Taralabs cables

I am still waiting. However. My friend who has one loaned it to me till tomorrow. I been listening to it for the last two days. I am as happy as I ever been. That thing is the truth. I hate to give the ear 868 back tomorrow. I had one ct1 and one tara lab 2 ex ironically. It sounded great. The e.a.r 868 is pretty damn good. I changed interconnects to other stuff. It sounded different but still good. I have heard great systems the last two weekends but for what I am paying for the system I have. I am happy. I also tired of changing equipment. I want to spend my time listening. I also got my rel 528 today. The rel is musical. It added a musically tight bass to my viennas. The guys who help me evaluate my system don't like subs but in the two high end systems I heard the last two weekends. One had a huge sub and the other had a separately powered driver in the yg acoustic speaker. I like subs so the rel was perfect for the viennas. I'm pretty much done. I have a ear 868 on the way. I have a classe ca 2200. I have the parasound cd1. I have some high fidelity cables and some tara labs. I have some Clarus and tributaries cables as well. I can mix and match and tube roll my ear 868 if I want a different sound. For my listening room anything else is overkill. I think I'm done once my ear arrives. I'm gonna find the right dac and call it a day. I'm really happy with my sound. Can I get better? But at what price? And how long? I want to get my stuff and listen to my tunes. Stop blowing my retirement and actually listen to my tunes. Lol. A great high end system in a great listening room with great cables is great. I'm going to allow myself to be satisfied for once and call it a day. I really liked the set ups I heard with high fidelity cables and raven electronics. I also liked the MIT set up with dartzeel electronics and yg acoustics speakers. Both guys had perfect listening rooms and the set up was amazing. Maybe I get there one day. But for now I'm going to sit back and enjoy what I can at this level.

@audiolybaryinth. I waiting for my e.a.r 868 to arrive. My friend brought his to my house today and we ahead against a cary slp05 that was loaned to me by my dealer. The ear 868 beat it hands down. The cary is a good pre amp but I can't wait until my brand new ear 868 arrives. I have found my pre amp for at least the next 5 years if not longer.

Still cutting lawns for a living labyrinth?

@ pops, have you been busy at work?, overload of orders going?, what have you been up to?

@ Calvinj, Have you got you Ear pre-amp yet?

Hi Misternice, Yes, I have explored the area of racks etc..., I look forward to your honest impressions of what the rack did for your sound, I agree, Tara Labs power cables can influence bass, I enjoy having dishes rattle, gives me a sence of a bomb going off, LOL!

Hi Judyazblues, somehow when I think of what you are saying, I believe you!, I do want you to know, I have NO connection with tara labs, I enjoy the sound, went thru many cables to be sure of this, since Tara labs has come out with NEW cables, I believe they deserve a fair shot in the market place, To be considered some of the best out there, there will be always a particular tast in sound an individule prefers over the next, what cable brand are you useing these days?, If I am not mistaken, I saw that you sold some cables you had?, cheers.

@ judyazblues and audiolabryinth. I think there are great cable makers out here. I am not an award kind of guy I listen to the music. They are both great cable makers. High fidelity and tara labs. I have been impressed with both. I was just reporting what I heard this weekend. Great sound come in variety. There is no one great sound. There are multiple ones and it all depends on taste. When I hear a great system or cables I will tell people. Maybe they both are great or it could be a matter of taste. I just know what I heard this weekend sounded great. High fidelity is a great cable. I have listened to more than 25 different cable brands. You can't go wrong with them. Also what I have heard from tara labs is good

To audiolabyrinth
Please don't be so naive. I spent 35+ years in corporate America mostly in sales and marketing. Entertainment including dinners, lunches, condo usage, great golf courses, fine wine, and more etc. all enter into a business relationship. Lobbyists in Washington do the same thing.
Awards, prizes, reviews et.al. all come with a price of some kind. I'm not accusing any of the principles you alluded to in your advertisement but don't think for a moment your favorite is above and beyond any of what I described. I lived it. I did it. It's how the game is played and high end audio is no cleaner than any other industry.

