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Kimber 4TC, Part 3

Many of you shared that, in the 1990s, the Kimber 4TC speaker cable was so good and affordable, that it left you time and even money to invest in other parts of your system. Or, for me and my friends, most of whom were still in college, with the music so kickin', my parents gave us the boot :-) So we took up individual sports or activities, and went on road trips up and down California.

In 94-95, we left the Kimber 4TC and NHT loudspeakers, and went back to the Santa Cruz/Monterey area for a weekend getaway. That included the so-called Garden Of Eden, a clothing-optional swimming hole along the San Lorenzo River. Sandy was wearing a black tank top and blue shorts. And of course, you thought of the black & blue Kimber 4TC.

The other two girls and I were laying out our stuff, when we heard Sandy let out a blood-curdling scream. "What? What? What's the matter?" we asked.

Then just 21, Sandy had looked down there , and spotted a white hair.




In 1999-2000, we loved Eiffel 65's international hit, "Blue (Da Ba Dee)." Sandy, her boyfriend, and a couple other friends timed it, so that we could meet up in Honolulu. Sandy was "jealous" of my cousin (above). The latter worked in an air conditioned office, so despite living on Oahu, she didn't really get out during the midday sun. Thus, she was not tanned. Her head hair came out black, but with exposure to the Hawaiian sun, it eventually turned a coppery brown. Sandy's head hair was turning gray/white, and wished she had my cousin's "natural highlights" hair.



We went to the Big Island, which is geologically younger than Oahu. When lava cools, it turns black. That is why the black sand beaches are prevalent on the Big Island.

Back on Oahu, of course I had to pay a visit to Audio Direction Ltd.'s Stewart Ono, aka the late and sorely-missed UncleStu52. Ever tinkering and experimenting, Stu "puffed up" Kimber's 4TC and 8TC. You lost length, but now the conductors were better-separated, and woven closer to 90-degree angles.




Very interestingly, Stu had Kimber 4TC and 8TC, not just in the usual black & blue, but in white & clear. He claimed that the dyes used in the outer jacket adversely affected performance. Repeatedly, Stu would not take credit for discovering this. He said others had discovered it; and he only verified their findings.



Close in size to a #2 pencil, the "diameter" of a 4TC is 0.275". If you were to cut it open, a strand is made up of 7 "Vari-Strand" copper conductors, in a 2:3:2 configuration.



You, Sandy, and I may not like our white hair, but apparently, of all the dyes, the color white degrades the sound the least. In the 4TC, white is used for negative (-). Forget highlights for your hair. The clear outer jacket allows you to see the copper. This is designated as positive (+). Per its namesake, the 4TC has 4 strands for (-), 4 for positive (+). In all the 4TC we have come across, we have not found any (a) signal flow indicators/arrows, or (b) serial numbers.



In a "double biwire" set, this is how Kimber combine the two 4TCs. Even two sets of 4TC are lightweight and flexible. The standard Kimber banana ($6 each) is inexpensive, functional, and good-sounding. If your amp or speaker terminals only accept spades, you can order Kimber's PostMaster 25 or 33 ($10 each). Because Kimber are the US distributor for WBT, yes, you can order 4TC with various WBT connectors. However, full sets of WBTs will cost more than the 4TC itself.



Even with connectors, the 4TC easily threads through the center hole of the Cable Tower.



If you can hear any difference between cable risers, more power to you. The important thing is, placing 4TC directly on the floor (especially carpet) often results in sound which is more garbled, rolled-off, and grainy.

-Lummy The Loch Monster



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Topic - Kimber 4TC, Part 3 - Luminator 23:25:38 03/27/21 (1)

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