| jdandy |
08-26-2011 06:02 PM |
Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cable vs: Kimber 8TC speaker cable
I was offered the opportunity to order and audition a pair of Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cables in any length I required, terminated to my preference with no strings attached. Just send them back when I was done. It was too good an opportunity to pass up so I requested a 12’ pair terminated with silver plated solid copper spade terminals. Three days later UPS dropped off a hefty box with the Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cables inside. I unpacked them and was immediately impressed with the look and feel, as well as the build quality. They are hefty speaker cables with a full length nylon braided jacket covering their silver colored cable insulation. Both ends of each cable have clamps with the Wireworld logo molded into them attached at the point where the inner conductors are separated from the silver insulation. The positive and negative leads extend from the clamps to the crimped spade connectors. There are labels on each cable indicating the direction of signal flow. Just looking at the Silver Eclipse speaker cables leaves the impression they mean business.
Now my disclaimer. I have a Kimber 8TC bias. I have used Kimber Kable 8TC for the past 10 years, and before that I used Kimber 4TC. In fact I purchased my very first 10’ pair of Kimber Kable speaker wires from Ray Kimber himself in 1981 when he was demonstrating his new cable to audio dealers. At that time Ray’s new cable was the most expensive speaker cable I had ever purchased. It cost $1.00 per foot, and I handed Ray a $20.00 bill for my two 10’ lengths. I still remember thinking that I couldn’t believe I just spent that much money on 20 feet of speaker wire. Oh for those days again! My most recent Kimber 8TC purchase was two 15’ lengths for the studio two channel speakers at a cost of $22.00 a foot, still a reasonable price considering 30 years of inflation. Kimber Kable has provided me with many years of very enjoyable audio performance. I have recommended the 4TC and 8TC to many people.
My first thought about being able to audition the Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cable was now I could do a direct A/B comparison between the Kimber 8TC and the Silver Eclipse. I read many positive comments about the Silver Eclipse speaker cable, and listened to them at Ivan’s home in Parkland, Florida as well as his home in Cape Cod. Both times I was so overwhelmed with Ivan’s awe inspiring sound systems that I could not possibly make a definitive remark on the performance of the Silver Eclipse speaker cables. It is good that I now have the opportunity to audition the Silver Eclipse speaker cable in my system at my leisure.
First things first, I had to break in the Wireworld Silver Eclipse cables, so I removed the Kimber 8TC terminations from the amp and Amati Anniversario speakers, but left the 8TC cables in place for the comparison testing. I connected the Silver Eclipse cables to the amplifier and to the Amati’s. The silver plated solid copper spades fit the McIntosh MC452 terminals like a glove and the same for the Amati’s Anniversario’s terminals. I was excited to hear the Silver Eclipse cables in action so I energized the sound system and began listening to familiar CD’s and SACD’s in the MCD1100 player. My initial impression was the Silver Eclipse speaker cables were a tad bright, with a slight emphasis on the upper midrange frequencies. Ivan had given me a heads up to expect this, so it did not come as a surprise, more just a confirmation of what I had been told. This slightly exaggerated upper midrange continued for about ten hours of play, and then gradually settled to a more balanced midrange presentation in relation to the rest of the audio spectrum. I decided not to spend too much time listening to the Silver Eclipse cables during the break in period, so I tuned in a good FM rock station on the McIntosh MR74 tuner and let the music play in the studio every day and into the late nights. Volume was set to produce 88 dB to 90 dB of sound pressure level. Actually, I realized I was killing two birds with one stone, breaking in the Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cables and continuing to breaking in the Amati Anniversario’s at the same time. The Silver Eclipse speaker cables now have 104 hours on them, and there are 325 hours on the Amati Anniversario speakers.
I began the comparison of the Kimber Kable 8TC and the Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cables using the following equipment: McIntosh C2300 preamplifier with Telefunken 12AX7 tubes, MCD1100 CD/SACD/DAC, MC452 power amplifier, PS Audio Power Plant Premier, and Sonus faber Amati Anniversario speakers. All interconnects are balanced Wireworld 6.0 Silver Eclipse, and all power cords are two meter Wireworld Silver Electra PC’s. The listening tests were performed in my fully treated sound studio room.
