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Revisiting the Kimber KCAG

I've been using RCA KCAGs between my preamp and amp for about 15 years. I've tried many other ICs (in approximately the same price range or lower) including Siltech, XLO, Cardas, Staightwire, and some of the internet-only jobs like Oritek, Signal Cable, and Guerilla. Some worked well in my system (I kept those), others not, but what I keep hearing is how incredibly transparent the KCAG cables are (in my system). Do they do everything perfectly? No. With some music you can hear juuuust a little bit of hardness in the mids, and the soundtsgae is not as big as with some other cables.

What I would like to hear from the gang here is whether there are any other cables in this price range (or maybe a bit more) that have the same information retrieval, speed, and transparency (while still remaining very musical) as these classic cables... and maybe improve a bit on those areas where the KCAG may be a little weak. At this point I can work with either RCA or XLR.
tonyptony
tonyptony OP
500 posts
 
Well, I've heard the 1010 (a little too warm in my system), and I can't afford the 1030, even used. I was hoping to find something no more than about $500/m used.
overhang
199 posts
 
Straightwire had larger,fuller soundstage with amazing analog like lower mid/upper bass range.I can see where KCAG can be a better match for a small system but for a full range it does not provide enough gauge to fill the space between the speakers.Btw,KCAG was the best cable detail-wise that i ever heard.
tonyptony OP
500 posts
 
Well, I'm currently trying Acoustic Zen Silver Reference cables, and I have to say so far they sound pretty good in my system. They seem to be as transparent as the KCAGs, but with much better space. Definitely better from the mids to the low end. But they're not making a significant shift in the "way" my system sounds (that's meant to be a good thing).
bombaywalla's avatar
bombaywalla
1,957 posts
 
Hi Zaikesman,
Good to "see" you back on Audiogon. If I recollect correctly you seem to have disappeared from this site for quite a while. Maybe just reading the posts but not writing any?

Anyway, you are one of the very few users who has said anything about a vdH cable. I empathize w/ you as a former owner of the vdH The First cable. My brother now owns it & is happy w/ it. You are right on the mark re. getting used to the non-metal sound. I found that when I listened a lot, my mind was calibrated to the metal vs non-metal sound but when I took a longish break, I always doubted that vdH The First before I snapped out of it & reminded myself that it was a carbon-fibre cable!
"Anyway, a one-of-a-kind, idiosyncratic product." - oh yes! you can say that again. IMHO, definitely not created for this particular market!
seurat
63 posts
 
Tonyptony, you are correct the Kimber 1010 are on the warm side, but the Kimber 1021 is another history.
I'm glad you like the AZ silver reference, its a wonderfull cable. Enjoy it. In the end if you are still having the "hardness problem" maybe the answer is not in the cables, but elsewere. then you must dig deeper.
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