an exceptional cable, able to bring a smile to even the harshest analogue-centric critic of ‘digital sound’.
“Expensive, but the best AES/EBU link JA [John Atkinson, former editor] has used” Another reviewer suggests that Orchid is "Probably the best out there for now... a stunner!"
Click here to view Kimber Orchid
Written By Simon Dalton
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