Neutral, Very tonally accurate, improves upper frequencies

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WOW!!!!! Instantly, cold out of the package, I could hear a drastic improvement in the upper frequencies! Familiar recordings were more detailed, more timbrally and tonally accurate - without the harshness and congestion I had been experiencing, especially with rock music. Needless to say a few days later the heros really opened up. I'm sold on these cables first, in their ability to not get in the way of the music and also, like all the Kimber wire products, they look sharp.

If you want a sure fire, no brainer top of the line copper interconnect, you can't possibly go wrong with Kimber heros.
BTW, I have the less expensive WBT-0144 connectors and they made this guy get back to enjoying the music! Try 'em and you'll buy 'em!

Similar Products Used:

Tara Labs, mogami

Neutral but a bit on the Warm side

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Kimber in general makes products that you will get just what
you expect, if you pay more you get more [a better cable].

The Hero is one of those cables that really shines when you use Hero thoughout the whole audio chain, CD--->PRE--->AMP

I've used the Hero from the CD to Pre for some years now with great results, but there always was a slight image problem and inner detail. I tried all sorts of cables between my Pre-Amp with the Hero in the CD-Pre but result were OK at best. THe problem was I needed Hero from my Pre-Amp. Now the image and inner detail is 100%, so is the seperation my sound stage is very big and deep and the sound is very clean. I would suggest to anyone below that has not had the best results from Hero to go Hero all the way and listen for yourself. Another $140/m will save you lots of Cash in the long haul.

Similar Products Used:

All Kimber, XLO, Wireworld Atlantis, Other's

Good flexibility; available in variety of connectors

Warm, slow, airless sound quality

For many years, Kimber's KCAG has spoiled me. Its neutrality, speed, detail, and transparency leave many interconnects in the dust. Indeed, the KCAG blows away the PBJ, which sounds bright in the upper mid/low treble, while rolling off the extreme low bass and high treble.

It seems like Kimber took criticism of the PBJ too hard, too far. With the Hero, they've come up with an interconnect that is the opposite of the PBJ. This is not an improvement, in my book. Regardless of equipment I used, the Hero always imposed a warm, slow signature. [Yes, dear friends, I allowed over six weeks of burn-in, so don't point the finger there]. The very top end is rolled off, so air is sucked right out of your recordings. Details are still present, but they're hidden under a golden haze. Because the Hero can't keep up with the natural speed of the signal, pace and rhythm are all screwed up.

Ugh, who needs this crap? The job of any cable is to get the hell out of the way, while at the same time rejecting noise. The Hero does the latter, but sonically, just turns everything into caramel.

If you actually like this type of sound, I would suggest saving your money, and opting for the KS-1010, instead. That cable is a little more detailed, transparent, and dynamic. But for those of us who favor accuracy and reality over colorations, the good ol' PBJ/SS/KCAG lineup is still king.

Similar Products Used:

Kimber PBJ, Silver Streak, KCAG, KCTG, KS-1010, KS-1030, as well as interconnects from other brands

Energy, detail, naturality, musicality, soundstage

Some will find the treble too sharply defined

I'm currently trying the Hero in my system, and I'm definitely bought on its musical capacities. It is true that the treble is a bit rough, but it isn't enough to detract from the many strengths of this i/c: the sound is very powerful - it sounds as if my amp were injected a fistful of extra watts! -, but nevertheless cultured and refined, never "in yer face"; its natural rendition of voices and instruments is nothing short of amazing; and the sounstage they help to create is absolutely fantastic - sense of depth increases and instrumental separation is superb. Bass is both powerful and taut, which is a compromise that's hard to reach. All of this concurs to produce a rich and involving musical experience. Oh, and it looks neat with the WBT plugs, too. Great partnership for my 8 TC speaker cables.
This is a seriously good cable, although not recommended for bright kit.

My kit: Rega Planet (very fussy about i/c's), Creek 4330 R, ProAc Tablette 50, Kimber 8 TC and Hero cables.

Similar Products Used:

Nordost Black Knight

Smooth mid bass,detailed sound,WBT connectors.

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I found a definite increase in sound quality over the Musica 500 and PBJ,more detail in every aspect as well as a tighter and deeper mid-bass.I currently run them on the analog output on my Sony DVPS7700 and they do a really nice job on 24/96 recordings.Good value for the money.

Similar Products Used:

NBS Dragonfly,Kimber PBJ,Esoteric Audio Musica 500

Dymanic, full sound

not as detailed as Silver Streak, PBJ

Hero is decent cable, full sounding compared to PBJ with no
tendency towards brightness like PBJ. Soundstage also very good, however this cable cannot resolve fine details like
Silver Streak or PBJ, especially drum attack, cymballs, tamborine, acoustic etc sound rounded off with no fine detail.

