Kimber Kable - Naked Cables

Uber expensive cables that if you sneeze on will likely be damaged; this stuff just gets better and better. The name, too. Lol

@dpac996,

Despite the series name, the built was pretty solid. The only thing they warned against sharp bends during the installation.

@livlifdc,

lol...I pretty much told them that I wouldn’t bother to try the IC’s unless they have full loom, i.e. IC, speaker and possibly power cords. The look on Kimber rep was priceless. I also gave him bit of hard time for not able to demo this cable with EMM flagship electronics. I think they missed the golden opportunity to create a buzz.

From what the rep was explaining to me, the build seems quite nice. I don’t know why they felt the need to add an actual crystal/semi-precious stone to the cable. To each his own I guess. They definitely look beautiful and I’m sure they sound wonderful. I love Kimber and have never been disappointed with the quality of sound and build of their products. The naked cables are just WAY out of my price range. LOL 

I had a chance to talk to a Kimber rep where these were being auditioned.  They explained to me that these were designed and built primarily for the Chinese market.  That market wants and will pay for product features that greatly elevate the price of the product without increasing its performance.  That lines' flashier looks with the actual crystal appeals to that market.

One gets the impression reading the marketing blurb, especially with finleyville's comments, that they are far more about being jewellery with all the right "boxes" checked, than anything else.  Naked?  - check, Cotton - check, Crystals - check, Gold-Plated - check.

Even their marketing is somewhat misleading like this statement. Cotton at 1.3-1.4 is the Google value, and is based on a particular density, and being absolutely dry. Foamed polyethylene is 1.6, foamed polypropylene can get to 1.25, and both are far more moisture immune.  Cotton's dielectric constant changes so much with moisture that this property is used in textile processing for quality control.

Why cotton?

Cotton possesses excellent dielectric properties in respect to signal fidelity. This parameter is commonly referred to as the dielectric constant. Cotton has a value of 1.3 (1 is the ideal) 2-5 are the common values for most insulating polymers. For example Fluorocarbon has a value of 2.1 and Polyethylene a value of 2.25.