Lively, with quick and clear sound. Excellent sounstage and detail. Flexible and resistant to RF. Musically exciting. A good wire.

Can be a little lacking of bass weight.

I have had this Kimber wire on hand in various forms for quite awhile- whether it was biwire, single wire, bare wire, or Bananas. It is priced around the limit of what I would spend on wire, but feel it does indeed surpass lesser priced wires I have tried. If you ever go on Kimbers web site you'll see all of the electrical specifications (cpacitance, resistance and inductance) of every wire they sell, as well as the design and insulation used. I asked one high end wire company these questions and they would not even tell me. It is after all the electrical specifications of a wire that have the main effect on how it will sound in a given system. There is no snake oil about them. The 4TC wire is quick and clear with good placement of the instruments. It is also resistant to RF. I have used it bare wire and with connectors in various systems. Whenever I change out the Kimber I always notice a loss of transient speed, and less clarity. The bass is very tight. It could be a little fuller, but I'd rather have less bass than too much. You can get a smoother fuller and more easy going sound with some other wires that have a higher inductance than 4TC. 4TC is not really a tone control type of wire. It transmits the signal about as honestly as you can expect. I have used other wires and unlike some other posters here, I notice some difference, though I think those differences are due to changes in the inductance, resistance and capacitance of the wire, and the type of insulation used. I like the 4 TC wire, it has qualities no other wire near the price has. Basically you hear a quickness, and detail of each instrument, and the space of the recording venue, and even certain multi tracked parts of studio recordings I had'nt noticed. 4TC does not add warmth to the signal, It will not dumb down what the amp or source is doing. And it conveys the content of the recording. I don't hear 4TC as bright in my system, I do hear a slightly lighter bass, but that may be due to its thinner guage (as compared to 8TC and others), this character may lead to a perception of brightness. Anyway I have used no better wire near the price and find it to be a reasonably good value, though I feel all "high end" wire is overpriced and many represent insanity. Some less expensive DIY wires If you ever go on the audio forums you will learn that tthe Kimber 4 TC wire is commonly recommended as having excellent electrical parameters by people with a knowledge of audio engineering. It does the job of what a speaker cable should do. It is one of the better off the shelf wires and not absurdly priced. 4TC is for those who desire a clear and clean transmission of the signal. It is lively and involving, just like live music. If you want a wire to make things sound pleasant and relaxed, this is not it.

Customer Service

audiowaves has excellent service. Alan is a pleassure to deal with. Kimber responds to emails.

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DH labs T14
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DIY twisted solid core

A well made product, good for the task

Not worth the money; there are cheaper alternatives that are just as good.

I purchased these because others said that cables can make a difference, and I didn't want to leave a stone unturned in my pursuit of high-end audio. I figured if I didn't get "good" cables then my system would never be performing up to its potential, and I would be missing out. My conclusion from experience, however, is that the main factor in speaker cables is the gauge or thickness of the wire, and that expensive speaker wire like this is not worth the money. That is not a conclusion based on controlled scientific tests (in my case), but it is the personal impression that I have based on listening experiences. I do not feel the same way about interconnects, by the way; I do think they contribute something to the quality of the sound, again a personal not scientific opinion. I had these (Kimber 4TC) set up bi-wired to a pair of B&W N805's. I needed to move the speakers around and the Kimber cables would no longer reach, so I rigged up Radio Shack cables 16 or 14 gauge running a double length to each pair of speaker terminals (i.e., 4 pairs of wires to each speaker). The Kimber is equivalent to 13 gauge, so what I got with the Radio Shack was equivalent to a thicker cable. Result? I cannot at all say that the Kimber was better; *maybe* the sound is better with the Radio Shack but I don't know. I do not know if I have an "audiophile" ear, but I do have a conservatory degree in music. At any rate, my advice to people getting into this is to be *very* skeptical about claims for speaker wire. If possible, try before you buy; borrow from someone. Maybe you will hear something I didn't, but do not assume that by plunking down money you are assuring yourself of better quality, or that it is necessary to spend more. I wish I had not been so quick to spend my money in the belief that the rest of my system demanded it. Certainly, you get something for the Kimber product you don't get with the plain Radio Shack wires. The Kimber are nice and compact, and come nicely furnished with connectors (one of which, however, broke off with repeated use). Currently, I am simply using bare wire on the speaker end and eventually that will oxidize, so I will either have to snip off the end and re-connect, or solder on spade lugs. But I don't see how those differences are worth the difference in price. Incidentally, I also tried Home Depot 12 gauge wire at an early stage and at that point I thought the sound was harsh, but I cannot say for sure it was because of the wire; it might have been some other part of my system settling in. So I can't totally rule out the possibility that there are differences in wires above and beyond the gauge size. But I didn't find Kimber better than Radio Shack once I had adjusted for gauge. Caveat emptor. Associated equipment for the purpose of this comparison: Sony DVD-NS500V DVD/CD/SACD player or Rega Planet 2000 CD player Benchmark DAC-1 digital-to-analog converter Audible Illusions L-1 Line Stage or Bryston BP-25 Preamp Bryston 3B-ST or 4B-ST amplifier B&W N805 speakers (pair) Kimber PBJ interconnects

