I wouldn't upgrade my own Furutech GTX outlets, it's not that big a deal (and you know what they cost me!) but if you ever get a new ac cord then it's definitely worth it to use these new connectors.
The Omega Evolution speaker cable is as perfect as any cable could be. Blending a remarkable soundstage with instruments hanging delicately in space and absolute neutrality allowing every nuance to shine though. Truly a platinum standard for both tube and solid-state systems alike." – Carl Jerritts / APEX Audio
I heard some taralabs grandmaster cable's last year, and to say the least, I was smitten, for those of you with Uber dacs and transports, I whole heartily would like some feedback on this newly developed digital cable from taralabs, Making Sense of …. Grandmaster Evolution Digital The TARA Labs Grandmaster Evolution Digital Interconnect uses a pair of RSC® Gen 3 Rectangular Solid Core® conductors. In the AES/EBU format, the conductors are critically spaced to ensure an exacting 110 Ohm characteristic impedance; this is the AES/EBU format used with XLR connectors. The RSC Gen 3 conductors are smaller than the Gen 2 version, and this provides a more extended bandwidth for the digital signal. The TARA Labs Grandmaster Evolution Interconnect uses a system of woven filaments constructed from small Teflon tubes, to expand and displace the shield further away from the signal carrying conductors. In this way, the Grandmaster Evolution Digital Interconnect is able to reduce digital distortion, called ‘jitter’. Jitter explains why Digital cables sound different from on to another. The most significant reason for the different sound in digital recording and playback systems is the phenomenon of ‘errors’. The most widely known error is called ‘jitter’. Jitter can be thought of as a timing error or a distortion of the digital bit-stream within the digital send and receive components and the digital interconnect cable. The timing errors (digital jitter) can be reduced by using better quality cable with superior shielding to reject interference within the cable.
I started with The 2 then went to The One then the 0.8 and ended with the 0.3 interconnects. As I went up in the line the clarity and speed and most important the reality and timing and space of everything just increased and the biggest difference was going from the 0.8 to the 0.3. Also IMO too many Tara cables in a system can lean things out, again IMHO so I like to mix and match. And yes I have the "new" 0.3. Don't know anything about older versions or even when the "new" 0.3 started shipping but my own were bought last Q 2015.
My experience was polar opposite of what's said here, I have a complete loom of all matching Zero Gold series, including the power cable, the original cobalt with oyaida termination's, I have the best bass I've ever experienced, deep detailed, transient speed, with slam, impact, most of all, realism., I'm saying, you get the complete loom of the balanced 0.3, and the new cobalt Reference a/c power cable's, btw, I've heard, you will never have a lean sound, on any system.
My 40 years experience is different but that's what makes this hobby so great we can agree to disagree! :-) This is also with a variety of equipment. My amps alone consist of Atmasphere Novacron's , Merrill Veritas and Bricasti M28's.
I've heard SK's system on many occasions. It has always been very good IMO, but has evolved into something very special recently. I believe the current cable set includes Tara Labs, Audiomica Labs (which I also own), S.I.N. Audio and
Pranawire.
The recent addition of a S.I.N. Audio power cord to SK's system made a very nice improvement - it's all about synergy.
Hi redhouse, I know Steve personally by phone and emails only, never listed to his system, however, I'm saying, with each addition of taralabs in my system towards a full loom the system was hugely better, especially with the matching speaker cable's and power cord's, I know many that said a full loom of what I have, if anything, is to much big deep bass on their specific system, btw, I've done business with Steven, and highly recommend him to everyone, he sales good equipment like furutech and other's, btw, Steven, can you get synergistic black fuses? , email me about them if you can get them like you did my furutech gtx-rhodium outlet's.
Audiolabyrinth - I'm not familiar with the Tara Labs products, so can't comment on benefits of full loom vs. mix and match. I do believe in system synergy. If you have found a combination of cables that optimize your system components, room acoustics, AC power quality and listening preferences, then you've found synergy. That's a wonderful thing!
Hi redhouse, very nice system you have, I use to own the Ayon cd2s player myself, I'm in some transition with my system, I'm continuing modifying my krell 700cx amplifier, I have upgraded transistors and capacitors, tweaked power supply, now, getting ready to sort out some synergistic black fuses for the amplifier, 4 expensive fuses, the performance return will be many times the $130.00 a piece for the fuses, these go excellent with taralab's cable's, I already have furutech gtx-rhodium outlet's, but I'm going to upgrade to ncf rhodium outlet's, I will be buying those from Steven, I hope he can review the differences of sound between the two models of furutech gtx-rhodium outlet's before I pull the trigger on them, the outlet's I have sound very good, I trust Steven's impressions of what he may say, also, likely going to upgrademy digital and speaker's, cheers
Keith the Furutech GTX NCF receptacles have shipped to me, I'll be installing them right next to the GTX-R for comparison but will take a while to break-in. Will report back my thoughts.
