Kimber PBJ Analogue Interconnect cable review

Such is hifi’s loyal following, it’s quite common for source components to gain iconic status amongst fans, think Linn’s Sondek or Quad’s 33/303 combo. But accessories or cables? That’s a different ball game, as they’re rarely seen and are often considered as merely playing second fiddle to the separates they serve.

But Kimber’s PBJ is one of the few cables that challenged this assumption back when it was on the UK market over 20 years ago (being Kimber’s first analogue interconnect cable), thanks to its enviable reputation for value and performance. Owners loved it, as did the hifi press. And despite being replaced by the brand’s entry point Tonik and Timbre ranges in the UK, the original PBJ’s loss has been mourned ever since on these shores.

So when the team at Russ Andrews recently announced a limited run of a Special Edition Kimber PBJ (in alternative red/black/yellow colourway) to test the water, appetites for the original were duly whet. And now, in part due to customer demand, PBJ is back, And with a few improvements to boot.

Chew on this

And in case you’re wondering what complex technical terms the PBJ abbreviation stands for, it’s peanut butter jelly. Not because the cable is soaked in it for sonic superiority, but because of what said sarnie represents, as a staple of affordable American foodstuffs, with Kimber’s cable being the equivalent for hifi interconnects.

At its heart is Kimber’s renowned ‘tri-braid’ cable approach, comprised of three separate multi-stranded cables, each insulated in a fluorocarbon dielectric (Teflon) jacket. Within each is Kimber’s own high-purity oxygen free electrolytic copper, which goes beyond the usual ‘OFC’ moniker that’s commonplace in hifi cables by being a much purer form, 102% IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard) to be exact. And unlike most multi-strand cables (especially at this price), Kimber ensures its several strands are of varying thicknesses. No nonsensely named ‘VariStrand’, whereby each favours conducting different frequencies within the audio spectrum (translating broadly to thicker stands for lower frequencies and thinner for higher).

As we saw and heard when we reviewed Kimber’s 8PR loudspeaker cable, it’s a clever approach that when applied to a woven geometry, also helps cancel out unwanted RF noise without having to use a shielding cable layer. And so confident is Kimber in this tried and tested approach to cable construction, it claims 55pF parallel capacitance and 0.053 ohm DC loop resistance per meter, with 0.77 uH series inductance.

It’s also the same cable that the fellas at Russ A popped in my Alchemist Forseti a few years back as part of their hifi upgrades scheme, giving it a welcome new lease of life.

But as my granny always says, a good quality hifi cable can only be as good as its connector. Which is why Russ Andrews offers three options for the PBJ as standard. The first being Nickel RCAs, which start at £75 for 0.5m, £89 0.75m and £103 for 1m.

For a step up you can specify Kimber’s UltraPlate RCA sockets (as we did) machined from solid metal with split centre pin, coated in Kimber’s ‘ultraplate’ contact surface, as the name implies. These up the price a little to £130/£144/£158 for 0.5/0.75/1m runs and are well worth it, as they’re top quality.

Balanced cable users have also been catered for, thanks to an option with Switchcraft XLRs that adds only fifteen quid per set to the UltraPlate RCA prices. And if 1m is too short for your needs, custom lengths are available, with each stereo meter of cabling costing extra £56 extra.

 

Praise indeed

In the hand these cables feel top quality, especially at this price. So much so if they cost double I’d still have typed that last line. This is partly helped by their triple colourway which stands out from the usual cable pack by making many a rival wire look a bit bland in comparison.

I should fess up to mistaking these for a birthday present, as they arrived the day after I recently got one year younger, and therefore opened them in front of the family. “Ooh they look nice…”, quipped my teenage offspring, which considering A) This is a hifi cable after all and B) Said offspring usually reserves this level of compliment only for trainers with three figure price tags…is quite an accolade.

I also like how solid they feel. As despite being quite thin in comparison to other cables (under 6mm in diameter) and a multi-strand, they’re not flimsy, in fact they’re quite stiff, and hold their shape well.

When presented with any cable that has screw on RCA covers, my reviewer’s curiosity cannot resist taking a peek inside each socket to see the quality of the work within, and for the PBJ it’s first class (reminding me why I gave up making my own cables some time ago and leaving it to the professionals). In short while this is priced as a budget cable in hifi terms, it hasn’t been constructed like one, which says a lot for why the PBJ gained such a reputation in the first place.

Performance

Many cables around this price are often seen as system tuning solutions, perhaps to calm an overly bright sounding set of hifi separates or tighten up a wayward bottom end. But the PBJ is neither of these things, because what it majors on is neutrality.

There’s a sense that its focus is purely on delivering the analogue signal unaltered, as cleanly as it can without imparting a character of its own along the way, making it the cable equivalent of a Victorian’s approach to childcare by being seen and not heard.

And in a budget cable I welcome this, because using cables to fix one sonic attribute can all to often be to the detriment of others, and you end up chasing your tail until you’re back at square one. Instead the PBJ, just does the job it’s designed for without adding a sonic flavour of its own.

Long Distance Calling’s Fever for example (at 24-bit/44kHz via Qobuz) has a bit of everything – grand and micro dynamics, rapid percussion and layered atmospheric keyboards at the extremes, making it a musical tour de force.

And with the PBJ in place, there’s nothing lost, added, subdued or overly promoted in the mix. The intro notes are convincingly lifelike, with the keyboard’s sounds floating across the soundstage, adding to the track’s foreboding drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Likewise that pulsating percussion is laid out evenly in the mix, with a tonality that’s neither too soft nor overly processed. Instead what you hear is a nicely balanced performance that sounds accomplished in all departments.

 

Double helping

Lifting the mood via Real Estate’s Water Underground (24-bit/96kHz via Tidal) from last year’s Daniel album and the upbeat rhythm guitar’s strums sound fresh and clean, with an analogue warmth to them that’s a step up from my usual budget cables, which gives the track generous amounts of soundstage depth.

Instrument and vocal separation is also exceptional for a cable at this price. On this track for example the lead vocals are imaged centre stage with the accompanying harmonies positioned a step or two back and higher in the vertical plane, lifting the music (both physically and metaphorically), that makes for an engaging listen.

Taking the PBJ to the stage with Neil Young’s stripped back Before And After live album (24-bit/96kHz via Qobuz) and none of his experience and contrasting vulnerability in the performance is lost on the PBJ. On The Way Home for example is just a delight to experience with the Kimber cable in the mix. Those seemingly simple guitar strums and Young’s aged vocals sound pure, honest and laden with feeling, and at this price, you can’t really ask for more in a cable.

In summary

This cable marks the welcome return of a veritable hifi bargain to UK buyers. In a nutshell the PBJ is a great sounding cable with great build quality and at a great price.

Following in Kimber’s longstanding woven approach footsteps, it bucks the trend of many a modern wire while having the sonic chops to prove its worth. And with Russ Andrews’ 60-day money back guarantee, you don’t have to just take my word for it before you tuck in.