Kimber Carbon IC, Part 10
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| Posted on March 20, 2022 at 16:48:49 | ||
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Posts: 7338
Location: Bay Area Joined: December 11, 2000 |
 The March 1993 Stereophile Show took place at the San Francisco Marriott. One room officially represented and displayed both Kimber Kable and XLO Electric. Other rooms, including one with stacks of Krell gear, actually asked to borrow Kimber and XLO cables. At the time, it was neat, to see both Kimber KCAG and XLO Reference Types 1 and 2. The Spin Doctors' "Two Princes," about a girl choosing between two guys, was starting to become a hit. It brought attention to the choice, between Kimber KCAG and XLO Ref Types 1 & 2.  Well, damn, now what are we going to do? During Spring Break 1993, my future girlfriend ACS was working at the S.F. Victoria's Secret in Union Square. She actually accompanied me to nearby Ultimate Sound, where a customer was buying a Kimber AGDL digital cable and 8TC speaker cable. I bought a 1-meter XLO Reference Type 1 line-level interconnect.  I actually brought that XLO Ref Type 1 down to UC Santa Cruz, for my final quarter. My girlfriend for that quarter, CC2, thought it was coincidental, that the XLO's lavender-and-green color scheme was appropriate for Easter.  Later that quarter, when CC2 saw the Kimber KCAG (clear Teflon over silver conductors), she perked up, thought it looked like a bracelet. In terms of sonics, she thought that Kimber KCAG and XLO Ref were "different, but equal." In terms of aesthetics, she liked both, but preferred the jewelry-like KCAG.  Sorry, we don't have any photos from the April 1993 Cherry Blossom festival. There, my nerdy female friends, all in college then, squirmed. My friends did not participate or compete in pageants. When my friends came over to my house, they could squirm, when various interconnects sounded "different, but equal."  Because (a) we've been reviewing the Kimber Carbon interconnect, and (b) I have an audiodharma Cable Cooker, audiophiles have actually sent me their Carbons.  Moreover, because the Carbon IC costs less than the venerable but still positively-received KCAG, readers have been asking how the Kimber Carbon compares to the original XLO Reference.  Get ready to squirm. First of all, we prefer the balanced versions of the Kimber Carbon and XLO Ref Type 2. They are simply more accurate, alive, open, and transparent, versus their RCA counterparts. Let us assume that we are using top-notch sources. And let us examine the single-ended RCA versions, first. Both Kimber Carbon and XLO Ref Type 1 are airless. They refuse to add "free notes." With the Carbon, images are rounder, which is more accurate. But it's as if the air (between images) itself is dirty. With the XLO Ref Type 1, the images display sharper outlines, but the images themselves lack depth. They are more like cardboard cutouts, or, as Jack English wrote, back in the December 1992 Stereophile, "Hollywood facades." With the Carbon, that smog obscures instrumental colors and textures. So you end up with a grayer sonic picture. With the Ref Type 1, notes decay a little too quickly. So the music comes across as a bit plastic, in texture and transients. Overall, the Kimber Carbon is more relaxed, but annoyingly can make you try to breathe air, air which is not there. Overall, the Ref Type 1 is slightly more see-through. It itself is not relaxed, but it can make you concentrate on the music. As a reviewer, I do not want to color your expectations. But, by a slim 53/47 margin, my friends prefer the XLO Ref Type 1 over the RCA Kimber Carbon. "Not that I've ever been in a beauty pageant," says my friend Kuma, "But these make you feel like you came in 3rd place, behind the Queen and first runner-up." Now let us examine the balanced Kimber Carbon and XLO Ref Type 2. The balanced Kimber Carbon is more accurate to the source, better maintaining images and textures, while at the same time, pulling off a slightly better "disappearing act." However, the XLO Ref Type 2 subtly does a better job, of preserving (a) the drums' rat-a-tat-tat, (b) how the music stands apart from the space, and, in fleeting moments, (c) the upper-midrange crunch or bite of electric guitar. Okay, I'm introducing bias, but my friends, by a 55/45 margin, prefer the balanced Kimber Carbon. Kuma's husband, who uses Tascam gear, vascillates, between these two balanced interconnects. He says, "When I want maximum transparency, I think I'll use the Carbon. But if I want to bring out the music, I think I'll go back to the XLO." Kuma likes both of these balanced interconnects. She states, "Of all the contestants, these [balanced interconnects] make you feel like you've won something. Okay, maybe you're not the Queen. But Carbon and Ref 2 are like, mmmm, Miss Congeniality and Miss Popularity." -Lummy The Loch Monster
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