Yes. The 3033 is better in all regards than the Monocle XL
To me, the 3033's are more life like than any highend Audioquest cable. I have used AQ Argent, Clear, Sterling, and Dragon. While the 3033 is close in many regards to the AQ, I've found the AQ to have a tone which sounds a bit "nasal" when compared to 3033. Kimbers 3033 is of course all copper vs. these AQ's which are (except for Dragon) silver/copper hybrid, thus it is easy to imagine how the 3033 could sound richer.. but... I don't think the 3033 is a rich sounding cable by any means... it's thin, fast and precise like the AQ except has more accurate or life like phrasing.
Even though this is a copper cable, it does not have the bold richness and tight bass of something like Cardas Golden Cross. In fact, I think the bass of the 3033 cable is a little wimpy.
If you jump up the ladder to 3035, you'll hear midrange vocals that sound like flesh! The texture is so real its scary -- the 3035's are an astonishing cable -- but still not as rich (in the bass) as the Golden Cross.
I am not a huge fan of Tara Air cables. To me they sound smeared. I've never tried BiFocal XL's since I immediately presumed that the Kimber Select was better. My speakers are Tri-wire capable and Todd at Kimber has recommended that I use Bi-Focal XL for the highs and mids and a run of KS-3035 for the low frequency. To me, that is a waste of the 3035. So.. what I did was run a length of Cardas Golden Cross to the Low Frequency and a run of KS-3035 to the Mids with a KS-9038 (3038) jumper to the highs.
Now my speakers have that organic richness, phenominal deep bass (I've never heard bass which was more "right" than with the Golden Cross) and sparkling highs. Pretty good solution for me and the first time I ever appreciated having Tri-Wire speakers since this solution wouldn't work
otherwise.