And the promotion continues.............

Hi there,thankyou.I have tried the one pc before,and it was too bass heavy for the speakers I had,everything in the kitchen,rattled,not just the pots on the stove.These monitors Im using now could do with some extra weight I recon.Ive ordered the rack keith ,so Im interested in seeing how that goes.Ive always had a cheap rack,in the past.Ill let you know my opinion; if you like,in a couple of weeks.A quadraspire sunoko vent T bamboo equipment rack.Have you explored that area before.

calvinj, I agree with you, It is all about the sound of a cable to me and you, what I am saying, To get awards from numerous best of shows, best sound of the year by many top publications like, The absolute Sound Magazine, Stereophile magazine, etc,etc..., all of these publications are proffesional, they listen to a whole lot more than we ever could,then when it comes to awards like this, A audio company cannot pay them for such an award, especially as many as Tara Labs Has won over the last few years, I fully expect for Tara Labs to earn some awards for their new cables over the next two years,I also believe you that High-fidelity complete loom of cables sounded good to you when you listened to a system that was built for the high-fidelity cables presatation to all that listened to the cables to promote sales of the brand, All cable company's do that!, That's bussiness, To try to get the best sound you can for the product you are promoting, what I like about these awards is the fact they try a product on numerous Brands of electronics to come to the conclusion of who wins the award, all I am asking of you is to go out of your way to go and listen to the New Tara Labs Zero Evolution interconnect and matching Omega Evolution speaker cables, and listen to the Evolution Grandmaster interconnect and speaker cables, I do not believe a dealer would allow you to listen to these cables unless they are fully Broken-in, There will be select Tara Labs dealers that will carry such cables, they are speciality cables, A dealer would have to be licensed by Tara labs, when I bought my dis-continued Tara labs Zero Gold and omega gold, Tara labs wanted to know where I bought them really bad, I was astonished on the way that was very important to them, when I told them, I bought them from Hanson Audio in Kettering, Ohio, They actually checked into it, as it turns out, Hanson audio is licensed By tara Labs to carry such cables, My cables were authenticated as real, and all was good at the end of the day, so to find a Tara Dealer that will carry these two models, that dealer will also have some of the best electronics money can buy!, you may have to make a road trip?, I am confident that if you ever listen to these Two models Of Tara Labs, you will surely know what is possible in High-end audio, I understand that their is no best, I believe there is a very small group of best cables available,The same can be said of electronics, cheers.

@audiolabryinth. I don't care about the award. I know what I heard. I heard these high fidelity ct1 ultimate reference cables in an all tube system and the speed, clarity and prat was unreal. I don't care about awards. It's about the sound. I don't care about one being better than the other. You will get different sound and different presentations. I think both companies make great cables. I just know that I got to hear a fully cabled high fidelity ct1 ultimate reference cabled system and it sounded great. I was impressed. I want a great system. Cables,components and power cords working in unison.

Dennis, Impressive!, useing your link, I reviewed all the source Technology speakers, thankyou, all the info I can get on what's out there these days helps me to give recommendations for the community, I enjoy learning, That was awsome you took me to school on these speakers,please do a review of your new speakers on this site, I would love reading all about them, and so will others, you are an asset to us all, cheers.

04-28-14: Audiolabyrinth
@ Grey9hound, how long does it take to break-in the new speakers you are getting?, will you do a full review for us here on the speakers?, Are they Bi-amp speakers?, tell us some of the specs on them, Thanks Dennis.
Audiolabyrinth (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

I do not think it will take too long.
The specs are here
http://www.sourcespeaker.com/2268reed.html
They go pretty darn low . The bass was real good on the 8211hds and should be even better on the 2268 as they have two 8 inch woofers for each speaker, plus that 6 inch reed cone is supposed to be pretty special

