Saturn,
Its very possible that your nine year old Monster cables had some oxidized ends or sections or possibly were not a completely copper material that could make a difference in sound between the newer Kimbers. I would say this is somewhat possible but i cannot judge as to how large the effect would be.
I was also looking at Kimber cable many months ago when i was having trouble finding anything cheaper here in Canada (cheaper and yet stereo quality that is, since the Home Depot material, 12ga was still a buck fifty a foot and more stiff than clothes hangers).
As cables expense goes, i would agree with Semi in that Kimbers have a neat look and are a decent make but lower priced than most.
The biggest problem in buying such cables is the markup. I saw a 'standard' price for some Kimbers (can't remember the model offhand) at around $7 a foot and through a connection who sells the material, they were going to offer it for $4 a foot. Knowing that my connection was still going to make a profit, what does that tell you about the retail markup of these things?
Absolutely ridiculous.
It is the equivalent of paying $60,000 for a Honda Civic. No one would pay that much for such a vehicle but when it comes to cable, the logical approach goes out the door. Perhaps people have a better idea how to judge the value of a vehicle better than the value of home electronics and components.
In any event, as long as you don't post a detailed description of how your Kimbers changed your life by turning the upper frequencies yellow, made the mids make your morning toasts and the lows send the shuttle into space let alone sound great then i'm good with whatever you find makes a difference to you.
