Under the increasingly fierce competition in the audio industry, the smaller the things, the harder it is to do. As the saying goes, "Making a temple in a snail shell", it takes a lot of effort to make a practical and decisive "move" between the square inch. Speaking of this, the audio cable is a good example.
single design and material use, compared with the three-piece set of players, amplifier , and speakers, the wire is really much simpler. It is nothing more than the big elements of conductor, shielding layer, sheath, insulation layer, and connector. Even enthusiasts can DIY a wire when buying some materials in the market. However, if the wires truly reach the top sound performance of Hi-End level, there are many channels. Moreover, the major Hi-End manufacturers are also "eight immortals crossing the sea, each showing their magical powers", and have their own "unique skills": some work on the material purity, manufacturing process, and outer coating of the conductor, some study the impact of the air layer between the conductor and the sheath on the sound, and some devote themselves to digging the isolation ability of the shielding layer and insulating layer to electromagnetic interference...
. The manufacturer of the power cord tried today has taken a different approach, focusing on "conductor winding", and has also opened up a vast world for itself and become a leader in the industry. This is the famous wire brand Kimber Kable from Utah, USA. The
40-year-old wire "old qualification"
Kimber Kable brand can be regarded as the "old qualification" in the wire and even the audio industry. It was founded in 1979 and has a history of more than 40 years. The brand’s name comes from founder Ray Kimber, who worked for a Los Angeles acoustic and optical equipment company in the mid-1970s before founding the brand. At that time, when large disco halls were popular in the United States, the acoustic and optical equipment company he worked for was also doing well.
Generally speaking, lighting equipment and audio equipment are installed at a certain distance to avoid mutual influence. Especially when the light is turned on, electromagnetic interference will occur, causing the sound quality of audio equipment to decline. However, there is no such spacious conditions in the crowded disco dance hall. The lighting equipment and audio equipment are installed closely together, so the signal line and speaker line form an "antenna effect", introducing the interference generated by the lighting equipment into the speakers, amplifying it to form noise. Therefore, the technicians tried to thread the longer signal line and speaker line into the steel pipe, which did solve the problem of incoming noise, but also caused interference with the mutual induction of the magnetic field between the steel pipe and the wire, which also affected the sound fidelity.
Unique conductor winding theory
Faced with the problems arising from this practical application, after a long period of thinking and experimentation, Ray Kimber believed that the conductor materials of the speakers were grouped and different conductors were grouped in opposite directions to reduce the magnetic field induction of wires in this way, and no external noise was introduced. Practice has proved that Ray Kimber’s idea is correct and has also significantly improved the sound quality. With such initial success, Ray Kimber further clarified the direction of studying wire design. After a long period of research and development, Ray Kimber perfected his VariStrand geometric braided conductor winding theory, becoming his own unique skill, and officially founded the Kimber Kable brand and began to sell it to the public.
Many people may think when they see this: simply changing the winding direction of the conductor can improve the sound quality. Has it been actually verified? Is this a bit like metaphysics? However, Ray Kimber is not the so-called "metaphorist" in the audio industry. Every wire he developed has undergone strict AB comparison blind listening tests to ensure that the sound is better than the same-level products on the market before it will be launched on the market.At the same time, for many years, Ray Kimber has insisted on testing various metal materials used as wire conductors, various wire production processes, various conductor winding diameters, various insulating materials, and even various insulating materials bonding methods, striving to achieve the ultimate optimal solution through each link - the most balanced, most natural, most realistic and most transparent sound. It is precisely because of this spirit of seriousness in every detail and persistence in improving continuously that the Kimber Kable brand has become an outstanding work in the Hi-End wire field. It has been one of the industry leaders for more than 40 years. It not only attracts many followers, but also won praise from users around the world.
has a simple appearance and a meticulous work
At present, the Kimber Kable brand focuses on wire products and has a complete range of products, covering 7 major categories: speaker cable, analog/digital signal cable, tonearm signal cable, power cable, headphone cable, jumper cable, etc. Among the current power cords, it is divided into three series: the top Summit series, the mid-range Ascent series and the entry-level Base series. There are two models in each series, namely the PK10 with thicker wire diameter and the PK14 with thinner wire diameter. "10" represents the AWG10 specification, and "14" represents the AWG14 specification. Users can choose to match the amplifier or signal source equipment according to their needs.
This time I tried the PK10 Base power cord, which looks black all over, making it look quite low-key. However, it seems carefully that the overall workmanship of the wire is quite exquisite, with smooth and smooth Wattgate brand connectors, brass metal contacts. Since it is AWG10 specification, the conductor diameter of this power cord is naturally not thin - the cross-sectional volume of pure copper conductors reached 5.26mm², and the total diameter of the entire wire reached 15.88mm. The cross-sectional view released by the manufacturer of
shows that the conductor part of the PK10 Base power cord is composed of 3 sets of pure copper wire harnesses, each set of wire harnesses consists of 21 copper cores, and the three sets of wire harnesses are arranged in a "font-shaped shape", wrapping the insulating layer separately, and winding the inner core of the power cord in a spiral shape. Next, from the inside to the outside, are the shielding layer, the sheath and the outermost wear-resistant layer. Although this wire structure is simple, with the unique winding process and tuning skills of the Kimber Kable brand, it can also achieve pure and dye-free sound quality and powerful and effective current transmission capabilities. The manufacturer claims that the PK10 Base power cord can support amplifier products or TVs with output power of more than 200W.
The air feel and solidity are comprehensively improved
So, can this power cord provide sufficient current transmission capacity as the manufacturer claims? On the spot I compared it with the PK14 Base power cord of the same series.
After the next week of listening, after the PK10 Base power cord was added, the sound of the entire system slowly changed. The most obvious point is that the sound field is purer and the air feel is richer, and the overall tone is firmer and more powerful. For example, when playing " Paganini 24 random hijacks" played by Schlomo Mintz, the residual sound after the piano sound was played in the space was obviously richer and endless. The sense of scene and space had an ethereal and elegant pleasure. I think this is the biggest improvement brought by this power cord. It can fully reproduce the clean and pure sound base of the amplifier. violin statement is bright and clear and has a full luster. The sufficient density and rich air texture bring a rare sense of nobility. In addition, due to the larger conductor cross-section of this power cord, the PK10 Base has advantages in both speed and air sound.
And when playing large-scale symphony , the performance of the PK10 Base power cord is also quite satisfactory. For example, when playing the record "The Voice of Karayan", the overall sound field is transparent and light, and at the same time it has a steady and dark atmosphere. The ability to condense audio and video is greatly improved, and the darkness of the background greatly increases the brightness and three-dimensionality of the notes. In terms of overall sound thickness and solidity, the PK10 Base has an audible improvement over the PK14 Base. Listen to the cello , and you can feel this sinking and elastic power reduction.The sound of the strings is located in the middle and lower part of the entire frequency band, without any sense of floating and blur. At the same time, the vibration of the air caused by the friction of the strings seems to be felt with the skin, and the sense of the scene is doubled.
