Kimber PBJ v Hero - Discuss

EndersShadow

So I've been running Kimber Hero's for quite some time.

I dont dislike their sound, however I am wondering if the PBJ's might be more "bright" than the hero's. I'm looking to hear from folks who have run both as to which might add some more brightness/sparkle to my LSI setup. I listen to music down here, but "accuracy" isnt of supreme importance as its normally just watching TV/Movies, etc where getting a bit more sparkle/brightness may be a good thing.

I am running a full 5 channel LSi setup, with a incoming B&K amplifier. The LSi's are known to be a mellow speaker which is fine and I very much enjoy them. The B&K is known to be a fairly neutral amp. The Hero's are supposed to be more neutral as well.

So I am wondering if the PBJ's might add a bit more of an engaging sound to my system since I am mostly HT downstairs, or if I should just stick with the Hero's...

Thoughts much appreciated. I am not really interested in switching from Kimber to Audioquest, MIT, Cardas' etc as I like matching IC's and SC's and I have a 3 channel set of Kimber 8VS which I like very much and dont want to replace.

Thanks!

tonyb

The Hero's all day every day....period.

GlennDog

I have not tried them both. But . . . I've got 5 RCA PBJs here (not 5 sets, 5 singles). If you wanna take 'em for a whirl send me your addy

G

EndersShadow

GlennDog wrote: »

I have not tried them both. But . . . I've got 5 RCA PBJs here (not 5 sets, 5 singles). If you wanna take 'em for a whirl send me your addy

G

May take you up on that later this month. Outta curiosity what lengths are they?

GlennDog

1 meter, give or take

mantis

Both PPJ and Hero are remarkable IC's. Neither are bright or warm. They are pretty true to the recording and difficult to tell the difference. The Hero's I would say have a bit more punch on the bottom end. They seem to carry Bass notes better then the PPJ's do but the PPj's don't lack bass.
I had both and really compared them many years ago and walked away liking the Hero's overall better then the PPJ's. But if I had a full PPJ system I would be hard pressed to spend the extra money on replacing them with the Hero's.

I would say the PPJ's are a better value and the Hero's are a better IC overall but come at a higher price.

So I will go on to say you can't fix what you don't like in your system with a IC change my man. Not going to happen. Your LSI's are what they are and IF you want more top end , it's time to consider a different speaker.

I know this as I went through it many years ago with the same thing. I had Rotel , then B&K , changed IC's like a mad man but in the end I had to come to the conclusion that the LSI's well lets just say I out grew them.

EndersShadow

Awesome. Thats about all I need.

One of my sets of Hero's are 1.5m and since the pre and amp are side by side.... its a bit of a waste on the length lol...

EndersShadow

mantis wrote: »

Both PPJ and Hero are remarkable IC's. Neither are bright or warm. They are pretty true to the recording and difficult to tell the difference. The Hero's I would say have a bit more punch on the bottom end. They seem to carry Bass notes better then the PPJ's do but the PPj's don't lack bass.
I had both and really compared them many years ago and walked away liking the Hero's overall better then the PPJ's. But if I had a full PPJ system I would be hard pressed to spend the extra money on replacing them with the Hero's.

I would say the PPJ's are a better value and the Hero's are a better IC overall but come at a higher price.

So I will go on to say you can't fix what you don't like in your system with a IC change my man. Not going to happen. Your LSI's are what they are and IF you want more top end , it's time to consider a different speaker.

I know this as I went through it many years ago with the same thing. I had Rotel , then B&K , changed IC's like a mad man but in the end I had to come to the conclusion that the LSI's well lets just say I out grew them.

Yeah I know how it ended up for ya @mantis‌ lol.... I am fairly happy with the LSi's and Hero's, just wondering what the PBJ's may add or subtract... to the mix

Right now I have a "almost" complete hero set (2 pairs .6m and 1.5m) but I am not sure if I really want to try and sell my 1.5m to get a 1m pair of Hero's (the 1.5 is just too long), and then also another 1m cable to complete my 5 channel setup..

I figured I'd see PBJ's and how they sound and if I could live with what is missing from them v the Hero's... if I cant tell the difference, I may try to get a 5 channel set of PBJ's and move the Hero's into my office setup as thats where I figured they may make a bigger difference given that I've got better speakers up there.....

sucks2beme

The Hero's have gone through a lot of system changes.
They are still here. I had sets of AQ king cobras and sets of diamond backs.
The AQ stuff sounded good with some systems. The heros sounded good with
all of them. I'd go a different route to deal with the sound.

Erik Tracy

I know you said you didn't want to try AQ ICs, but if you ever want to consider dabbling in mixing up your cable 'loom', the AQ Columbia ICs will give you the sparkle you are looking for.

dragon1952

Hero's are a higher capacitance cable compared to most so it's possible to get some slight roll-off in the highs. That could be why they are so popular though as they could possibly tame brighter sounding systems. If you think you might like a 'brighter' cable that could be why. I personally did not like the Hero's but I'm sure it's all system and personal preference dependent.