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Radio Shack 16 or 14 gauge wire, doubled

Brings detail forward; adds life to laidback systems

May be too bright for some systems

Bought these secondhand with a pair of 8TC cables for biwiring: 8TC for bass, 4TC for treble. The price was for a 2.5-metre pair, terminated with banana plugs. On their own these Kimber cables make the system more dynamic. Brings out details a bit to the front. May be a bit forward for some. I think the 8TC are much better value; I prefer the overall balance. The 4TCs are a bit too bright-sounding. If you don't have the cash for 8TCs and your speakers are bi-wireable, you can buy a pair of 4TCs now and get another pair later. That would be the equivalent of a single run of 8TCs.

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Ecosse CS2.5 Audioquest Type4 and F14 Naim NACA4

Very High Detail

Requires a good high bandwidth amp (Bryston, Adcom) not smooth like (Arcam)

After upgrading my amplification to a bryston 3bst I still noticed that the sound in my system seemsed a little laid back. I had thought that the bryston would have significantly improved the high end and low end, rather the difference at the bottom was remarkable, but the detail was not there. A local dealer was selling 3 9' sections of this cable in a clearence of past trade ins for a bargain of a price so I thought what the heck, maybe cables do make a difference and for $40 not much risk. After hooking them up to my system bi-wiring with my existing Van-den-hull skyline cables with the Kimbers on the tweeters I was immediatly struck by the sound. The CD in the player had much electric guitar with lots of distortion sound and it was unbearable. Replacing the CD with Norah Jones and I felt like I was hearing the recording for the first time. Much, Much more detail. These cables really brought out the best that the amp was able to produce. I always had good soundstage but there never was this detail to my system before. Quite remarkable. In particular I tried to listen for the 'phantom orchestra' on the 16th track of Glenn Goulds Goldberg Variations 1982 recording. I never heard it before until I tried this. After a couple of days of break in I tried to put in some Led Zeplen and other stuff that was terrible at first. THe cable had broken in just fine. Excellent sound, really bringing out what the artist is trying to reproduce not just covering up by smoothing out flaws in the system. Very impressed.

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Van-den-hull

Great midrange if used on the bass in a biwire setup.

Extremely bright and harsh if used on the treble in a biwire setup. I can only assume that single wiring would present a similar character. Noticeable lack of bass weight.

I bought some 4TC to upgrade my 4PR which I had biwired to my Energy Veritas 2.1s. I tried the 4TC on the treble and bass and there were huge differences in tonality from the 4PR. On the treble the 4TC was unlistenable. On all but the smoothest audiophile recordings my ears were bleeding. Even after a day of running in, there was no relief. On the bass, things were much better. Imaging, colour and presence was MUCH improved over the 4PR. By comparison the 4PR was muddy, the 4TC live. Unfortunately they also sapped much of the bass, not the definition, just the volume. In the end, I found I couldn't live with these cables at all. All in all, their strengths were not enough to merit upgrading from my 4PR which is essentially smooth, neutral and easy to live with.

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Kimber 4PR, 8PR

None that I can think of.

