Excellent bass response, add warmth to the midrange and smoothen out the treble a bit

Very difficult to terminate, quite costly

I purchase these 8TC to complement my existing 4TC. I shotgunned them and used the 4TC on the high and 8TC on the lows...the effect is really very very good!!!! It seems the hype of shotguned 4TC/8TC is true .... My system finally started to sing and sound the way it should sound. Bass is taut and powerful, midrange is warm and smooth, treble is extended and refine.....what else can I ask for?

Similar Products Used:

VDH CS122, Nordost Flatline gold, QED Qudos, Belden, ....

I just changed my 4VS to 8TC for a bi-wire setup. The improvement has been substantial. These wires have been involved in wire tests and always seem to win. Now, I know first-hand how good they are-also, they are very easy to move and bend. The only negative is that they are alot of work to terminate the ends. Have it done at the dealer-or order from the factory-I wish I had! Probably, the best upgrade and bargain someone can easily do by using the 8TCs'!!!!

What a pleasant surprise. Clean, fast and not at all harsh or forward, this is a true bargain and a pleasure to listen to. Detail, detail, detail is what you'll hear.

I haven't found any yet in a cable like this at this price. Seems like a lot of money at first for a non audiophile but the returns more than justify the $ spent. Make sure you have good interconnects too. I am quite happy with the PBJ from Kimber as it opened the soundstage up nicely.

I balked at spending this much money for cable and auditioned them to see first hand why almost everyone seems to love them. It didn't take long to see why there were rave reviews. A clean, fast cable. An easy to listen to musicality came to the front immediately. A casual competence if you will. Never forward or tiring. Surprise yourself, you'll have a hard time returning them (get them home if you can) after the audition. Just make sure your interconnects are up to the task first(the Kimber PBJs) are a good starting point and make a huge difference!

Similar Products Used:

Various Monster products and some from Straightwire.

A very balanced, clear and dynamic cable

Brings out weakness of poorer recordings

I upgraded my receiver, so I wanted to upgrade my speaker cable. At first I was going to bi-wire with a double run of 4 TC but after comparing both 4 TC and 8 TC, I could not hear any difference that justified paying $2 more a foot. I like the 8 TC because you get the double-run/bi-wiring capabilities in one cable (you don't have to worry about wrapping two cables together). So how does it sound?? Well immediately I could hear the improved clarity and detail of all voices. One warning- the 8TC carries a lot of bass with it, but after tweaking my receiver settings, I got back the neutral sound I was looking for.
I love clarity and neutrality. My speakers are B&W 603 s2 and they team up with my new cables perfectly. My receiver is the Sony STR-DA777ES, which pushes my speakers the way they need to be pushed. Now that I got quality speaker cable, I can sit back and just soak up the quality sound that my system pumps out.
If you are looking to spend around $250, then kimber 8TC is a good match. There are better cables out there, but you have to spend some serious money to get them. I agree with others that you can waste a lot of money on cables until you are happy. But be modest and take your time. It took me awhile to get used to the Kimber 8TC, but after they broke in, they complete my system perfectly.
PS..get them some sort of banana termination...even the cheaper $5 ends work great.

Similar Products Used:

4 PR (bi-wired)

I would have to classify the 8TC as a very neutral cable; To me that is the highest compliment you can give an audio component. Neutral means that you hear what your supposed to.

NONE

I can't help but be amazed at how some people have described the 8TCs performance. I highly disagree that this cable is overly warm. I suspect that those who are experiencing this had an overly bright sounding system or cable prior to using the 8TC.

The 8TC is an excellent speaker cable in that is lets you hear what the recording engineer wanted you to hear. In my opinion this speaker cable allows a very realistic rendition of the music you are playing and that any warmth or otherwise seemingly failing attribute one my give this cable is due to source components, bad recordings, amplifier, or even the interconnects. The 8TC is a very honest speaker cable allowing the soundstage and dynamics of the recording to be faithfully rendered. At least as far as the rest of your components will allow.

I do some studio engineer work and record several different types of instruments as well as different vocals. Recently a very good friend of mine who is an excellent guitar player was over at my house. I played him back a musical rendition of "The Dance" by Garth Brooks in which he played the guitar on. He had brought his guitar with him and after I played the recording for him, (with the 8TC speaker cables), he like the mix and wanted to hear it again. I replayed it for him and this time he played his guitar along with the recording. The recording and his actually playing the guitar right there on the spot along with it sounded identical. What more could you ask of an audio component. I'm not saying the speaker cables did all of this themselves, the rest of my system had alot of input, but they did not detract from the presentation which is all you can ask of any audio component. Ultimately when an audio component is not detected it is funtioning at the highest level possible because all audio components degrade the reproduction of music, not the opposite. So what we really are talking about in terms of the performance of any audio component, speaker cables included, is how much they do not detract from the musical presentation.

The 8TC is an excellent speaker cable that detracts very little from what was intended to be heard. For the money I doubt that you could do better. As for those of you that think the 8TC is warm and the treble is soft; I guess you haven't heard the Union Station Band that accompanies Alison Kraus on most of her CDs let loose with the manolin. I not trying to be a smart-butt but another friend of mine that I have had the pleasure of recording used to tour with Vern Gosden and sang backup as well as playing the Mandolin. I know what it's supposed to sound like, and it does in my system using the 8TCs.

I believe the general public has been used to listening to music that has over exaggerated treble eq'd into it. This is what is referred to as adding "Air". Take into account that everything is compressed to make it louder for commercial distribution and you get yet more emphasis on the treble. When a speaker cable is unable to deal with the signals that represent the lower mid range and bass portions of the signal, and that what you get used to as in the case of lower priced cable such as the monsters; and then you are presented with the "whole signal" as with the 8TC people then call it "warm". Sorry, this cable is not warm, whatever else it's being compared to is "Bright".

