TechRadar Verdict
Pros
- +
Lovely detail
- +
Very well-judged bass
- +
Sweetly extended treble
Cons
- -
Termination is tiresome
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Outwardly, there's not a huge amount of difference between many of Kimber's speaker cables.
They tend to use multiple, individually insulated conductors twisted together in a special weave, with low-loss insulation.
In the case of the 4PR reviewed here, there are four conductors per side and insulation is simply polythene – a recipe apparently unchanged since the earliest days of Hi-Fi Choice back in the 1970s!
This is the cheapest of Kimber's speaker cables and dearer models have fancier materials, including 'vari-strand' conductors and Teflon insulation. The basic electrical characteristics are very similar, though and one might expect performance not to vary vastly.
Termination is a tiresome job and distributor Russ Andrews tends to sell preterminated cable sets, fitted with simple, but high-quality 4mm plugs.
Sound quality
4PR impressed us in a very positive way with its combination of detail, bass extension and sweetness. It has a very convincing way with deep bass, keeping it under tight rein while allowing it to blossom when needed and maintaining precise pitch and duration in a way few budget cables can match.
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Treble is extended, but never shrill, while the midrange is mainly characterised by the ease with which one can hear into and through it. Imaging has very good depth to it as well as width.
If we have a reservation it's over rhythm, which is not always as convincing as one might wish for, but for sheer musical enjoyment we reckon this cable is hard to beat.
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