| Model: | Illuminati D-60 |
| Category: | Cable |
| Suggested Retail Price: | $230/meter RCA terminated |
| Description: | Digital interconnect |
| Manufacturer URL: | Kimber Kable |
|
Review by GM on May 06, 1999 at 18:49:29 IP Address: 204.171.31.157 |
Add Your Review for the Illuminati D-60 |
The Illuminati D-60 digital coaxial interconnect comes shipped factory-terminated in balanced or unbalanced versions. My 1-meter RCA D-60 arrived in a nicely weighted velvet-covered wooden box. The cable itself is an iridescent/pearlescent white color and is acceptably flexable. Fit and finish were impeccably flawless.
The D-60 required a quite lengthy break-in period of approximately 200-250 hours to become stable for optimum performance. It goes through some odd sonic colorations during the break-in, so be sure to keep listening as the cable matures. Don't give up on this cable too early.
Once burned-in properly the sound is outstanding. Nothing I have ever heard compares to the sound of this cable. The bass was robust and full with a very smooth, controlled sound. Deep bass was conveyed with authority and control. Midrange was natural and musical with no sign of artificial digitized harshness. Both male and female vocals are incredibly believable and palpable. Treble was well extended and smooth. The D-60 did not have a voice of it's own, rather it allowed the upstream components to do the singing (or barking as the case may be in some systems). Because of its apparent sonic neutrality, it will convey exactly what is on any given recording. Bad recordings will sound awful, good recordings will sound excellent. The sound in my personal system tends to be slightly bright, but this is a factor of my other components, not this cable. Tested on other systems it revealed the components characteristics and continued to demonstrate it's ability to be unbiased with regard to frequency response.
Soundstaging and imaging were deep, wide, and expansive. Dynamic range is incredible with the only limiting factor being the other components in the system. Resolution of detail was outstanding and precise.
It was ruthlessly revealing of source components, so it may not work in every system. As always with any type of cable in any price range, listen for yourself in your own system before you decide on a purchase. If however you do decide to purchase the awesome D-60, you most assuredly will not be let down. This cable will grow with your system as you continue to refine it over the years. Highly recommended!
| Product Weakness: | Price |
| Product Strengths: | Well rounded and smoothly even sound across all frequencies |
| Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
| Amplifier: | Yamaha DSP-A3090 |
| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | None |
| Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Sony DVP S7700 DVD player, various CDPs |
| Speakers: | B&W DM 602 |
| Cables/Interconnects: | AQ F14 |
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | DD movies, music genres from heavy metal to jazz to classical |
| Room Comments/Treatments: | Side-wall diffusors/absorbers |
| Time Period/Length of Audition: | I have owned the product for several months as of the date of this review |
| Other (Power Conditioner etc.): | Panamax MAX1000+ |
| Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
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