Rsf507, if you believe you can get $45,000.000 taralabs sp grandmaster speaker cable's for a huge discount, please let me know, I will buy them, lol!, buyer beware of those who do not know what their talking about.
Thankyou Steven, I'll check out the pic's after work today, you know, no one sales any brand cable's at full retail, I can find high-fidelity cable's brand and many others at discounted pricing, but the two top model's from taralabs is unusual to find at substantial discounted pricing.
The Cobalt AC Reference Power Cable is a reference quality AC Power Cable having both High-Frequency conductors (Rectangular Solid Core) matched with specially adapted Low Frequency conductors. The Cobalt Reference AC has 18 high frequency conductors for the Live run, and 18 high frequency conductors for the Neutral run. The Ground path is comprised of shielding and 18 AWG solid core conductors that are fitted with Ceralex® capsules.
REVIEWS: “...with the addition of a single length of The Cobalt power cable. From that point, as additional cable was swapped in, he stopped roaming and just grew in bulk and substance, grounded to earth as a person subject to the laws of gravity should be... Put aside concerns about weight and body—the Cobalt power cord introduces so much mass and muscle, well beyond the current... Confoundingly, the Cobalt PC also adds control, so it's not only richer and weighty—it has better timing and resolution.” – Marshall Nack / Positive Feedback
So I've only had the Furutech GTX NCF receptacles in for under 3 days but initial impression is they sound a bit "faster" and more musical but softer at the same time. As with the original GTX receptacles they take many hundreds of hours to fully break-in so more to come.
Thankyou Steven, you are saying although the original gtx-rhodium outlet's are not hard sounding, but the NCF sound's less hard or just to soft? , the good news is as you said, they need way more burn time.
Making Sense of … Evolution Speaker Cables Extreme Audio Systems and Extreme Performance Cables with Low Inductance At TARA Labs, the major design goal for speaker cables is to reduce the inductance in the cable. However, there are some high-end amplifiers that need to 'see' some level of inductance (L) in the speaker cable. When the low damping factor of certain amplifiers is connected with (ultra-low inductance) TARA Labs speaker cables, the output of some high-end loudspeakers becomes audibly variable at different frequencies. The phenomenon is readily apparent, heard as bass that is soft and low in amplitude, sometimes together with high frequencies that are too smooth or rolled-off. Basically, the resistance in the loudspeaker cable should be ultra-low, and the inductance (L) in the cable needs to be low but sufficient to provide a load to certain amplifiers. There is no ideal value for (L). It varies from system to system, just as impedance varies with frequency in most loudspeakers. The loudspeaker cables carry much higher signal voltage and current into a non-linear impedance (the loudspeaker) ... so the reactive load of the loudspeaker can be difficult for some amplifiers to drive... and the all-important damping factor of the amplifier changes from amplifier to amplifier. One of the great attributes of the OMEGA Evolution & Grandmaster Evolution Speaker Cables is their ultra-low inductance. The OMEGA Evolution & Grandmaster Evolution Speaker Cables are the 'state-of-the-art' in both technology and design from TARA Labs. Its performance level is absolutely spectacular when matched with the majority of high-end audio components available today. And as with an ever increasing introduction of new components into the marketplace, we have found over and over again that not every cable or component has the perfect symbiotic relationship with each other. In these particular instances, there are some amplifiers that need to 'see' some level of inductance (L) in the speaker cable. For certain loudspeakers and amplifiers, TARA Labs has produced another addition to the line-up with the Omega Evolution SP & Grandmaster Evolution SP speaker cables. These cables are designed to work exceptionally well with amplifiers with a low damping factor or loudspeakers with a very reactive load in the lower frequencies. Another choice is the *OMEGA CX Evolution loudspeaker cable with its slightly higher inductance, used especially with wide-bandwidth amplifiers. *The Omega Evolution CX model is a more affordable version of the Omega Evolution SP. Having similar characteristics as the “SP”, yet at a lower price. For the speaker cable that requires a higher inductance, or used with wide-bandwidth amplifiers, the Omega Evolution SP and the Grandmaster Evolution SP are the ultimate cable choices. *The recommendations below are “just a few examples” to help guide the user in choosing the appropriate TARA Labs Evolution loudspeaker cables. These examples are meant as a guide only, and are based on load impedance