Price Paid:  $425.00 from audiogon

Summary:
I've never been the kind of audiophile who cared to listen to wire. "Just get something decent, cable your whole system with it" was my mantra, which is just what I did. I had all Silver Sonics BL1 interconnects, and T14 speaker cable, and the sound was good. But when I got an FT Audio LW-1 passive preamp, things changed. Paul Lam of FT Audio strongly recommends that you use Kimber 1020 with this pre, as that's what he's wired it with internally. At the very minimum, he states go with Silver Streak, but if you want to hear how REALLY TRANSPARENT the LW-1 is, go with the 1020. I don't usually play in this sandbox...$900.00 for a 1.5 meter pr. of IC's is too rich for my blood. But I found a mint used pair for $425.00, so I literally raided the cooky jar.
To cut to the chase...there's just NO way I can put back in the BL-1! A certain busy-ness (noise)that I never knew was there just vanished with the 1020 between my pre and power amp. I finally understand what the audio pundits are babbling about when they go on about an "inky black background". The soundstage got a lot wider, deeper, more layered. Instrument timbres became truer, images more fully formed...transients a lot quicker,all the usual audiophool hot buttons. The longer I have this cable in my system the better it sounds. It really is as marked a difference as if I'd upgraded to a multi kilobuck amp. Caution:don't put this in your system unless your upstream components are very good...anything not up to snuff upstream WILL be revealed by these IC's. That's not to say these are "ruthlessly revealing"; there's just nothing that gets in the way of the sound at all. That's why I'm gonna hafta recable my whole system with Kimber Select, one component at a time. Sigh...don't say I didn't warn you! I'm rating these a 5 for performance, 4 for value, as I agree it's absurd to spend this much on a pair of #$% wires...but with the right components, it can be actually a more cost effective upgrade than using really expensive components with lesser wire.

Strengths:
Wide, deep soundstage. Truly silent, black background. A silver cable that doesn't "sound like a silver cable" (ie bright). Treble is extended and natural.Midrange is clear and uncolored. Bass is Stygian. But it's real strength is that it presents the music as an organic whole, rather than the sum of its parts.

Weaknesses:
Only weakness is costs so much!

Similar Products Used:
DH Labs Silver Sonics...but we're in an entire other league here.

Price Paid:  $4000.00 from Soundline Audio

Summary:
I am lucky enough to know the boys at Soundline Audio in Christchurch, New Zealand. Now don't think we're behind the times just 'cos we're way down by the Antarctic, we are the home of Plinius Audio and I live just 2 minutes away from Dynavector! (some of the best record stylus makers in the world)

I was lucky enough to try a big bunch of interconnects including the 1010's, 1020's and 1030's as well as second hand high end silver streaks etc...I agree with anybody who owns the 1030's that they are fantastic, but so are the 1020's. My listening session quickly cut out the silver streaks for being too analytical. They basically missed nothing in detail but they did not convey any emotion. Tracey Chapman sounded accurate, but she didn't "SING" while the 1010's "SUNG" beautifully. Moving to the 1020's was a big step up but then the 1030's was only just a small difference, barely enough to justify the price increase. Even going back down to the 1020's was not a noticeable step down. If you have a great system as I do, go for the 1020's, best value for money in my opinion for speed, precision, accuracy and emotion. A great all around cable and while everybody in this industry rattles on about burn in time, these sound great from the get go and you just appreciate them more and more so whether burn in here is perception, who knows? You'll just fall more in love.

I showed a car salesman friend of mine who laughed at me when I told him I paid $1000 NZ ($400 US) for a pair of interconnects so decided to show him what they do (his whole system costs $1000). The best way to show off any product is to show it off, then remove it from the system to show what they add and what you take away when removing them. I downgraded to HIS red and black interconnects from his system which he claimed would be the same," they have to, they're just wire, surely" (valued at no more than $5) and he said "WOW, this sound like sh@t" and that's from a system with Meridian 508.24, Kimber Monacle XL speaker cable, Shahinian Arcs, Dynavector HX1.2 (190w x 2), Black Diamond Racing Cones etc... so for a "stereo system loving non audiophile guy" to say that, it shows what these things can do, they add magic and emotion to a system that can show it off. Buy them, you'll love them, unless you're a real fussy person, you won't need to upgrade for years.

If you have a chance to audition all three styles of Selects from Kimber, you'll see exactly what I mean.

Strengths:
Speed, emotion, detail, realism

Weaknesses:
None to this date

Similar Products Used:
Kimber 1010's, Kimber Silver Streaks

Summary:
This cable is just fully burned in. The silver takes a while to settle down, but seemingly not as long as the KCAG silver it replaced. I have to say that I liked it even straight out of the box and now it sounds even better. It's far exceeded even my expectations and I'm a fan of Kimber's cables.

KCAG was great. KS1020 is better. I was expecting the soundstaging, spatial awareness and detail to be better because of the radically different construction of the Select cable. However, I really did find it smoother and more natural than even KCAG, which did surprise me.

KCAG is a fine musical cable, but the difference seems to be principally that the 1020 gives a more realistic sence of scale, space and timbre, which makes the whole performance seem correspondingly more real and natural.

If you can afford 1030, then by all accounts it is even better (who would expect otherwise?), but at it's price this is a truly superb cable. To listen to it is to love it!

Strengths:
Everything - Sweet and smooth yet detailed, very precise spatial definition, bass/ treble extension and clarity, silent background. Quality of manufacture and finish. Absolutely excellent value for money. The UK price is matched with the US price, so I don't understand the comment in a previous review...

Weaknesses:
I have found none in listening. The only one I can think of is knowing the 1030 is out there and apparently sounds better, which is hard to imagine once you hear the 1020.

Similar Products Used:
Kimber PBJ/ KCAG

Summary:
This cable is a big step up from KS1010 which, in comparison is a little too warm in my system.

As with those items from the whole of the KS range which I have tried, you just plug them in and they work. There is no vastly drawn out burn-in (although the silver content of this cable means that burn-in is longer than with the copper only varieties).

I have used loads of different cables over the years , all of which ultimately reveal some downside and the need for a change (at a price).

This time I have used this cable in those parts of my system which are single ended for at least a year and am still blissfully happy ( the balanced parts of the system use KS 1120).

Strengths:
Detail, coherence, transparency,internote silence, build

Weaknesses:
Price in UK

Similar Products Used:
Kimber 1120

Summary:
I bought these cables three weeks ago and i must admit that after two weeks of intensive music listening these cables made a dramatic improvement over the pair of MITs i had in my system. No aggressivity at all, much tighter and deeper bass, a fantastic upper midrange with better extension in the highs, a much deeper and larger soundstage with a lot more focus and detail and the Kimbers are much quieter (certainly due to better RFI rejection). 600 bucks for a pair of interconnects is maybe expensive but there really is a huge difference, check them out. The build quality of the product is also impressive.