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Kimber Silver Streak, Part 1

Posted by Luminator on April 30, 2021 at 18:13:38:

On Fathers Day 1993, I graduated from college, then returned home to San Francisco. Shortly thereafter, the July 1993 Stereophile arrived. That issue included Corey Greenberg's review of the Kimber PBJ line-level interconnect, and compared it to the KCAG.
The rest of 1993, I had to organize my electronics. The main system was in the living room, which meant that my older products could be used in my headphone-based bedroom system. The main system used AudioQuest and XLO interconnects, reviews of which can be found right here, on Cable Asylum. In 1994, the Kimber PBJ was priced so that I could actually buy it. Its focus, resolution, and speed did very well in the secondary system.

From a marketing perspective, Kimber had a large price gap, between the $68 PBJ and $390 KCAG. So they thought about coming up with a model between those two.

In late summer or early fall 1996, my then-girlfriend ACS and I went to the iconic San Francisco Tower Records on Jones & Columbus. There, we bought the In Memory EP from Seattle rock band, Nevermore. ACS and our friends loved the power ballad, "The Sorrowed Man."

It was cool, to go down Columbus, traverse North Beach, and then head through the Stockton tunnel (above). ACS and I cut through Union Square, then went to San Francisco's Kimber dealer, Ultimate Sound. There, we saw Kimber's "compromise" interconnect model, the Silver Streak. ACS joked, "Maybe they named it after the Bay To Breakers," where a few naked runners streaked down the course. She also said, "When we were in college, everyone in the dorms would streak down the halls."
The Kimber PBJ used three copper strands, wrapped in red/black/blue Teflon. The Kimber KCAG consisted of three silver strands, wrapped in clear Teflon. The single-ended Silver Streak utilized a single silver positive conductor, wrapped in clear Teflon; and two copper negative returns, wrapped in black Teflon. The balanced Silver Streak used two silver (for + and -), and one copper (for ground).

By late 1996, ACS was making so much at Genentech, she no longer worked at Victoria's Secret. Nevertheless, she said that the single-ended Kimber Silver Streak reminded her of VS' black-colored lingerie and bags, adorned with clear or silver "sparkly jewels."

With a lineup of PBJ, Silver Streak, KCAG, and KCTG, Kimber had the bases covered, and went on a winning streak. Ultimate Sound sold lots of Kimber interconnects, more so than their other brands, such as AudioQuest, DH Labs, MIT, Monster Cable, Nordost, and XLO.

My friend Sandy remarked that, with its black-and-silver color scheme, "the Silver Streak should appeal to Oakland Raiders fans." Despite being just a young adult, Sandy had started to get white hairs down there and on her scalp. Thus, she was averse of the Silver Streak; and at least aesthetically, preferred that we go with something else. Anyway, in the mid-90s, the PBJ came in a Ziploc bag, the Silver Streak came in a plastic clamshell, and the KCAG came in a hinged jewelry box.
-Lummy The Loch Monster