for loudspeakers and damping factor for amplification. Call TARA Labs to discuss your system and any particular recommendations. EQUIPMENT EXAMPLES Omega Evolution CX – Avalon speakers, Spectral, Wilson speakers (smaller and older models) Omega Evolution & Grandmaster Evolution – Accuphase, Ayon, Constellation, Krell, Lamm, Bolder, McIntosh, Focal speakers, Cary, Sonus Faber speakers, Magico speakers, Usher speakers, Rockport speakers Omega Evolution SP & Grandmaster Evolution SP – dartZeel, MBL Reference, Boulder, Accuphase, Ayon, Constellation, Krell, Lamm, Wilson speakers, Cary, YG Acoustics, Avalon, Focal speakers, Rockport speakers, JM Lab (Grand Utopia speakers), Magico speakers, Usher speakers. *NOTE – The above equipment samples are only meant as a guide to help advise you on the best cable for your setup. As with all TARA Labs cables, when you move up the line to more expensive models, the TARA Labs characteristics that our cables are known for such as neutrality and natural musicality is always present. What you will hear is additional high frequency extension, detail, musicality, fullness, etc. CABLE CHARACTERISTICS Omega CX - A very balanced set of LC parameters. Omega Evolution & Grandmaster Evolution – These cables has extremely low inductance. Omega Evolution SP & Grandmaster Evolution SP – Provides more inductance for certain models wide-bandwidth amplifiers and speakers that require addition inductance in their cables. These cables are designed to work exceptionally well with amplifiers with a low damping factor or loudspeakers with a very reactive load in the lower frequencies.
It's only b/c of you audiolabyrinth that I will never consider
Tara cables, you just regurgitate what's on the Tara Labs web site without ever
hearing most of their up-to-date products. I've talked to others that feel the
same way, if only Tara Labs knew what you are doing to their brand!
Hi Rsf507, thankyou for your response, however, I have listened to all the taralabs line up, what would you like to know? , although I own the zero gold and the complete matching loom of this cable model, I have been fortunate to be able to listen to the new models.
Absolute Sound, February, 2016 issue, The 2015 rocky Mountain audio festival, by- Greg Weaver,,, The most significant exhibits, very much a technological spinoff of french manufacturer focal's flagship grande utopia em, the Stella utopia em ($97,000.00/pr.) reflects most of the grande's innovations in a more compact 3 way version, the Stella employs the same unique electro-magnet drive system as found on it's single 13" "w" woofer., it shares the same pair 6.5" midranges and single layer inverted beryllium-dome tweeter, as well as it's signature segmented cabinet design, driven by over $500,000.00 worth of soulution, accuphase, and air tight electronics and sources, using all TARA LABS cabling, resting on critical mass stands and footers in the Blanca peak room, this speaker literally spoke to me. it's ability to render fine detail and micro dynamics made it engagingly MUSICAL. with an unrestricted sense of air and space, offering uncanny dimensional accuracy, scintillating tonal color and texture, these gorgeous speaker's were breathtakingly fast and dynamic. End of mention, mmmm, I bet these speaker's had these attributes from the taralabs cable's, my cable's have these attributes as we'll, may not be to the degree of the cable's used on these speaker's for the festival.
The bottom line is TARA Labs new Air Evolution cables are out-sized performers and offer a big bang for the buck. Highly recommended without reservation for those shopping at this price point." -- Marshall Nack / Positive Feedback Issue #7
RSC® Air Evolution Category: Interconnects The Air™ Series and air-tube™ technology from TARA Labs has been at the forefront of audio cable design for nearly 20 years. The Air 1 Interconnect was The Absolute Sound ‘Product of the Year’ and has been one of the best-selling high-end audio cables of all time. Now TARA Labs proudly introduces the Air Evolution™ Interconnect that provides phenomenal performance and a Capacitance figure of only 4 pF per foot. This means that the Air Reference has more than twice the high frequency bandwidth of the famous Air 1 Interconnect. Of course the construction uses a minimal amount of dielectric material and a pair of the Rectangular Solid Core™ conductors. The sound of the Air Evolution is completely neutral and absolutely revealing with high frequency and airy detail that is not found in comparable audio cables. All new air tube designControlled geometry for stable electrical characteristicsTeflon and Aero PE filament ensuring a high percentage of overall air dielectricEach channel is a twin axialEach channel uses a RSC Gen 2 conductor for separate positive & negative runsAnti-corrosion coated copper shieldExtremely transparent, detailed, open & revealingFine resolution of fine detailImage outlines clearly defined, life-like imagery.