FYI my system:

NHT 2.9s
Parasound HCA3500
Marantz AV9000 Pre
Marantz OSE4000 CD
Sony DVP9000ES DVD/SACD
Assemblage D2D-1 upconverter
Two pairs of 8TC bi-wiring the 2.9s
PBJ interconnects

Similar Products Used:

Monster studio pro 1000, Tara Labs

Accuracy, dynamics and control

Zilch!

The 8TC is an amazing cable: it is all about musicality and control, with great dynamics and excellent soundstaging. Cheap it ain't, but there are more expensive cables that do not come close to the 8 TC in terms of value. I had a chance to compare it to the rather expensive Transparent Music Wave, ant the latter is not worth the extra money. The Kimber has a honest presentation, the Transparent artificially rolls the treble off to give a warmer presentation - at the expense of dynamics, though. The 8TC wins hands down.

Despite the price, this is serious value, and a terrific reward for those who appreciate musicality and rhythm. Excellent!

Similar Products Used:

Cable Talk 4.1, Transparent Music Wave

Wireman makes some good points. I've tried various Kimber speaker cables on a whole range of equipment, from budget ($400) to semi-high-end ($4000). The 8TC, Monocle, and KS-3033 are all pretty honest cables. If anything, you get more detail, focus, dynamic continuity, and transparency, as you move up the line. In my prior review, I did not mean to disparage the Monocle. But, in my experience, if you already use 4TC and 8TC, save your hard-earned bucks, skip the Monocle, and go for the KS-3033. In my more perverse moments, I hooked up these cables to ratty entry-level gear. The KS-3033 revealed the schism between the ratty stuff and true hi-performance gear. But not only that, the KS-3033 will let you hear the difference among and between cheap electronics. You think Adcom, Creek, Rotel, NAD, Parasound amps all sound the same? Hook up the KS-3033 and think again.
Still, while we're sniping about 10 to 15% differences, let's not lose sight of the fact that, at US$12 a foot plus termination, the 8TC is an honest performer and a tremendous value. It is flexible, and I've never had any hum problems with it. The 8TC takes only two weeks to burn in, and doesn't radically change during that time. Do spring the extra bucks to get the 8TC in shotgun configuration. Then get ready to boogie. Don't forget, too, that Kimber Kable will cut custom lengths, will let you try their products for 30 days, and ship products out to you (well, your dealer) faster than any other company I've experienced.

8TC: 3 stars
Monocle: 3.5 stars
KS-3033: 4 stars

p.s.: has anyone out there tried the KS-3035 and KS-3038?

I bi-wire with 2 runs of 8TC between my Mark Levinson No.27 and Apogee Stage's. The 8TC is so good, I can't justify spending hundreds more for a higher-end cable(at least not yet...). I have listened to many different types of cable from AudioQuest, MIT, Monster, Transparent and TARA. The 8TC offers by far the best sound for the dollar doing everything a GOOD cable should. Bass response is excellent, mids are not too forward, highs are smooth with no sound of upper end roll off. Keep in mind, every speaker/amp combo sounds better or worse with all different types of cable. The Kimber 8TC is a safe way to start the quest for the "Sonic Holy Grail" when choosing wire. Use those extra pennies for upgrading your front-end instead....once your satisfied, then you can start your search for a better sounding cable than the 8TC. Happy listening!

preserves dynamics, good transparency and tone

at this price, very few, but quickness and bass extension
may be debated

System: Bryston 3bNRB, 2-way speakers (infinity)

I've heard a number of highish end cables by now through the same amp/speakers. (8TC is by no means breaking the bank like some reviewers suggest -- they are definitely excellent value at this price.
My longtime ref are the Straightwires.
Compared with those, the 8TC are less laid back, but still not in your face. What surprised me is that, auditioning with a 12' double run, the 8TC still preserved
dynamics fairly well. with a 6' run I'd think dynamics are even better.
Detail is very good and not "hyped". I like the treble amd midrange presentation.
The bass thing
Owning speakers that have a non-linear bass response, I sometimes have difficulties here. Recently trying some Siltech LS 25, I found the bass more delineated but less satisfying because it had less weight overall. With Straightwires, the bass is almost "subliminal" but subjectively I liked it better -- it dives deeper and establishes a bass ambience. The 8TC also have well-delineated bass, but not so deep. All these observations are in the context of the speakers I have, which I love but which have weaknesses too.
The timing thing
In jazz listening, timing is fairly good. Are they "slow"? Maybe very slightly. And again maybe a shorter run would improve that.
The 8TC are overall good cables that make them well worth a listen. Truly high-end quality on the cheap. They easily beat out, say, Transparent stuff at this price point.

Similar Products Used:

Siltech LS 25
Transparent
Straightwire Rhapsody

controlled bass and good imaging.

quite rolled-off from the upper(HF)on selected cds.

Before, I was so contented with the sound that M .75 by Monster but when I met AQ's Midnight2 then suddenly clarity from mid and hf came out from my systems. AQ's openness to hf cannot be questioned (somehow) but its uncontrolled lf is sometimes irritating (for me). Then to my suprise, Kimber's 8TC came into rescue and also came to satisfy my music preference. Its main characteristic, for me, is its good soundstaging and laid-off hf which could determine the location of a 'drummer' as my favorite jazz players do their job at night. Another thing is this, 8TC in a shorter length ( I'm using 2 pairs of 4ft) can deliver the music with a 'wow' especially in classical music. And so for more then 3 months along with my systems, 4 monoblock solid state power amps. and tube pre-amp, 2 pairs of 4ft 8TC that are connected to my bi-amplified speakers is a one step forward to music nostalgia.

Similar Products Used:

Monster, AudioQuest Midnight2