EndersShadow

Erik Tracy wrote: »

I know you said you didn't want to try AQ ICs, but if you ever want to consider dabbling in mixing up your cable 'loom', the AQ Columbia ICs will give you the sparkle you are looking for.

Main reason is that I've had issues with the ground wire snapping on them and inducing a hum which was a PITA to track down....

Never had a problem with that with Kimber, Signal, MIT, Monoprice, etc....

teekay0007

EndersShadow wrote: »

I may try to get a 5 channel set of PBJ's and move the Hero's into my office setup as thats where I figured they may make a bigger difference given that I've got better speakers up there.....

Dan, are you saying that you think the RTA 11TLs are better speakers than the LSi15s? I'm not saying you'd be wrong in saying so, I'm just a little surprised. I thought the LSi15s were a pretty highly regarded speaker. Also, have you mod'd either pair at all?

EndersShadow

teekay0007 wrote: »

Dan, are you saying that you think the RTA 11TLs are better speakers than the LSi15s? I'm not saying you'd be wrong in saying so, I'm just a little surprised. I thought the LSi15s were a pretty highly regarded speaker. Also, have you mod'd either pair at all?

Not saying the 11TL's are better than the 15's, I'm saying my system up there is more revealing (FLAC -> DacMagic -> Pass DIY Pre-amp -> Parasound 1200ii) than my HT system (Squeezebox v3 16/44.1 limited -> Integra -> B&K 200.5) and taking into account the OTHER set of speakers I have up there, as well as my listening habits when upstairs v in the living room/ht setup.

Downstairs is primarily for HT and music if listened to is more passive (dancing around with Skye, doing dishes, cooking, etc) than active critical listening.

Once I finish a rebuild I will have 2 sets of speakers upstairs. A set of Infinity RS-II's which have had the cabinets resealed/drivers all dynamatted/sub drivers refoamed and they will be my primary speakers with 2 10" subs and the RTA 11TL's which will have rings/tweeter brackets/armacell/dynamat as my backup set.

I would posit that the RS-II's will be a MUCH more revealing speaker than my LSi 15's hence moving the Hero's up there potentially.

Especially if I have a hard time hearing the differences between the two on the downstairs system given my listening habits. Upstairs is where the MO' BETTA' stuff will be going. I am looking to kinda get my sound finalized downstairs as 2 speakers is cheaper to buy good stuff for than 5.

So again if I have trouble hearing the PBJ v Hero difference, then may take the Hero's to where my better speakers/system is upstairs and leave the cheaper (but still very good) PBJ's in my HT system.

steveinaz

I have run both for long periods of time, and find the PBJ to be ever so slightly "sweeter" in the treble (it's subtle), but don't quite flush out the mids and bass as well as Hero. I could live with either--it's just a tonal preference thing.

This may sound counter-intuitive; but the better your speakers are, the better PBJ will work. If your speakers have a typical "HT" tonal balance, I think Hero would do a better job of smoothing things a bit, and "shifting" a bit of higher frequencies where they belong, down to the midrange. Too often, cheaper speakers tend to push too much info to the tweeter, making vocals sound nasal, beamed, and "electronic" versus natural, textured, and more spread across the midrange/tweeter drivers. This is especially evident with female vocals/sibilance. Karen Carpenter, Sara McLachlan, and Sara Evans are all great for testing the smoothness of tweeter/midrange integration, and natural sibilance.

mantis

Erik Tracy wrote: »

I know you said you didn't want to try AQ ICs, but if you ever want to consider dabbling in mixing up your cable 'loom', the AQ Columbia ICs will give you the sparkle you are looking for.

The Columbia's IMO are a much better clearer more well rounded cable then both the Hero's and PPJ's. What I have found over all these years is that most AQ cables especially IC's and speaker wire really bring out the best in all systems.
Over the years I have yet to find a system they didn't work perfectly in when spec'd correctly for the level of the system is.
With that in mind a beautiful pair of Rocket series speaker cables would really balance out the sound.

EndersShadow

mantis wrote: »

Erik Tracy wrote: »

I know you said you didn't want to try AQ ICs, but if you ever want to consider dabbling in mixing up your cable 'loom', the AQ Columbia ICs will give you the sparkle you are looking for.

The Columbia's IMO are a much better clearer more well rounded cable then both the Hero's and PPJ's. What I have found over all these years is that most AQ cables especially IC's and speaker wire really bring out the best in all systems.
Over the years I have yet to find a system they didn't work perfectly in when spec'd correctly for the level of the system is.
With that in mind a beautiful pair of Rocket series speaker cables would really balance out the sound.

Yeah, but re-buying expensive cables is not something I'm a fan of.

I also have had a couple experiences with Audioquest ground wire breaking in the cable resulting in a hum.

As a result I will pass on their IC's and I prefer to match IC's and SC's.

I will however be using FLX wire to wire the internals of my DIY sub's and likely use the speaker wire upstairs.

Downstairs likely a single run of 8VS for my sub so I dont wonder "what if" as I likely would if I got the 8PR wire.

mantis

Cool , I never ever had any issues with Audioquest cables.