Kimber Carbon Phono Review
Friday, 3rd September 2021
Hi-Fi Choice review Kimber's latest addition to their Carbon range - the Carbon Phono tonearm cable.
Kimber’s new Carbon Phono is a tonearm cable based on their award-winning Carbon range of interconnects and speaker cables. “The Carbon Phono consists of eight VariStrand copper conductors braided together using the Kimber weave”, notes the reviewer. “Each copper conductor is coated in a carbon polymer, which effectively fills the spaces between the strands to hold them in place and increase conductivity” and are insulated with Teflon.
Attention to detail is typical Kimber. Given the application, the cable has to be shielded so nothing is left to chance: the tin-plated copper shield is “handwoven around the conductors to ensure complete coverage”. A carbon-doped nylon sleeve is then added over the top of this and the whole cable is protected by a Techflex sheath.
The right connection
Depending on the turntable design, there are a couple of ways that the tonearm cable can be connected; either to chassis sockets located somewhere on the turntable’s plinth, or directly to the tonearm itself, via a mini-DIN connector. Both of these options are available with the Carbon Phono, with the former using the highly-regarded WBT 0114Cu phono connectors at both ends of the cable and the latter having a Mini-DIN at the tonearm end and the WBTs to connect to your phono stage.
In the reviewer’s case, the Carbon Phono was fitted with the Mini-DIN option to connect his valve phono stage directly to the tonearm of his Jelco SA-750 tonearm, fitted with a Miyajima Kansui Moving Coil cartridge.
Listening
For the test, he first listened to Vivaldi’s Opus 7 performed by I Musici, and reported that “the solo oboe playing by Heinz Holliger in the first movement of Concerto No. 7 is sparkling, clear and energetic. The string playing [was] effortless and delightfully delicate, while the instrument imaging [was] very clear and well-focussed throughout.”
Moving onto the Jazz album, he played a direct-cut version of Benny Goodman’s Sing Sing Sing, performed by the Syd Lawrence Orchestra. “The energy and excitement of this incredibly exuberant recording really grabs my attention”, he reported, and more specifically, “the drums that resound throughout the entire piece are punchy and tight”.
Featuring in the Choice Extras section of the magazine, the reviewer is necessarily constrained by space and unable to go into much general detail. Nevertheless, we can see he was impressed with the overall performance of the Carbon Phono by his five-star recommendation and the concluding comment that “this is a cracking high-spec tonearm cable which competes well with other rivals at this price point”.
Magazine: Hi-Fi Choice
Issue: October 2021
Verdict: Five Stars Recommended
Click here to buy Kimber Carbon Phono
Written By Simon Dalton
Comments
reviewed by Roy Williams
06 Sep 2021
"Mr."
Hi,I have an SME V tonearm and a Tom Evans MicroGrove+ X mk2 phono stage. Would the Kimber Carbon tonearm cable be suitable for this set-up?
Thanks,
Roy.
Customer Service Reply Hi Roy, the Carbon Phono interconnects are not available with the SME plugs for connecting to your tonearm - you would need to use one of Kimber's TAK tone arm cables, or the KS-PHONO cables which can have this type of plug fitted.
RSS Subscribe
Join us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Pinterest
Find us on Google Plus