Each listening session was performed first with the Silver Eclipse speaker cables, then the Kimber Kable 8TC’s. I terminated both sets of speaker cables to the MC452 amplifier at the same time so switching cables was only a matter of swapping terminations on the Amati Anniversario's terminals. I selected four very familiar CD's, having listened to all four many times. They were Fourplay – Heartfelt, Jane Monheit – Taking A Chance On Love, David Gray – White Ladder, and Stacey Kent – Let Yourself Go.
Beginning with Fourplay, I played the song “Galaxia”. I like Fourplay recordings, not only for the talent of the artists, but also for the recording quality of their CD’s, always exceptional. Bob James’ arrangements are creative and unique, and particular attention seems to be paid to the quality of drum sounds. Fourplay does a fine job of capturing the true dynamics of drums, as well as piano, guitar and bass. This recording is no exception. In the beginning moments of “Galaxia” the drum strikes are remarkably clean and dynamic, reference quality. Listening to the Silver Eclipse cables the drums had a dynamic range that can easily be described as blistering, and I don’t mean that as in irritating, but more like completely awe inspiring. The recording includes triangle sounds that shimmered and lingered clearly through the diminishing vibrations. Bob James’ piano and Larry Carlton’s guitar each had that special bite to the leading edge of keys being struck and strings being picked that convincingly conveys a real sense of aliveness. Sound stage width and depth was deep and wide with plenty of space between musician’s instruments. Localization was accurate, stable and easy to detect. Drum stick strikes grabbed and held your attention immediately with vivid fast paced dynamics and distinctive reverberating timbre.
Switching to the Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables, I replayed “Galaxia”. I was instantly aware of a shallower sound stage depth. Specific sonic cues that aid in localization of instruments were reduced such that the sound stage nearly became two dimensional by comparison. The opening drum strikes were not nearly as dramatic or startling. The triangle ringing seemed smaller and fainter, while the diminishing vibrations disappeared sooner. The flowing water sound that also accompanied the opening of this track lost some of its three dimensional aspect, and was presented more as a sound effect rather than the sound of the actual flowing water. Leading edge sounds from bass strings being plucked with fingers and drum sticks striking tightly tuned skins were less transparent, dynamics sounded less impactful, and keyboard notes resonated in a slightly muted manner. The Kimber 8TC speaker cable was quickly pinned to the mat in round one of this comparison.
I reconnected the Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cables to the Amati’s and placed Jane Monheit’s CD in the MCD1100 drawer, selecting “Honeysuckle Rose”. Christian McBride’s acoustic bass playing is exceptional on this recording with an admirable bass solo in the middle of the song. The Silver Eclipse cables effortlessly presented the rich warmth of the big wooden acoustic bass and its long vibrating strings. The instrument literally seemed present in the room. Jane’s voice is exquisite. She stepped from my imagination directly into my studio, as well. Her presence was so strong I practically sensed her breathe in the air as she sang. Jane’s vocal performance was astonishingly clear through the Silver Eclipse cables, with a full sound stage that extended from just in front of my seat to well behind the physical location of the speakers. Sound stage width was equally impressive. My only thought when the song ended was how startlingly real the entire performance had sounded.
Transitioning back to the Kimber 8TC speaker cable and playing Jane’s performance again, it was evident from the first notes that the sound stage depth was reduced, transforming from a revealing three dimensional performance to one that was nearly devoid of front to back localization. Surprisingly, sound stage width remained good, but depth diminished. It was shocking to make this discovery twice in a row. Christian McBrides wonderful acoustic bass became dull sounding when compared to what was presented by the Silver Eclipse. The deep wood tone vibrations of the acoustic bass that give it such a living texture were reduced to a level that made the instrument seem less impressive. The same was true of the accompanying piano chords and notes. A measure of open airiness and breathe was missing from Jane’s voice that left me wondering where all the excitement went. What had previously seemed to me to be an excellent sounding speaker cable, the 8TC was becoming less important by the minute. I have enjoyed Kimber 8TC for years, but the results speak for themselves.
