Really improved the midrange and vocals

None apparent

I was pretty skeptical that speaker cables could make much of a difference beyond a certain level, but was proven wrong by these cables. I''''m using a 6'''' biwired set, and replaced a biwired pair of Audioquest Type 6+. It was like lifting a dark cloud off of the sound. Vocals and timber were vastly improved. I really couldn''''t believe the difference. I have only listened to these two sets of cable, and don''''t know what else is out there. I have a feeling I won''''t stop here with cables, but I would certainly recommend giving these a listen. System: Rotel RB-1070 Amp CJ SC25 Preamp Soliloquy 6.2 Speakers (review to follow) Cal Audio Transport/ Musical Fidelity DAC

Similar Products Used:

Audioquest 6+

Good soundstage, airy vocals

Overly smooth in treble/no punch.

This is a warm, extremely laid-back sounding cable. The soundstaging and "air" it imparts are quite extraordinary.

HOWEVER, if you are looking for a dynamic/punchy/fast cable, this is not it (at least with my system). When I bi-wired and even straight-wired these, I found the bass good/great (though not as tight as I would have liked) with even the lowest rumbles translated fairly musically. The high mids and treble were very disappointing, though. Overly smoothed out--sudden shifts in volumes are flattened out. In fact, I thought the cables were slowing down the music, though I knew this wasn’t physically possible. I talked to Kimber directly about this phenomenon and they were not surprised. Warming up and clarifying bass, they told me, is this cable's strength (as well as imaging/soundstage/clarity/etc.). 8TC is too much of a good thing, though, for high mids and treble. To get the sound I wanted, they recommended I bi-wire with 8TC for bass and 4TC for mid/rtreb, as one reviewer below has done. Too much extra $$$ for me. I’m sticking with my Taras, at least for the moment, and will probably move up to Tara RSC Prime 1000. Let me say though that I do think Kimber makes amazing stuff. Just beware that this is a very laid back cable.

I would recommend 8TC for very lean, bright sounding systems, or anyone who just likes a mellower, warm cable. Maybe as the bottom half of a bi-wire with lighter cable up top. And as I said earlier, the soundstaging on these is very good.

Incidentally, a 30-day money back guarantee directly from Kimber does NOT exist (I spoke to them 2/29/00), from consumer to manufacturer. They will not refund your money if you bought from a third party retailer!! They might do an exchange. A retailer has the option of taking a return then sending the cable back to Kimber for a full wholesale credit. But this is purely at the dealer's discretion. They don't have to participate in this program. In my case my dealer, Shelley’s in Santa Monica would not refund/exchange either, so now I’m stuck with $225 of cable I don’t want. Buyer beware.

My Overall rating would be 3.5 stars for sound, 3 for value.

SYSTEM:
Rotel RB 981
Rotel RC 972
Rotel RCD 950
NAD 515
Kimber Silver Streak ICs
Tara Labs Prism 2+2 bi-wire

John,
You can't say that the KS-3033 walk all over the monocle. In that case the Model 88-Black Pearl walk all over and around the KS-3033 and any top if the line refence cable from any company. I just got back from they factory in Utah. For the last past 2 months. The monocle sell 5 times more than the KS-3033. I also got to compare the two cable and it is very close, the KS-3033 is about 10-15% better. If you call kimber they would recommend to to buy the monocle over the KS-3033, due to the price. I sell all those wire. All the kimber wire are very good, from the 4tc to the ks-3033. They all got their price range for each person. And, yes, it get better as you move up the line, but don't forget that the price almost double up.

Outstanding when used in biwire configuration with 4TC. Perfection

none noted

as many have suggested I use the Kimber 8TC and 4TC in biwire config (Apogee studioGrand's) with 4tc for mid/high and 8tc for 'woofers'. As this is a system with subwoofers I'm currently using Monster for the subwoofers, but am considering using another Kimber cable, though I'm pleased with my sub-bass resolution & control.
mid/high/woofer ribbons driven by Levinson 27.5
subs driven by Krell 250a
MSB Link III (w/HDCD option) DAC.
Just a killer system with open, natural, translucent sound.
I'm a happy camper!