“I wanted to let you know that last weekend I finally had the chance to incorporate all your cables in my Kondo/Tidal set up. In one word: I am very impressed! A deep black background, a large space in which the various instruments can be recognized and followed (tunes fading away) very clearly. The combination of tremendous transparency and beautiful tonality makes them addictive.” – Rudolf
Hot off the press!, not on the taralab's site!, THE ZERO GOLD G2 (Gen2): One of the most successful audio cables of all time is the original ZERO Gold Interconnect from TARA Labs. The original ZERO Gold was praised for its breakthrough performance. In the Gen 2 design, technology has literally been borrowed from the famous and more expensive ZERO Evolution Interconnect. Available now is the ZERO Gold Generation 2 Interconnect at a lower price with complete flexibility and better performance than the original ZERO Gold. The breakthrough improvements include greater bandwidth and a completely new and proprietary air-dielectric construction. TARA Labs first introduced air dielectric interconnect cables in 1986; 30 years ago. And instead of using round conductors in air-tubes, TARA Labs uses Rectangular Solid Core® (RSC®) conductors which are 'seated' inside small air-tubes™. The new Zero Gold G2 makes full use of this technology. The new Zero Gold G2 will offer the listener an audio cable that is absolutely fabulous! Extremely low in capacitance at 3 pF, with a sound that can be described as holographic. Exceptional high-frequency extension and detail, expansive soundstage with spatial cues with a bottom end that is rich and full of bloom, in addition to a substantial low noise floor. This interconnect is simply astounding for the price. And for audiophiles who remember the original Zero Gold, the flexibility of the new Zero Gold G2 will simply amaze them.
Rsf507, I own the complete loom of the zero gold cable's, the post above was emailed directly to me from taralab's themselves, if you enlarge my avatar picture, you will see my taralab's omega gold speaker cable's.
APOLLO SERIES: It’s 2016, and TARA Labs is very excited at presenting an introduction to our newest line of entry level high-end audio cables. In mythology, Apollo was one of the twelve mythological deity gods that were worshipped by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Apollo was the god of music, poetry, healing and light amongst other virtues he was endowed with. TARA Labs has taken that inspiration from this mythology as well as what Apollo represented, and named our new line of audio cables for those very qualities that made him a god to the ancients. Apollo Series cables will represent a new era in entry level products for TARA Labs. We developed this brand new concept for the Apollo, keeping in mind the relationship they will have with their counterpart components. In electronics, we sometimes refer to trickle-down technology. At TARA Labs, we make full use of this term by incorporating numerous technological advances and designs from our higher-end reference cables into the Apollo Series audio cables. Compared to the TL series, Apollo cables have a more coherent construction and design which translate to a substantial enhancement of soundstage, high frequency extension, spatial cues, improved noise floor, as well as enhanced musicality. The Apollo speaker cables construction now includes our proprietary BSM termination (Banana/Spade modules). So instead of soldered on spades or bananas, you can now switch the termination at will with little effort on your part. This bodes well with the numerous components that require either or both terminations. The Apollo interconnects are also available with either RCA or XLR termination. In addition, the Apollo Series cables will offer an audiophile a musical experience that is easily comparable to cables costing many times more their price! We would venture to say “Get a $1000.00 upgrade to your audio system for around $200.00” The Apollo Series cables will be replacing our current line of entry level cables, The TL Series.
TARA Labs “SP” Speaker Cables: As the loudspeaker cables carry much higher signal voltage and current into a non-linear impedance (the loudspeaker) the reactive load of the loudspeaker can be difficult for some amplifiers to drive... and the all-important damping factor of the amplifier does change from amplifier to amplifier. The phenomenon is readily apparent, heard as bass that is soft and low in amplitude, sometimes together with high frequencies that are too smooth or rolled-off, in addition to a loss of musicality. However, when these amplifiers are connected with TARA Labs ‘SP’ speaker cable models, the output of some high-end loudspeakers instantly becomes audibly improved at variable frequencies. One of the great attributes of the TARA Labs ‘SP’ speaker cable models, are the 'state-of-the-art' technology and design that was created by TARA Labs. Their performance level is absolutely spectacular when matched with the majority of high-end audio components available today. TARA Labs ‘SP’ cable models are now available in the Evolution series cables; Air Forte, Air Evolution, Omega Evolution and he Grand Master Evolution.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
