KIMBER KABLE® PBJ interconnect reviewed by Hi-Fi Pig
Friday, 15th August 2025
Janine Elliot reviewed Kimber’s 4PR and 8PR – the first of their speaker cable range - for Hi-Fi Pig back in July 2024. She was suitably impressed, awarding them both the full ‘Five Hearts’. Just over a year later, she now takes a good listen to the cable which represents the start of their analogue interconnect range, the legendary PBJ.
KIMBER KABLE® PBJ fitted with UltraPlate™ RCA plugs from only £130
Janine starts by noting the obvious similarity between the two cables, that being their shared “famous braided, counter-opposed helix design”. This design naturally rejects RFI and, importantly, without the need for an external shield, which is one of the main reasons behind their characteristic neutral and natural performance – of which more later.
Tri, Tri and Tri again...
Janine places the PBJ at the start of the Kimber Tri-Braid group of cables – PBJ/Silver Streak/KCAG – which share the same basic construction and vary only in their use of copper, copper/silver hybrid and pure silver conductors.
“These tri-braid cable designs have always been best-sellers”, she says, “offering great sound for the price.”
She’s impressed with the build quality too, stating that the construction is more on a par with models you would expect to find higher up the Hi-Fi hierarchy than at the budget end. “Even the soldering inside the plugs is beautifully done”, she observes.
Close-up of KIMBER KABLE® UltraPlate™ RCA plugs
Budget price... Hi-End specs
Going back to those similarities with the PR speaker cables, the reviewer points out that PBJ shares the same unique VariStrand™ conductor technology, to give an even frequency response. Where the cable does differ, she notes, is in its use of Teflon®, rather than polyethylene, for the insulation (dielectric).
This is significant because, as she points out, “the dielectrics used in a cable’s design are as important as the conductors themselves”, not least because they help to preserve the integrity of those conductors: the “Teflon-composite insulation is applied to the conductors at high pressure and low temperature to maintain [their] purity”.
That’s all good news - and reads much more like what you would expect from a pretty high-end cable rather than a budget offering – but does it equate to an equally impressive sound?
Sound Investment
‘Yes’ would be the simple answer.
“I was particularly impressed with the sound… The PBJ really did hit the sweet spot for me.”
KIMBER KABLE® PBJ fitted with Nickel RCA/Phono plugs, from only £75
The characteristic neutrality of the cable is one of the reasons it has garnered such praise over the thirty-five plus years since it was first introduced. Reflecting this, Janine observes that PBJ “didn’t remove anything from the music… nor did they add to it”, and she goes on to reflect that, in everything she played, “the music came across with greater detail and extension than I expected for the price”.
Even Frequency Range
As mentioned earlier, Kimber’s unique VariStrand conductors are designed to ensure an even, natural and neutral representation of the music across the whole frequency range.This is reflected in Janine’s experience of listening to a favourite album (Verse) by jazz vocalist Patricia Barber. She describes the clarity of the details in the cymbals (upper-frequencies), the controlled and “lifelike double-bass” (lower frequencies) and the impressive way in which instruments and vocals are clearly placed and separated (mid-band frequencies).
Musicality Matters
We often talk about the musical nature of KIMBER KABLE®; its inherent ‘musicality. It was the key reason why Russ decided early on that we would only sell Kimber, so impressed was he with the unique and insightful way it drew him into the performance. Janine reflects this sentiment when she concludes that PBJ offers “musicality in bucket-loads”.
To illustrate the point, she talks about a couple of diverse tracks: Storms of Africa, by Irish singer/songwriter Enya, and Nicolas de Grigny’s 17th-century Recit de Tierce en Taille, performed by Jean Guillou.
Of the former, she describes the track as sounding “meaty and resolute, so much so that I could almost hug the music with affection” ; of the latter, she reflects that the piece “was impeccably controlled, getting me closer to the music, rather than the instrument or my HiFi, for that matter”.
One Of The Very Best
Reading the review, it is clear that Janine has spent some time with the PBJ in place and does not come to her conclusions without having experienced the cable with a wide variety of musical genres. The key ‘takeaway’ is that its price clearly belies the performance.
KIMBER KABLE® PBJ with Switchcraft® XLR plugs from £145
Over the many years since it was first introduced, PBJ has been a first step up from the ‘supplied-in-the-box’ cable for thousands of audiophiles - and performed so well that it’s stayed in place even after many a component upgrade. Janine’s review underlines why this has been the case:
“PBJ is an excellent neutral cable for your equipment, whatever the price... one of the very best cables I have ever heard, giving a highly musical and very real performance”.
Media: HiFiPig.com online magazine
Publication: July 2025
Verdict: Five Hearts
Read the Audiograde review
Buy PBJ
Reading the review, it is clear that Janine has spent some time with the PBJ in place and does not come to her conclusions without having experienced the cable with a wide variety of musical genres. The key ‘takeaway’ is that its price clearly belies the performance.
KIMBER KABLE® PBJ with Switchcraft® XLR plugs from £145
Over the many years since it was first introduced, PBJ has been a first step up from the ‘supplied-in-the-box’ cable for thousands of audiophiles - and performed so well that it’s stayed in place even after many a component upgrade. Janine’s review underlines why this has been the case:
“PBJ is an excellent neutral cable for your equipment, whatever the price... one of the very best cables I have ever heard, giving a highly musical and very real performance”.
Media: HiFiPig.com online magazine
Publication: July 2025
Verdict: Five Hearts
Read the Audiograde review
Buy PBJ
Written By Simon Dalton
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