Hi calvin, I believe you should take your focus on going to listen to some new top tier Tara labs cables, go ahead and expect to be floored with the performance you hear if the cables are fully broken-in, I am very excited that Tara Labs has come out with alot of new cables, I recently went to the High-fidelity cable site, read all the reviews!, Not once has High-fidelity won any first class awards for any thing!, you know, when it comes to awards, A company cannot buy their way into winning them, High- fidelity has been out there long enough for this to happen for them, It has Not!, I look forward to the new reviews of the Tara labs Zero evolution and Omega Evolution cable system, and the Grandmaster Evolution cable system, this technology is so new, it may be months to a year before the buzz happens for them to be considered the very best available, cheers

@audiolabryinth. I hope the cables are broken in. Also I heard a full loom of them this past weekend with the the new high fidelity power cables. This was an all tube system featuring pre amps and amps from raven audio. It sounded great. Remember in our system there are usually 12 to 15 factors and connections and the focus has to be putting an entire system together that works in unison. I heard one this past weekend featuring all high fidelity ultimate reference cables.

Hi Misternice, I listened to the Tara Labs Cobalt power cord for a couple of years on different systems before I decided to buy it, I have not used it on my system yet, I believe I will with-in the next two weeks, this power cord will not sound special at all untill 150 hours of playing time, then it gets way better at 300 hours, then small, but noticeable improvements all the way to 600 hours,However, when you get to 300 hours, LOL!, you will not care, the sound is very satiesfying at this level of the burn-in of the power cable, one thing you need to know, I will be useing my power cord on the digital player to excellent effect, it will work great there, however, Tara labs said this power cord works best on pre-amps and power amps, if you get one of these power cords, get the cobalt power cord with the oyaide terminations, it's worth the extra $450.00 ,, it sounds way better than the cobalt with the stock watt gate terminations, make sure you do not get one longer than 6ft and you will be fine, if you can use a 3ft power cord, this will have more resolution according to Tara Labs E-mail to me when I asked if there is a difference in sound with different lengths, I look forward to your reply, cheers.

Hi there keith,im curious on how the cobalt powercord worked out for you,I hope you don't mind me asking.Iam currently eyeing up a rack,its hard parting with so much money,but Ive come so far,and most people seem to leave this to last.I know they do make a big sonic difference,some say a component in themselves.

congrats calvinj on the pre-amp, will you do a full review here when it is done breaking-in?, hey, the more we learn, the more we know, I should have my new cables in a year to year 1/2,, then I am going to rent the high-fidelity ultimate reference cables from the cable company to do a A/B comparison on my system!, The Zero Evolution interconnect and Omega Evolution speaker cables by Tara Labs, BTW, Is only the second from the top of the line new cable system, I am very confident in Tara Labs new technology, after the comparison, I will do a full review of my findings Here, cheers.

@everyone. Just ordered EAR 868 pre amp fellas. I also had a wonderful listening session this weekend with Rick Schultz from high fidelity cables. His ultimate reference cables and power cords are off the chains.

@ Grey9hound, how long does it take to break-in the new speakers you are getting?, will you do a full review for us here on the speakers?, Are they Bi-amp speakers?, tell us some of the specs on them, Thanks Dennis.

@ waxwaves, I left a msg on your phone, I gave you the wifes phone # so you can resend the picture text msg to that number, My phone cannot send or recieve picture or video text msgs, I flashed the rom on the phone a while back to give it twice the internet speed, this was the trade off when you tamper with smart phones, please send whatever you was tring to do, thanks Adam.

Welcome to the thread Grey9hound, gee, I was beginning to appear like I was talking to my self here, LOL!, you have bad luck with fed-ex, I have the same luck with ups!, they crushed a pair of Bose 901 speakers back in 2012, never got the speakers replaced!, At least fed-ex is making things right for you, I had to force E-bay to get my money back from the seller, He packed the speakers so poorly, that ups insurance did not cover nothing, oh well, I did get my money after a month, go E-bay!

