Kimber Kable Hero Interconnect Cable - 0.5 Meter - Ultraplate Black RCA to RCA - Single

Hero Is Kimber's Four-Wire Braid

Kimber Kable's Hero is the interconnect Kimber built around four conductors instead of three. It sits in Kimber's Ascent Series and has been a reviewer favorite for many years. 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 19 AWG Copper Conductors in a Quadratic Braid

Each conductor is 19 AWG VariStrand copper, a bundle of strands in more than one gauge. The four are woven in what Kimber calls a quadratic braid. Kimber says the braid gives wide bandwidth and noise reduction without the use of shielding.

Virgin FEP Insulation and Hand-Soldered Ends

Kimber insulates each conductor with virgin FEP, a fluorocarbon it applies in single and dual layers. It publishes the result: 78 pF of capacitance, 0.385 µH of inductance and 0.037 ohms of resistance per meter. The plugs are soldered on by hand under nitrogen, which keeps the joint clean as it cools.

The Ultraplate Black Plug, Explained

Hero ends in Kimber's Ultraplate Black. It is the black-finished version of Kimber's own RCA plug, machined from solid metal stock. Kimber says the Ultraplate contact surface gives high conductivity and long life. It also works with any plating on your gear. Inside is a solid Teflon dielectric and a split center pin that grips the jack.

What Reviewers Are Saying

The Absolute Sound staff, in the 2017 Editors' Choice list published April 6, 2017, wrote that "Hero's bass lives up to its name, prodigious in amplitude and definition."

Jason Kennedy, reviewing for hi-fi+ on January 17, 2018, found that "as soon as you drop it into the system the timing comes into focus." Stereophile’s 2026 Recommended Components calls Hero the "strong, silent type" among cables.

Who Is This Interconnect Best For?

• You want more than a three-wire cable gives — Kimber designed Hero's four-wire braid for wide bandwidth, so the whole range gets through
• Your sources sit near power supplies — the quadratic braid cancels induced noise along its length, so the shelf stays out of the music
• You value bass weight — The Absolute Sound singled out Hero's low end for its size and definition, so kick drums land
• You want a plug that grips — the Ultraplate Black's split center pin seats firmly on the jack, so the connection stays clean
• Your components both offer XLR — Hero is single-ended RCA. If both your components have balanced XLR jacks, choose the Kimber Hero XLR instead. Or call us and we will match the connector

How Does It Connect to Your System?

Run Hero from a line-level output, a DAC, streamer, CD player or phono stage, to a line-level input on your amplifier or preamp. Keep left to left and right to right. Push each Ultraplate Black plug straight on until it seats. Pull it off by the barrel, never by the cable.

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 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. Cardas recommends a matched pair.

RCA or XLR? Check Both Ends

If both components offer balanced XLR jacks, Cardas suggests using XLR. If one has only RCA jacks, use RCA, and skip the adapter. Cardas notes 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, Cardas suggests a long interconnect over a long speaker cable. In its words, "a really long interconnect will affect 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 is the Ultraplate Black connector?

Kimber's own RCA plug in a black finish. Kimber machines it from solid metal. It uses the Ultraplate contact surface and has a solid Teflon dielectric and a split center pin.

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 shielded?

There is no separate shield. Kimber says the four-wire quadratic braid provides the noise reduction, which is why the cable has no outer jacket.

Why four conductors instead of three?

Hero has four 19 AWG conductors where Kimber's three-wire cables have three. Kimber says the four-wire quadratic braid provides wide bandwidth and noise reduction without shielding.

Is there a step up from Hero?

Kimber Hero with WBT-0114 Cu plugs is the next rung. It is the same Hero cable ended in WBT's nextgen plug with a locking collet clamp.

See It in Action

Audio Advisor looks at the Hero braid and its plugs.

The balanced version of the same cable, for a look at how Kimber terminates it.

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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