Similar Products Used:

Monster, audioquest

detail, imaging, resolution

a bit construed, lack of natural, very long burn-in

I have purchased 8TC on a home trial basis to upgrade from MIT2. First impressions were quite favorable although the sound has been changing dramatically during the burn in phase (sometimes, thin and bright, then dark and muddied, really amazing changes). The retailer recommands a 500hr burn-in and I must say I have not seen it through !
Overall I have been quite disappointed with this cable. The sound was never really right, sounding very "hi-fi" rather than musical. Although the product presents many strengths (flawless build, very good imaging & detail, relatively "warm" balance), it didn't just do any real music in my system. The "timbres" were not right, dynamic (notably on small signals) was only average. I cannot really put my finger on what was not right, but the listening pleasure was eluding me.
Then again maybe it needs the 500hr burn-in (which is just too long for my taste) and/or the association with my gear was not the right one.
I use a pair of Spendor 2/3LE, driven by a Cayin 500 valve amp, and listen to lot of acoustic blues, vocal jazz and country/rock, so as you probably can guess I am very big on naturalness and musicality rather than looking for the last element of detail or accuracy.
I must congratulate though Russ Andrews (UK cables and accessories mail order company) for first rate service and customer friendliness.

Clarity, neutrality, imaging

Nada

I auditioned this along with the QED Profile, which is in a lower price class. The latter sounded drab and lifeless. The Kimber, however, turned out to be very expressive and clear.

I disagree with those reviewers who reckon this cable's overly smooth, warmy, or laid back. In my Musical Fidelity system with Mission 752's (biwired) it's articulate and lively, yet not so as to impart a headache on the listener (take it from someone who's partial to laid back sound). I consider this cable well balanced and neutral, and with great imaging to boot! Reveals changes in interconnects, power cords or power filters. And I dig the ribbonned look. A classic!

Similar Products Used:

QED Profile

Smoothness, inherent musicality, silent background (excellent RFI rejection), naturality, bass extension, clarity.

I've had this cable for a few months now and have been greatly pleased with it. It replaced the 4TC that I had previously and is certainly worth the extra price over that cable - in fact, at the price, it must be one of the best value cables around in terms of cost vs. performance. I must say that, having read some of the other reviews, marking this cable with only three stars surprised me - until I noticed that they were comparing it with Monocle or KS3033. Come on, guys, they cost 3 - 5 times as much, that's hardly a fair reason to mark 8TC down!!

8TC has much better bass extension and definition while retaining the same overall sense of tonal accuracy and musicality as 4TC. It also gains quite a lot more sweetness and has a more natural presentation, especially in grander more densely layered passages of music. If you want maximum music for your dollar (or pound) then this is quite simply a stunning cable at the price.

I'm just about to recieve some Monocle XL, which I'm excited to hear. But I have had no regrets about buying 8TC at all, it has provided more musical pleasure in the time I've had it than it's modest price tag would suggest.

Similar Products Used:

Kimber 4TC

When biwired: dynamics, detailed, imaging, soundstage, well balanced

When used single wired

When used biwired, this is a near perfect top cable. See my review on Kimber 4 TC.
Single wired 8 TC deserves only 3 stars: it's too warm, un-
dynamic and undetailed.

Clean,Fast, very musical

None

I thought the Terminator 4 was a great cable for the money, until I switched to the 8TC, no comparison. This cable is truely amazing, and For $8.80 per foot from OneCall.com, it makes it that much sweeter.
Related equipment:
Nak 1a1z intergrated amp
Sony 7700 cd/dvd
Kimber ADGL silver digital coax (unreal, 0.5M $135.00)
Cinema Quest S2 S-Video cable (1m, $125; The best!! Color is amazing, no bleeding.)
B&W Center
B&W Nautilus 801's, Fronts
B&W Surrounds
25ft of 8TC, Banana Terminated

Similar Products Used:

MIT Terminator 4

Good when run double

some RFI problems

I lived with the 8TC for about a year. I thought the bass was good until I tried a second pair, then it all tightened up. After reading the reviews of the DH Labs silver sonic T-14 I bought a double run of that. The bass was just as good, but the mids were improved. I borrowed a pair of 4AG and bifocal from my local Kimber dealer, and have decided silver is for me. Needless to say it was too much mulla. I now have two pairs of Pure Silver Sound sextet, and I will never go back to copper. Here are my latest tries, all 8 feet.

3 8TC double run ($580)
3.5 Harmonic Tech Pro 11 (single run $475)
4 DH Labs (double run $208)
4.5 Kimber Bifocal-X (bi-wire run $1200)
5 PSS sextets (double run $580)
5 Kimber 4 AG (single run $2,200)

Similar Products Used:

Kimber 4 TC, 4 AG, DH Labs T-14, Tara Labs, Pure Silver Sound. MIT T-2, T-5. Harmonic Tech Pro-11 plus