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In the summer of 1992, some of my friends, then in college, worked in and around San Francisco's Union Square. They loved Def Leppard's two Adrenalize power ballads, "Stand Up (Kick Love Into Motion)" and "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad." It was at this time, when we started getting temporary henna tattoos. My friends wished they'd come in a greater variety of colors.
We'd then go down to the "basement dungeon," Ultimate Sound. Outside the sliding glass doors were spools of Kimber PR (black and brown) and VS (black and gray) speaker cable. We wished they'd come in prettier colors.
In 1994, we went to Honolulu. And of course, we had to pay a visit to Audio Directions Ltd. There, the late Stewart Ono (AA's UncleStu52) recommended that, for not much more money, Kimber's TC (black and blue) series speaker cable was much better than their PR and VS.
Then a student at UC Berkeley, my girlfriend ACS also worked a few hours a week at Victoria's Secret. She loved the color combination of blue over black lingerie/underwear. And that's a major reason why decided to add Kimber's TC speaker cables.
In Fall 1995, ACS was now working at Genentech. We loved Def Leppard's power ballad, "When Love & Hate Collide." It was written in time for Adrenalize, but would have been a third power ballad, so was left off.
Our secondary system consisted of a stereo TV; hi-fi VHS VCR; CAL Delta and Theta Cobalt 307; Adcom GTP-400; Muse Model 100. That system was lashed up entirely with the affordable Kimber PBJ. Regardless of speaker, the Kimber 4TC was a nice match for this system.
It's not quite like stuff falling out of the trees on Oahu's windward coast. But my family discovered that a Kimber PBJ had fallen onto the shelf below. We think it was Cooked, way back in 2013, and has lain fallow ever since. So we gave it an overnight "recharge" on the Cable Cooker.
One of ACS' college friends was named Pamela (pronounced "Puh-MAY-luh") Benevides. Pamela was the one who provided that photo of the Waimanalo coast. Anyway, Pamela said that, if she added her mother's surname, Juarez, to the end, her initials would be PBJ.
As long as you do not need a right-angle plug, the single-ended RCA Kimber PBJ will fit anywhere. Also, I've handled dozens of PBJ since 1993. Not one has had a serial number.
As of this moment, we do not have any of the old black & blue Kimber 4TC. But we do have several of the more modern clear & white 4TC. And several of you asked how well or poorly the Kimber PBJ and 4TC work together.
The PBJ rolls off the top octave, but can have a dirty bite in the mid-treble. Even after being Cooked, the 4TC can be a little leaned-out in the lower midrange. But it preserves treble extension. If you have a halfway-decent system, the PBJ + 4TC, at least in terms of tonal balance, is okay. They'll lose some bass power; instrumental body and texture; image solidity and stability; note-to-note smoothness and transition; treble timbre and sheen; and ultimate dynamics.
When the PBJ + 4TC click, they provide a nice little window, for you to "see." Instead of the whole team, class, or office, this combination is more for you and 1, 2, or 3 friends. It's like wearing plain-colored swimwear, sitting under the trees at the beach, and peering out to the ocean. If, however, you are a solo listener, and you find this Kimber combination kind of jiggly, I think you can easily find smoother-sounding budget interconnect/speaker cable pairings. The PBJ + 4TC might make you wish that a friend or two could join you.
But you know what? The single-ended PBJ allows enough of the signal through, that you may not feel the urge to get Kimber's Timbre, Hero, Carbon, or even KCAG. It will buy you time. And if you want to stick with Kimber, you hold out, until you find good deals on Silver Streak or maybe one of their Select interconnects.
As for the balanced PBJ, you might keep it, until you can afford Carbon or all-silver and expensive KS-1136.
As for the 4TC, it is so good for so little, it might hold you, until you can find one of the Carbon series speaker cables. IOW, skip the 8TC, 12TC, and Monocle. If you have a bi-wire speaker, and want an all-in-one cable, fine, wait for the Bi-Focal XL. 4TC is so affordable, thin, lightweight, and flexible, you can get two, if you need to bi-wire.
-Lummy The Loch Monster
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Topic - Kimber PBJ, Part 6 - Luminator 19:16:10 08/05/22 (1)
- RE: Kimber PBJ, Part 6 - fantja 22:43:13 08/22/22 (0)
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