Cable Asylum

Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

Return to Cable Asylum

Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

Kimber 12tc slow?

152.130.8.67
Posted on September 28, 2015 at 08:21:48
BenE
Audiophile

Posts: 405
Location: midwest
Joined: March 18, 2012
 I have a run of 6-7 feet with WBT bananas on one end and standard spades on the other. On my VTL gear (ST-150 and 5.5 sig II pre amp fronted by a Naim CD player, I'm finding the 12tc quite slow. Bass is very good, treble is fine mid's a bit recessed. speakers are Shahinian Obelisk 2's. I see some other posters have described the 8tc as slow compared to the 4tc (Luminator). I have an older pair of 4tc and tried them and was surprised how it opened and sped things up with a slight loss of bass and perhaps some 'abmiance'. I had been using Clear Day Double Shotgun. It is generally really good IMHO, but with a new IC in place it's bass seemed lacking. don't think I could live with the old 4tc for the long haul as there is some presence just missing. What to do, what to do..

 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
Did You Use A Cable Burn-In Device?, posted on September 28, 2015 at 09:20:19
Luminator
Audiophile

Posts: 7331
Location: Bay Area
Joined: December 11, 2000
 Without a proper cable burn-in device, I am not able to evaluate a cable's true performance capabilities. Before I make any cable changes or comparisons, I absolutely MUST use a cable burn-in device.

FWIW, I used to have the Naim CDX2/XPS2. ALL of my cables are and were treated on an audiodharma Cable Cooker. For whatever reasons, my stable of Kimber single-ended (the Naims do not have balanced operation) interconnects, from PBJ to KS-1036, did not get along with the CDX2/XPS2 combo. The sound became a jumbled mess.

For whatever reasons, my Nordost interconnects (again, all treated on at least the Cable Cooker) were better able to provide a window to the Naims' performance.

So the first thing we need to do is get a cable burn-in device.

After the cables are properly burned-in on such devices, then we can commence evaluations. We'll have to try those cables on a variety of gear, see how they interact. Then we keep the system fixed, swap cables in and out, and see how the cables compare to each other.

I don't have enough meaningful experience with Cooked Kimber 12TC, so I and all others in the same boat are not at liberty to comment.

-Lummy The Loch Monster

 

RE: Did You Use A Cable Burn-In Device?, posted on September 28, 2015 at 09:40:50
BenE
Audiophile

Posts: 405
Location: midwest
Joined: March 18, 2012
 Thank you for the reply. The cables have been burned in on a cable cooker by the dealer/manf. The Naim uses a Chord DIN to RCA. Never had a problem with it before with other gear. Certain(as I can be) it is the 12tc.
B

 

Cool, posted on September 28, 2015 at 09:58:56
Luminator
Audiophile

Posts: 7331
Location: Bay Area
Joined: December 11, 2000
 Thank you for being a responsible audiophile, and getting the 12TC Cooked. Hopefully, it was Cooked in the correct direction.

I had the (woefully overrated) Naim Nait 5i integrated amp. My Cooked Kimber 4TC (the cheap Kimber banana doesn't look like much, but it sure is effective!) had no interactive discontinuities or issues with the Nait 5i. The 4TC did its job, which was to pass signal unimpeded, and tell it like it was.

If the 12TC is anything like the 8TC, it will perform better (i.e., be less gummed-up, congested, restricted), if you "puff it up." You will lose length, but you'll gain in sonic accuracy.

If you are not using Naim amplification, I seem to recall my old audio buddies saying that Kimber's TC series worked well with their 1990s amps from Quicksilver and Fi.

Isn't the Harbeth 5HL a bi-wireable speaker? Then if you are going with Kimber, I highly recommend their Bi-Focal XL. It's supposedly an 8TC within a puffed-up 8TC. Yet, it fulfills the goal of being a neutral and honest signal conductor. While I have no meaningful experience with the 5HL, I LOVED the Bi-Focal XL on the Martin-Logan Aerius i, ProAc Response One SC, original Sonus Faber Concertino (yeah, yeah, the cable cost more than the speaker themselves), and various Totems.

If you can't find or afford the Bi-Focal XL, an alternative would be to run the 12TC to the 5HL's woofer, and get a 4TC for the tweeter.

And people can also read my review in these pages of the Kimber 4AG.

 

RE: Cool, posted on September 28, 2015 at 12:47:15
BenE
Audiophile

Posts: 405
Location: midwest
Joined: March 18, 2012
 I need to change my gear profile. I'm using VTL ST 150, 5.5 sig. II preamp and Shahinian Obelisk 2 speakers.
How do you puff up the cable?
Thanks.

 

unclestu Is A Veteran At This, posted on September 28, 2015 at 13:43:11
Luminator
Audiophile

Posts: 7331
Location: Bay Area
Joined: December 11, 2000
 AA's unclestu owns Honolulu's Audio Direction Ltd. In the summer of 1990, I visited his store, then located underground on Waialae, not far from the Palolo McDonald's. Even though I was a penniless college kid, Stu graciously demonstrated for me, the effects of Tonecones. I obvously could not afford CJ, Quicksilver, and Vandersteen. I ended up buying some AQ Sorbothane products, which worked wonders under my Sony Discmen.

The next summer, I returned to ADL, and Stu showed off the Simms Navcom Silencers. Though a little more expensive than the AQ CD Feet, the Navcom Silencers did a better job (less high-frequency roll-off), when used under my Adcom gear.

I didn't return to Honolulu, until the mid-90s. By then, I think ADL had moved to Algaroba, not far from Waiola Shave Ice and the McCully Zippy's. It was there, where I saw Stu (a) install MIT Z-cords on Conrad-Johnson components (which, at the time, had fixed powercords), and (b) puff up Kimber speaker cables. Doing so places the conductors closer to 90-degrees to each other.

I'm not going to step on Stu's toes. You can search Cable Asylum, for his numerous posts on this subject matter. You can also go to the ADL website, and find his tips on puffing up Kimber speaker cables.

 

Went to Unclestu's site , posted on September 28, 2015 at 15:35:55
BenE
Audiophile

Posts: 405
Location: midwest
Joined: March 18, 2012
 I read some of his articles and tried the 'puffing' with the 12tc and am checking it out. I didn't fill the centers with anything. Off the bat it may offer a different sound, possible cleaner.
Thanks again

 

RE: Kimber 12tc slow?, posted on October 13, 2015 at 22:13:11
Tweaker456
 My humble suggestion would be to dump the Kimber cable as it is a horribly designed cable that would likely be crushed by a parallel run of cheap ebay 12 or 10 awg magnet wire. Give it a try, what have you got to lose. There is a reason that Anti Cable is in business. Tweaker

 

Page processed in 0.022 seconds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]