October 25, 2010

  • Kimber 4TC, Part 2

    Now that it is autumn, the fog sometimes clings closer to the ground.  During the summer, the fog hovers above rooftops.

    In 1985, I was listening to the radio section of my crappy matte-black Yorx mini-stereo.  Even through that grainy, bumpy, foggy-sounding York stereo, the unmistakable Yamaha keyboards and synthesizers from Gino Vannelli's "Black Cars" leaped out of the speakers.  I kept staring at the Yorx, thinking some black car would emerge from the speakers.  I perked up, and thought that "Black Cars" was the follow-up to Gary Numan's "Cars!" 

    I stayed glued the radio.  I kept hoping to hear "Black Cars."  Alas, it never did come on the radio again.  Because it was never widely-played to begin with, "Black Cars" does not go down as "classic" 80s material, even if the Yamaha instruments give it that awesome classic 80s sound.  Nothing sounds remotely this good, nowadays.

    20 years ago, while living in the UC Santa Cruz dorms, I did have Vannelli's Black Cars on CD.  Since I heard it via my Sony D-10 Discman and MDR-6C headphones, and the days were dark and melancholy, "Black Cars" did make me look out my window, to see if any black cars had parked outside.  It was also at this time, where I had the October 1990 edition of Stereophile.  I loved the digest size.  I read about the affordable Kimber 4TC, in the Recommended Components section.  I even spotted Kimber's rather crude ads.  There was an Asian Indian model, whose hair was weaved into some braided Kimber speaker cables.

    Back in 1990, my power amp was the Adcom GFA-535 II.  It only accepted bare wire.  You inserted it into a hole, and then twisted the plastic knob, in order to lock down on the wire.  Back then, dealers could pull Kimber speaker cables off a spool, and tin (using solder) the ends, perfect for amps (such as the Adcom GFA-535 II) and speakers (in those days, most speakers had those awful push-in-and-lock connectors) which accepted bare wire or pins.

    In the mid-90s, when I assembled the Classe' Thirty and CA-100, I did use Kimber's PBJ, KCAG, 4TC, and/or 8TC.  These cables did not sound right with that Classe' combination.  Well, now I have a Classe' CA-2100, which is much more unbiased, when it comes to choice of speaker cable.  Its WBT binding posts gladly accept the 4TC's Kimber banana.  If you can't afford the expensive cables, give the 4TC three days on the Cable Cooker, and be prepared to be amazed.  Furthermore, unlike the old CA-100, the CA-2100 is happy with the 4TC.

    At the other end, the standard Kimber banana fits perfectly into Totem's WBT binding posts.  The blue-and-black 4TC was a popular and excellent-sounding choice for Totem's original Model 1 and Model 1 Signature.  Again, if you acquire a pricey speaker such as The One, and consequently are left with little in your budget for speaker cable, get the 4TC.  It is thin and cheap enough, that you can do a proper discrete bi-wire configuration.  The 4TC's honest clarity beats the pants off of the stereotypically uninspiring "audiophile" sound of the Select series (which costs many times that of the 4TC).  You could keep the 4TC, all the way until you can afford the truly excellent Bi-Focal XL.  Or, if you switch speakers, keep in mind that the 4TC can easily be cut and re-terminated.