Harsh, undynamic and boring sound with constricted frequency extremes.

Having tried the Kimber PBJ cable with great success and enthusiasm, I opted for the Kimber TC4 loudspeaker cable, even if the guy selling it to me warned me. I fact he thought he was lucky to get rid of the cable for 30% of what he had paid for it. I should have sensed that there was a catch. I believed that they could not possibly be worse than the relatively cheap cables I was using (I think it was van den Hul The Clearwater at that time). That was a terribly wrong assumption. The Kimber TC4 loudspeaker cable had a catastrophic effect on the sound in my system. The perspective collapsed, and everything was cramped together both in depth and laterally. The sound became harsh and edgy, and most of the bottom end (bass) disappeared. The upper frequencies were aggressive and unpleasant. There was no dynamics in the music anymore. The sound became flat and boring, and I had a hard time to find any joy in listening to music anymore. It was a returning subject in hi-fi related discussions among my friends: How could it be that the PBJ sounded so good and the TC4 so horrible? My system at that time (1994) consisted of KEF Bailey speakers and Electrocompanitet amplification. I later upgraded my system to B&W Matrix 801 Series 3 speakers and Audio Research/Conrad Johnson amplification, but the result was the same when I inserted the Kimber TC4 speaker cable. I owned the cables for several years, but I only used them for less than a month. In the end I was able to sell them to another guy for the same price as I paid for them. Lucky me!! Let this be a warning: Stay clear of Kimber TC4.

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clear, tight, lively, transparent, relatively affordable.

If mis-matched, it could be bright (but I think it is not the wire's fault.

For the first time, I heard "Big" difference that good speaker calbe can make. I have used several not-so expensive models but could not hear much difference (always very tough to find one, if any). But this one was totally differet. Immediately, I was able to notice better transparency, detail, frequency extension, tight imaging, no muddiness and better dynamics. Overally, music presented with 4TC is more lively and immediate. I wonder how much better their upper models (Monocle or above) are. If you are using so-so wires, then I recommend to try this one in your system.

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some 100-200 USD models including local brand.

3 dimension,colouration,gap between each instrument sharp pointing.

not at all

Music is the magic...yes i said. when i first bought PBJ interconnect it''s really great with using naim speaker cable batter bass but leak of high pic So i change naim to 4 tc kimber kable, ....wow .. i''m not alone now in my 12x12 sq room. it ''s really live band,wide staging, play and their stair at you and the time running fast ...... pss.. not enough sleep.......it''really bad.. just try and study the configuration of of size copper wire like kimber cable.... im not joking it''s true +skin effect with difference size copper wire create low ,mid and high frequency MY SYSTEM celestion 15 speaker denon avc 2020 pre-amp (PBJ analog interconnect) Panasonic LX 101CD Player analog output (PBJ analog interconnect) Big Thank to Ray Kimber and Russ Andrews given me a great guide.

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Very good looking speaker wire.

Hard to terminate, pricey.

Purchased used from an installation and retail business. Cool and ''serious'' looking. No difference heard between this, zip cord and 12# Monster. Note that my rating is based on a the retail price for a ten foot pair, not the 20 bucks this 19 foot piece cost. At 20 bucks I''d give this at least four stars for looks alone.

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Clarity, Transparent

None

I was so skeptical in what I thought was wasting monies on simple copper wire. I was ready to ues 10 guage low voltage landsape lighting cable because of what I thought was outragious prices for wire... cant fool physics right... copper wire is copper wire right?

Well not exactly, boy was I in for a awakening. I am not sure how it is done and frankly I do not care but, after listing to cable's on the exact same components and speakers boy there is a difference... and boy did the 4TC come out on top.

At local audiofile store I listend to 7 different cables 5 of the seven cables were over $50 a foot and 2 of the 5 were over $100 a foot. I felt that the 4TC outperformed the $50 cables on clarity and matched the $100 cables.

I honestly think if anyone can hear difference in higher $ cables needs to get thier ears checked... OR perhaps the higher dollar cable might clear the monies out of thier ears so they can here better. Not sure...

My opinion... Spending any more monies on speaker cable is a waste. This stuff is the best at any price.

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Any Other Speaker Cable...