Silver Streak is very good cable, detailed yet full sound, very dynamic easily preferable to PBJ or Hero, and for 1/2 meter cable from CDP to integrated amp a reasonable $150. I could be happy living with Silver Streak......until I heard Silver Audio Silver Buttet 4. Here is a silver cable that is actually has sweet sounding mid and high range, vocals sound dead on, my system cable now, $175 for 1/2 meter. To read reviews look under former name D-Lin Silver Bullet 4.

My system is:
Musical Fidelity E624 CDP
Musical Fidelity A3 integrated amp
Spendor SP1 3 way British monitors (classic from late 1980s)
Silver Audio Silver Bullet 4 connect, 1/2 meter
Kimber 8TC speaker cable, 6ft runs

Similar Products Used:

Kimber Silver Streak, PBJ, Silver Audio Silver Bullet 4

Clarity and presence.

Immediate, prebreak-in improvement over the PBJ's they replaced. The connect the amp to the pre-pro for the mains and CD to amp(all low/mid fi stuff). The change in presence, sound decay and smoothness of the music was immediate. Soft sounds became noticable, big sounds less waring. I liked the PBJ's (which were a big change over the monster and audioquest stuff), but I noticed that the speakers I bought last summer didn't sound as good here as at the audio store, particularly with bass slam and clarity of voice.
The Hero's did just that. Movies are now more intense and engaging, and CD's have the presence I sought. In a bit of a stretch, it sometimes seems that performers fade in and out of the room, particularly during the better cd's. Bourbon was'nt the factor my girlfriend claims though, I should add.
The price is roughly twice that of the PBJ's, which is alot. But, the sound improvement was greater than the upgrade in dvd players I made early last year; more than subtle, less than new speaks or pre-pro. So, big change, few dollars.

Enjoy!

Similar Products Used:

PBJ, Audioquest.

I bought Heros after auditioning them against PJBs and a few others. They were used to replace Radio Shack gold interconnects. They are certainly good, much better than the Radio Shack cables. I have limited basis for comparison, but I like their sound. Price is reasonable. Their RCA terminals work very well.

transparent, detailed, full bodied

initial impression

I purchased this 1M Hero XLR to upgrade PBJ between my pre and amp now that I can use balanced cables. At first I thought these were down right awful. After 2 weeks of A/B testing I still prefered the PBJ until today. PBJ is still king of value, but Hero is less etched at the top. Modest difference at best but the price difference is modest as well. A good buy but expect a long break in time. Until they break in expect very poor extension and a mid section that just doesn't sound right. After a few weeks(less if 24/7 break in) they become very neutral and just get out of the way. Of course now I'll have to apply these upstream to really benefit from them. Highly recommended 5 star value and 4 overall since in a cost no object system there are better choices but none at this price point.

Regis Poirier

Associated equipment:
Sony DVP-S7000
Aragon D2A Mark II
Adcom GFP-750
Adcom GFA-5802
PSB Stratus Gold
Kimber PBJ
Kimber Hero
Kimber 8TC

Similar Products Used:

Kimber PBJ

Dynamic, detailed presentation across the frequency spectrum. Excellent separation of instruments, excellent soundstage width and depth.

Long break-in period--and until the cables are broken in, the top-end rolloff is a big impediment to listening enjoyment

I've gone through several different sets of cables in the past few years, and I believe I finally got it right. As impressed as I was with Kimber's PBJs, there was an underlying thinness in their presentation which proved to be a major distraction. That isn't the case with the Heros, which convey instruments and voices with the right amount of "body." The Heros let in huge amounts of detail, and as one reviewer commented, they seem to actually boost the wattage of the amp.
BUT... as with any audio gear, results may vary from system to system when it comes to breaking the cables in. My experience was similar to that of Regis, who warns prospective buyers to give these cables a very long break-in period and to expect major flaws in their performance until they are finished running in. The last piece of the puzzle to fall into place was the treble "air," which was stifled in many recordings until today, when I gave the Heros a followup run-in of about 12 hours nonstop after breaking them in for two weeks straight and then on-and-off for another couple of weeks. The 12-hour run-in did the trick: I did a "before and after" comparison and heard the high-frequency sparkle that was missing from the same CD 12 hours earlier.

Similar Products Used:

Kimber Kable PBJ, Alpha-Core Micro Purl, Monster M1000i, AudioQuest Quartz x3