Kimber 8TC beater?


Hi Guys,

Need your help in recommending speaker cables that will beat the 8TCs in terms of a fuller and bigger (image size and soundstage). Preferably in the same price rage or maybe slightly higher.

Thanks!
pc123v
As said, speaker cables are system dependent and subjective. Best thing to do is buy used or use the Cable Company lending library, or just take a punt.

My ATC amp and speakers are extremely neutral (not bright, not warm) and I'm very sensitive to lean and fatiguing noises. Honestly, who doesn't love big, solid imaging? So let's say our ears are in line and you can take my reports accordingly:

Romex/no-name bulk copper - complete crapshoot depending on purity of copper, stranding, insulation. Generally costs pennies but seldom good enough so the outlay vs trade-offs becomes wrong-headed

Supra Ply - great value, warm and airy sounding, imaging is quite good in terms of width but not depth; not very detailed in the frequency extremes

Belden (like Blue Jeans) - OK for a budget system and non-critical listening, I suppose. Does nothing bad, but does absolutely nothing great. Ultimately smudgy sounding and underwhelming in most degrees.

Wireworld Oasis - my first use of OCC copper - decent sound all round. Neutral-warm, imaging was fair but not as projecting as 8TC in direct comparison.

8TC - striking imaging and projection with voices in particular. Too clean/lean.

12TC - almost identical to 8TC but worse! Slightly less lean but imaging was not as good. I don't know why 12TC exists.

DNM Solid Core - these are a big boutique/niche favorite and are super cheap. But I found them to be the ultimate meh and probably set it in my mind that solid core is not my thing.

Clear Day Double-Shotgun - loads of members rave about these and even though I'm not into solid core or silver in general, they are nice. Silky, airy treble. Beguiling with vocals but didn't find it an imaging nor a bass champ.

Grover Huffman - brutal break-in - after that, it's extremely fast and rhythmic. Very unique presentation. Imaging a bit 2D, and overall it's quite aggressive sounding and bass is very lean. Best guess is the combination of so many metals makes for unrealistic/strange tone and timbre.

Acoustic Zen Satori - more OCC like garden hoses. Big, warm sound but too much of a good thing with trade-offs being speed, dynamics and ultimate detail. On paper, if you want warm and big above everything else, it's a candidate.

Cardas Clear Sky - just terrible. Did nothing well. Gives a lo-fi, sterile and bright sound. No idea who would like these.

DH Labs Q10 Signature - really strong bass and sub-bass. But everything else was muffled. It's like turning up the bass to max and treble to minus-max in a car.

Goertz MI3 - it's like a cross between AZ Satori and the Wireworld. Didn't blow me away but does very little wrong.

Black Cat Lectraline - I was very impressed with these. They're the best overall sound from all the above cables (suprising given they are also silver solid core). They did nothing bad, they did everything very well, in fact. Only problem was they picked up RF in my apartment so I couldn't keep them.

Mogami 3104 - you can get these terminated, cryoed (which I believe in) and cable-cooked from TakeFiveAudio. They do work non-biwired, also (each channel shotgunned, effectively). Great specs/measurements. Flexible, cheap. You can also get these even cheaper in bulk or terminated from pro audio places like Redco, or Ebay sellers. I don't care that people argue these are good cause that's what a lot of recording studios use. I find these a great surprise for their performance. They are very, very good. Everything is well-balanced and for me, they are the point of diminishing returns of all the speaker cables I've tried. If I ever downsized my system, I'd be happy to sell my Audience and get Mogami. They're good enough to also use with fancy pure copper or rhodium spades like from Furutech.

Haven't tried Morrow. I tend to be skeptical of fanboy brands on audio forums (e.g. AntiCables). I don't see anything remarkable about the engineering or design features of either of these, to be honest.

Try Mogami :)



Ok ... I am going to do an experiment and will report back results.

I am going to buy some off the shelf 12 gauge romex and make up a paid of speaker cables. I'll even make a set of jumpers out of the scrap wire. As I said, I currently use Kimber 8TC cables.

I'm going to end this debate once and for all. LOL :)
@Loftarasa. Wow...Thank you so much for taking the time to explain things and in such great detail. I really appreciate your help.

I will be looking into getting the Mogami 3104...:)

Just a quick question....how does the Mogami compare with the Supra ply which I am currently using? Would it be a step in the right direction towards a fuller and bigger sound? How about imaging?

Thanks again.
Pc123v .... cool your jets until I finish my romex experiment. Pure copper ... ultra pure ... hyper pure. Dielectric properties of insulation. Reminds me of the Space Balls movie when the baddies went to "Ludicrous Speed." Voodoo. Snake oil. Bull sh*t.

The test will be my Kimber 8TC cables versus 12 gauge romex! I'm looking at a 15 foot run. I may try lamp wire too. Let the best wire win. :)
Pc123v - yes, I have/had both 3104 and Ply at the same time. Ply is nice. But too soft and polite.

3104 gives a bigger sound and is more detailed. It's still very neutral, though - no frequency band is hyped or muted. This makes for better long-term listening, with all kinds of recordings and music genres.

I would wholly recommend both TakeFive or Redco.
In Redco's custom cable widget, you have to choose "Multi-Channel" "Speaker Cable" -- to get the 3104, and that will get you ONE channel's (plus and minus for right or left).

Then do it all over again to complete your stereo pair (right and left).
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