IC Shoot out: PNF, DH Labs & Kimber
Ern Dog
Posts: 2,237
As you may or may not know I recently upgraded my speaker cables to PNF Symphony's and felt that I needed to go all the way and upgrade IC's too. I had been using Kimber Kable Hero's IC's and Kimber 8TC and had been pleased with this combo as they were a significant upgrade from my previous Signal Cable Classic IC's and Signal Cable Classic Bi-wire.
Disclaimer: The statements I'm about to make are my perceptions using my gear, with my room dynamics and my ears. So this isn't a review about which is the best IC, but more which one is the best synergistic match.
I bought 2 pairs of DH Labs Air Matrix & PNF Icons for this shoot out and already had the Hero's. These are all roughly in the same price range. I used PNF Symphony speaker cables for the reviews:
Hero's- These sounded the most anemic out of the three. Music sounded thin and had the least amount of bass extension. They were detailed, but there was no synergy. It was flat and bordering harsh. I couldn't listen very long to these.
DH Labs Air Matrix- These were a lot better sounding than the Hero's. More bass extension and a fuller more coherent sound. Music sound more "live". I also noticed an increase in volume. Very musical. I could easily live with these and call it a day.
PNF Icons- I prefered these most out of the three. More resolution w/out sounding bright. Music had more meat on it and more substance. More of everything.
Next up is upgrading Power cords.
Disclaimer: The statements I'm about to make are my perceptions using my gear, with my room dynamics and my ears. So this isn't a review about which is the best IC, but more which one is the best synergistic match.
I bought 2 pairs of DH Labs Air Matrix & PNF Icons for this shoot out and already had the Hero's. These are all roughly in the same price range. I used PNF Symphony speaker cables for the reviews:
Hero's- These sounded the most anemic out of the three. Music sounded thin and had the least amount of bass extension. They were detailed, but there was no synergy. It was flat and bordering harsh. I couldn't listen very long to these.
DH Labs Air Matrix- These were a lot better sounding than the Hero's. More bass extension and a fuller more coherent sound. Music sound more "live". I also noticed an increase in volume. Very musical. I could easily live with these and call it a day.
PNF Icons- I prefered these most out of the three. More resolution w/out sounding bright. Music had more meat on it and more substance. More of everything.
Next up is upgrading Power cords.