Back on went the Silver Eclipse speaker cables. Into the MCD1100 drawer went the CD from David Gray, White Ladder. I played “Please Forgive Me”. I enjoy David Gray’s voice and his phrasing. He reminds me of early Bob Dylan, but with a slightly better voice and much better band. When this song begins there is a kick drum and bass playing. The kick drum’s skin vibrations decay after being struck, and it is clearly audible. It is pleasant to hear that sound because often kick drum vibrations get lost in the mix of bass and other instrument sounds so that hearing the kick drum skin vibration is almost impossible. You hear the thud, and that’s it. I was hearing the result of the foot mallet hitting the kick drum skin, and it was a nice surprise. David Gray’s voice is a bit gravelly, again similar to early Dylan. On this track his piano playing was recorded from a position that remained behind his voice. The Silver Eclipse cables were able to present this layering of voice over piano without reservation, offering a clean three dimensional performance.
Swapping the Kimber 8TC’s back to the Amati Anniversario’s, David Gray’s performance became less transparent, losing the sense of live versus recorded. As before, the sound stage depth became shallower. Spatial cues that created the three dimensional width and depth with the Silver Eclipse speaker cable were reduced, collapsing the sound stage to a much smaller venue. The acoustic guitar strings sounded like old worn strings that had lost their shimmer, sounding long overdue for a fresh set of strings to be installed. There was an absence of shine to the entire performance. By now it was becoming perfectly clear, Kimber 8TC is no match for the performance of Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cables. Still, I tried one more CD just for fun.
Back to the Silver Eclipse speaker cables I went. I placed Stacey Kent in the drawer of the MCD1100, selecting “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”. Stacey has an unusual vibrato to her voice that is short lived on notes she holds, yet her style and voice are endearing and refreshing. The air in her voice was perfectly portrayed through the Silver Eclipse speaker cables. Sibilance was not exaggerated in any way when she sang words like Dance, or Romance. Sibilance was reproduced perfectly with no hint of irritating overemphasis. Stacey's recording felt like an authentic small jazz club performance.
Giving the Kimber 8TC one last chance at redemption I reconnected them to the Amati’s and played the same track again. Not surprising by now, Stacy’s voice lost some of the excitement and sheen that a live performance conveys. Even her breathing sounded less alive. Again the sound stage had less depth when compared to the Silver Eclipse speaker cable’s performance.
It doesn’t require a séance or a psychic to read these tea leaves. The Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cable outperformed the Kimber 8TC speaker cable in every important area. Kimber 8TC is no slouch, but when directly compared to the Wireworld Silver Eclipse, the Kimber 8TC just cannot keep up. The Silver Eclipse speaker cable extends the sound stage to remarkable widths and depths, delivers superior bass strength, offers brilliant transparency at all frequencies, and delivers seemingly unlimited dynamic pace. The resolution Silver Eclipse speaker cable offers makes Kimber 8TC seem veiled by comparison. My long standing Kimber 8TC bubble has burst. In a way it makes me a bit sad. I really like the Kimber 8TC, but the Silver Eclipse handily trumps its performance. There is no going back now, certainly not with the Amati Anniversario’s. The Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cables lit up the studio sound system in a wonderful and thrilling way. I had no idea the difference between these two speaker cables would be so dramatic. The overall improvement in resolution, detail, dynamics, spatial cues and sound stage with the Silver Eclipse speaker cable goes beyond impressive to the level of jaw dropping. It’s not like I didn’t expect the Silver Eclipse to come out on top in this shootout. I mean, at $22 a foot for 8TC versus $132 a foot for Silver Eclipse, one would be inclined to expect the Silver Eclipse to be the winner in a head to head comparison like this. My shock comes from discovering just how wide a performance gap actually exists between the two speaker cables. A sure sign of a new found level of enjoyment came when I took note of how much more I was tapping my toes and bobbing my head while listening to the Silver Eclipse speaker cables. I was genuinely having fun. The difference between the Kimber 8TC and the Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cables is substantial. Obviously I will purchase this pair of speaker cables. My studio sound system has never sounded this good, so out comes the checkbook. I am not about to remove these fine Wireworld Silver Eclipse speaker cables from my Amati Anniversario’s. No way!
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