Kimber Kable KS 1016 RCA Interconnect

KS 1016 is the all-copper Select interconnect terminated in RCA with WBT connectors — the single-ended entry into Kimber’s reference series. In Select’s numbering, 16 denotes all-copper conductor material and the 10xx prefix denotes RCA. Its balanced XLR sibling is the KS 1116; the hybrid 1026 and all-silver 1036 sit above in metallurgy at the same construction level.

The Select braid is identical across all three material choices — only the metallurgy changes. Each conductor is a mix of VariStrand (multiple strand gauges within one conductor, since different gauges favour different parts of the frequency band) and solid core, braided in Kimber’s counter-rotating weave so each conductor’s position relative to its neighbours changes continuously along the run. That geometry cancels induced fields, so no foil or mesh shield sits between the signal and what carries it. WBT RCA connectors terminate both ends.

For a system built on single-ended electronics where the priority is tonal density and dynamic authority rather than maximum low-level resolution, the 1016 is the correct starting point in Select. Nothing about this cable is a lesser version of the silver models — the Select braid, the manufacturing, and the Ogden build are the same. What changes across the range is metallurgy, not construction quality. Its loudspeaker-cable counterpart is the KS 6063.

KS 1016 is the correct choice for a single-ended reference system where copper’s tonal density is the deliberate voicing, or where the balance of silver already sits elsewhere in the signal path. Comparing 1016, 1026, and 1036 in the same system with familiar recordings is the honest way to settle the metallurgy question. Walk in during business hours or book ahead if the audition needs your specific source and preamp in place.