Cable Asylum

Posted by Luminator (A) on April 26, 2024 at 21:58:42

The 1986-87 school year was the last time I had more male than female friends. Be that as it may, my core female friends were three freshmen: Barbra, CT, and Theresa. Barbra and Theresa were allowed to go out, so we took advantage of our San Francisco Muni Youth Passes, and would explore neighborhoods.

We went to North Beach, and, for our first time, tried gelato. Versus conventional ice cream, gelato had less air and ice, and was chewier. The problem was, as high school kids, we could not afford gelato. It was a bummer, not being able to sample all those flavors.

Sorry, we do not have any photos from that Spring 1987 semester. Then, Barbra, Theresa, and I met up at Mitchell's ice creamery. Because you get to select the three flavors, Barbra, Theresa, and I got a banana split. We each had a spoon, but that was really the first time we shared food.

The next time, we each got individual cones. I do not recall which flavors we got, but we did not duplicate any one flavor. Looking back, our action was kind of cringey: we licked each other's ice cream. Moreover, Theresa actually finished my sugar cone, I finished Barbra's regular cone, and Barbra enthusiastically finished Theresa's waffle cone.

Likewise, as you got to know more audiophiles, you shared each other's cables. I do not have much control, over which cables come my way. We will get to other brands, but lately, it's been a slew of Kimber Kable products. I have Kimber's 12TC on extended loan, so we have the privilege of comparing it to others, including some of Kimber's other models.

We have Kimber's Monocle XL (top), which is currently US$2,460, for an 8-foot pair. It basically uses 12TC for the positive, and 12VS for the negative. These are woven and "spaced out" over a solid center core. The Monocle XL utilizes WBT connectors.

For the equivalent 8-foot pair, the 12TC, with SBAN bananas, is US$945.

Here's what's interesting. We feel that, without a cable burn-in device, we might as well skip, refuse, or reject the Monocle XL. Sonically, it's like we accidentally dropped some of the banana split's nuts, maraschino cherry, whipped cream, sprinkles, and ice cream, onto the sidewalk.

If you then place the 12TC on a cable burn-in device, but leave the Monocle XL untreated, many people would agree that the 12TC sounds better.

More so than other speaker cables, the Monocle XL transforms, when properly treated on a burn-in device. We will cover the Monocle XL later and separately. When both Monocle XL and 12TC are "Cooked," the former definitively lays bare the latter's flaws.

First, the Monocle XL is properly open and transparent. This leaves the 12TC a bit closed-in, introverted, and crumpled-up. It's like not finishing a scoop of ice cream, whose outside then melts. The Monocle XL better preserves the soundstage's height and width.

The Monocle XL keeps backgrounds a bit more silent. Therefore, the 12TC reduces contrast, between music and background silence.

The Monocle XL does a better job of maintaining image size, instrumental textures, details, and expressions.

Tonally, the 12TC comes across as rounding-off a little here, a little there, especially in the upper midrange and deep bass. Finally, via the 12TC, the music is just slower, which, again, reduces expression, life, and joy.

However, let us assume that you have a decent system, with speakers which match both the system and your room. It's not that the 12TC is bad. It's just that, if you compare it to the Monocle XL, the 12TC comes across as mass market chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream. Many audiophiles would say, "Nothing wrong with that!" The Monocle XL costs more than twice the 12TC. If you play in that league, then you can regularly eat from the artisanal gelato and ice cream shops.

-Lummy The Loch Monster