ournewceleb

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.75 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Speaker Labs

Summary:
There has been a lot said here, so I dont have too much more to add. I have been using these speakers cables for my center channel (biamped), and now I have also been using them for my two front speakers (also biamped). I replaced my old Cardas Crosslink (which was bi-wired). I noticed a huge improvement, which is both a function of the bimamping and speaker cable change, of course. Finally, I replaced my rear channel speaker wires and that was a huge revelation (improvement!) in sound. Great for music and movie. There may be better speaker cables out there if one explored the stratosphere but within this price range I love these cables. One final note, I decided to have these professional terminated, which made these very convenient. I agreemnt with some of the previous reviewers here that due to the number of wires and their bulk, it can be cumbersome to do yourself. Another key point I picked up on is at the store where I bought these, they were using this very cable in their "reference systems" even though they were selling other speakers cables that were far more expensive. That tells you something!

Strengths:
Great sound, great value whcih allowed me to bi-amp within going broke on speaker cables.

Weaknesses:
Rather bulky to terminate on your own, consider having it professionally done.

Similar Products Used:
Cardas Crosslink

cappa69

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $68.00 from Local Kimber Kable D

Summary:
I've recently purchased a Yamaha RX-V2400 Receiver and a pair of Paradigm Monitor 11 speakers. Rest of my system consists of Yamaha K-903 Dual Deck Cassette player and a Sony Playstation for Games/DVD/CD playing. To start with I used the stock cable (18AWG) from my old system with the new system too. The lows, mids and highs were all muddy but still decent. I upgraded to Monster XP 16 AWG and I could see some improvement. I then upgraded again to Monster XP 12 AWG superflat and felt that the highs have become more defined while the base was a little punchier. After reading all the good reviews on this site for Kimber Kable 8PR I finally decided to give it a try. I got an un-terminated 10 feet pair of this cable from a local dealer. The previous Monster cables I tried were not bi-wired but I decided to bi-wire the Kimber 8PR. The results were good. I felt that the highs were more defined and closer to what I expected from my music system. The base was more punchy and less muddy. I'm a casual listner and not an audiophile but I could feel a subtle improvement in all frequencies. Even my wife who does not pay attention to music delivery quality ever made a comment that the vocals and drums were both playing better. This is somewhat of an apples to oranges comparison though. The monster cable was broken-in since it was used for a while while the Kimber 8PR was installed only yesterday and I'm sure that the 8PR will improve over time. Also, the monster was not bi-wired while Kimber 8PR was bi-wired at the speaker end so maybe some of this improvement was a result of bi-wiring. Overall I did feel that Kimber 8PR was reproducing the music better and once it is broken in, it will only get better. The cable is built solid and is heavy and thick. Insulation material is solid and the copper conductors are easy to twist and they stay in place when being pushed into the banana. This was a constant annoyance with Monster XP 12 AWG superflat that had very thin copper conductor strands that cannot be twisted to become firm and every time I pushed the Monster's ccopper conductors into the banana, they sagged. It is very difficult to terminate 8PR yourself so buy pre-terminated 8PR if you don't want to spend the time doing it yourself. I took a solid 2 hours to terminate a 10 feet pair myself with 2 bananas on amp side and 4 bananas on the speaker side. The cables come with some instructions on how to terminate it but I had to call Kimber's number in Utah to get more instructions. They're very helpful and informative. The wire is difficult to manipulate and my fingers were sore by the time I was done. I think it was well worth it though. Kimber is one of the few cables that are designed for biwire i.e. you don't have to buy two separate cables to bi-wire but rather separate the strands into two groups on one side to greate more terminations. This is a great benefit.

Strengths:
Solid construction, designed for bi-wiring.

Weaknesses:
Difficult to terminate yourself. Buy pre-terminated if you can justify the cost.

Similar Products Used:
Stock 18 AWG, Monster XP 16 AWG and Monster XP 12 AWG superflat.

Price Paid:  $150.00 from audio-advisor

Summary:
I have always believed that the hype of cables and "room tuners" etc. was just voo-doo and advertising panache'. Well, I was enlightened! I am starting to upgrade my modest system (Onkyo reciever, Whafedale Emerald 97 speakers) to a super system thru the rest of this year into 2004. I purchased Kimber 8pr speaker cable in a 4 meter length just to see if I could hear any difference over the monster cable 10g I was using. I'm not an "audiophile", don't have a "reference system", just a guy with a decent stereo hookup. (Audio Alchemy cd transport and decoder). Know what? I could hear a difference, for the first time in my life I could hear a difference in the music! It was an "Oh my God" type of moment! The soundstage became wider, deeper. I used Windom Hill's "Solace" DVD as a test subject. The bass was at the forfront, separated, The persence of bongo's on "The Gift" by Jim Brickman suddenly lept out, I had never heard them before. The highs were a little harsh overall but after about 40 hrs. of burn in it had balanced out nicely. If your a regular guy like me who was skeptical then buy these cables and HEAR the difference. You will not be disappointed!

Strengths:
Price, I could hear a difference! Soundstage, bass separation, imaging.

Weaknesses:
At this price?

Similar Products Used:
Monster cable 10g

Price Paid:  $3.00 from American Sound of Ca

Summary:
Well, I was skeptical about the difference that "wire" would make to my system. I have been using skinny wires that would be as unobtrusive as possible. Recently, when we moved to a different house, I was delighted to find that the previous owner ran his speaker cables under the living room floor, just as I had in my former home. But my old PSB speakers sounded flat and unappealing. I decided that I would get new speakers (I had been looking at speakers for 2 years). I settled on the KEF Q65.2s (see my review of these fabulous speakers). However, since the KEFs are bi-wireable, I decided to research new speaker cables. The reviews on this page and their availability helped me decide to buy the 8PRs. I also have a very long run of about 25ft between my speakers and system so cost was a factor. I connected the 8PR to my old PSBs while awaiting delivery of the KEFs. WOW!! Both my wife and I thought that we were listening to brand new speakers, had I screwed up - should I have gone to the expense of buying the KEFs? The dynamic range, tonality and everything else of the PSBs just jumped through the roof. We could not get enough of our "new" system. Then the KEFs arrived and I simultaneously purchased and hooked up a second Quad 303 power amp. Friends, I'm in audio heaven. I do not need a thing just more time to listen to my new system. I thought that my wife was going to use the 8PR to terminate me never mind the speakers. So now we have four great big cables lying around the perimeter of our living room (a place with a parlor like attitude). Lo and behold, we both like the look and feel of the cables they make a powerful statement.

Strengths:
Absolutely fabulous "sound", inexpensive - cost me about $3.00/ft, good-looking stuff. Clearly very good wherever you have a long run, a pretty good system, a nice home and do not want to mortgage it in order to string together your audio components.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Cheap nasty stuff that I cannot even name

Price Paid:  $80.00 from avdi

Summary:
I've been using this for quite sometime now. Let say I'm a skeptic at things, I won't buy anything unless I have tried or auditioned it. I have tried several wires, including the qed silver genesis, which is by the way great sounding and one of the premier cables, but for the price of almost USD500, are you kidding me!
I'm telling you, my 8PR babies, at times give me goosebumps. This wires, equipped with the right gear will give you your listening pleasure you deserve. So do yourselves a favor, buy the damn thing, or at least give it a try.
"Happiness makes up in height what it lacks in length"
...Robert Frost

Strengths:
detailed open sound, very natural, good soundstage and very cheap

Weaknesses:
none with at price, are you kidding me.

Similar Products Used:
ixos 604- biwire, 8tc, 6003 gamma, qed silver genesis