Kimber Kable Hero HB Interconnect Balanced Cable - XLR to XLR

Hero HB Weaves Copper and Silver in Kimber's Four-Wire Braid

Kimber Kable's Hero HB is a four-wire Kimber braid made from two metals. Kimber uses hyper-pure copper and hyper-pure silver for the conductors. It places the cable in its Classic Series. Like every Kimber cable, it is braided and terminated by hand in Ogden, Utah.

Other length & termination options are available. Call us to discuss your needs.

Four Copper and Silver Conductors in a GyroQuadratic Braid

Kimber names the geometry GyroQuadratic. Four VariStrand conductors, in hyper-pure copper and silver, weave around one another. Kimber says the weave rejects noise without a shield. Each conductor is a bundle of strands in more than one gauge.

Dual Fluorocarbon Insulation and Hand-Soldered Ends

Kimber uses what it calls dual fluorocarbon insulating technology, two layers of fluorocarbon over each conductor. It publishes the result: 73.3 pF of capacitance, 0.382 µH of inductance and 0.0388 ohms of resistance per meter. Kimber publishes those figures for the single-ended cable. The plugs are soldered on by hand under nitrogen.

Kimber has braided cable in Ogden, Utah, since 1979, and every Hero HB is woven there. The nitrogen used at the soldering bench keeps air away from the hot joint, so the solder stays bright and the connection stays clean. No publication has reviewed Hero HB, so we describe only what Kimber states.

The Switchcraft XLR Plug, Explained

Hero HB ends in the plug Kimber fits to its balanced cables: a studio-grade Switchcraft XLR with silver-plated contact pins. Kimber solders it on by hand under nitrogen in Ogden, Utah. The plug latches into the jack and will not pull loose by accident. The silver plating keeps the contact clean.

Who Is This Interconnect Best For?

• You want silver in the braid without going all-silver — Hero HB mixes hyper-pure copper and silver in one four-wire weave, so you get both metals in a single cable
• Your sources sit near power supplies — the GyroQuadratic braid cancels induced noise along its length, so the shelf stays out of the music
• You want a hand-built cable — Kimber braids and solders each Hero HB by hand in Utah, under nitrogen, so every joint is clean
• You want a plug that locks — the Switchcraft XLR latches into the jack and its silver-plated pins resist tarnish, so the connection stays put
• Your components have only RCA jacks — the Hero HB XLR is balanced at both ends and will not fit an RCA jack. Choose the Kimber Hero HB RCA instead, or call us and we will match the connector

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Run the Hero HB from a balanced XLR output on your DAC, streamer, CD player or phono stage to a balanced XLR input on your preamp or amplifier. Keep left to left and right to right. Line up the pins and push until the latch clicks. Press the latch tab to release the plug.

Then listen.

Measure the Path, Then Add a Little Slack

Measure the route the cable will really take between your components, around shelves and behind the rack. Then add a little slack. As audio legend George Cardas puts it, "A cable that's just long enough usually turns out to be just not long enough." Keep the left and right cables the same length. We recommend a matched pair.

XLR on Both Ends, or Not at All

Balanced XLR works when both components have XLR jacks, and we recommend using XLRs whenever they do. If one component has only RCA jacks, use an RCA cable instead of an adapter. You only get the possible benefits of a balanced output with a pure XLR-to-XLR connection.

A Long Run Between Components?

If your amplifier and speakers sit far from your source, we recommend a long interconnect over a long speaker cable. A really long interconnect affects system performance less than a really long speaker cable.

When Is It Time to Upgrade?

An interconnect often stays in a system for years, so it is easy to overlook. Look again when something else changes: a new DAC, streamer or phono stage, a better amplifier, or a move to components with balanced XLR jacks.

Pairs Well With

An interconnect is one link in the chain. It usually joins these categories.

• Integrated Amplifiers — the usual input end
• Digital-to-Analog Converters — DAC output to amplifier
• Phono Preamplifiers — phono stage to line input
• Speaker Cables — the last link to the speakers

Frequently Asked Questions

What XLR connector does Kimber use?

A studio-grade Switchcraft XLR with silver-plated contact pins. Kimber names it on its balanced Tonik, PBJ, Silver Streak, Hero HB and Hero AG. Kimber solders it on by hand under nitrogen.

What does VariStrand mean?

Each conductor is made of strands in more than one gauge. Kimber uses this stranding in every interconnect it makes and says the mix of gauges spreads the signal across the bundle.

Is Hero HB shielded?

There is no separate shield. Kimber relies on the GyroQuadratic braid to reject noise, which is why the cable has no outer jacket.

What is GyroQuadratic geometry?

Kimber's name for the way the four wires of Hero HB weave around one another. Kimber pairs it with VariStrand conductors and two layers of fluorocarbon.

Why mix copper and silver?

Kimber builds Hero HB from hyper-pure copper and hyper-pure silver. The mix sits between Kimber's all-copper and all-silver four-wire cables.

Is there a step up from the Hero HB?

Kimber Select KS 1116 XLR is the next rung. It moves to Kimber's Select Series, an all-copper balanced cable in Kimber's constrained-matrix orthogonal braid.

Need a Different Length or Connector?

The most popular configurations are shown on this page. If your system requires a different length or termination, call our audio experts. We’ll help you choose the right configuration and arrange a custom cable for your system.

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