Gee i need to work on my typing skills

I suethe Tara Labs Air 1 series 2 from pre to amp on the Bass sections of my L/R speakers. I really like the Bass that they deliver in that spot. Speakers are Source technology 8211Hd . They will soon be replaced with the Source 2268 speakers.
I shipped my speakers (8211 Hd ) back to John Sollecito for a tweeter upgrade (Dyna silk). Well Fedex %&#ed them up .
They were insured for the original purchase cost .
So, to make a long story short, I will be getting the new 2268 thanks to FEDEX.
Thanks again FEDEX!
@Tboooe- How do you like the jRiverMedia? I am also using it with the McCormack DAC-1 Deluxe .
I like it a lot

@audiolab, I have 1 interconnect between Dac and int amp. I also have a USB cable and digital interconnect. I like to keep things simple (and less expensive).

@ pops, did you read my last post to you?

@ waxwaves, I remember a while back, you said that you do not know if The model, The one, would be alot better than your current cables, Adam, yes, they would be a big jump, if you ever did the whole loom over time, I believe it would be the end game for you with cables with your systems, you would not need any more performance than what These Tara Labs cables offer, just my opinion, what are you up to any way?

Tboooe, How many interconnects do you use on your system?

@auiolab, PC audio is yet another rabbit hole! There are a lot of things you can do with a purpose build audio pc that will improve the sound over a standard pc. Things like power supply, USB implementation, OS (Server), and optimization software is essential. Right now, I am very happy with my PC set up though (as with all things in this whacky hobby) I think I can improve the sound by building another audio PC with some upgraded hardware. I plan to do this new build at the end of this year.

@ pops, Hi, I went to a friends house this past week-end for the first time in 15 years, He had at his house the magico q3 speakers, retail $40,000.00 he got used for $27,000.00 here on audiogon, His right channel mid-range driver is not working, this happened over the last two years, his room mate over drove the speaker when he was not at home, what a bummer, however, I am helping him to get ready to send to factory in californa for repair, he offered to pay me, I said, No way!, I want to listen to these speakers buddy!, I keep all of you up-dated on this, it may take a while to do, The good news is, he is rich, so he will get the speaker right back,LOL!

@ Tboooe, I enjoyed talking to you on the phone, thankyou for calling back, I was very supprised that you have been doing computer audio for 10 years!, you made me feel old fashioned, LOL!, I know who to come to for that set-up, I will do computer audio too, have you tried some of the audiophile software out there for this application?, If there is anybody out there that may chime in on the subject of computer audio for the High-end, please post some opinions on this thread, this is a subject we should talk about, cheers.

Tboooe, Have you considered Atmas-Phere tube amps?, Ralph is the designer, owner, He talks on these threads quite often, A very down to earth gentleman, these amps are very good, cheers.

Damn Jebsmith73, That would be like looking for a needle in a hay stack, tring to get another HFX grounding station from some one, The only way I know to get one is from Tara Labs, ask for Devon scott, He will hook you up, cheers.

Need an HFX box... any sellers?

Hi folks, hope everyone is having a Happy Easter weekend. Just for the record, I am so pleased with my Tara Labs RSC Air 1 cable. I have the digital coax, the rca interconnects, and the speaker cable. Yes, I am curious about "the One" ics and sc, but I am very happy with what I have now. The Air 1 mate nicely with the vintage McIntosh tube equipment I have been using. There may be an improvement between the One and my Air 1 but I doubt it would be extreme, nor worth the extra $$ spent. At this point, I am taking time to enjoy the music and have turned my attention away from the "gear". By the way, I will be in attendance on June 27 @ the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC to see the wonderful Neko Case perform with her boyfriends. Tickets are still available if any of you would like to meet us there.

It's great. I'm happy with them. They are the same but that is a good thing. I love them how they are.

@calvinj, do you have experience with EAR products? Which models have you heard? I am interested in the integrated models. Any feedback would be great!

@audiolab, yes I will be around this week. I look forward to speaking!

calvinj, How many hrs of burn-in time do you believe you have now on your Tara Labs-The Two with ISM on board interconnect?, Has the sound improved since you first gave some early impressions?

@tbooe, audiolabryinth. The E.A.R stuff is the truth.

Tboooe, I enjoy both tube and solid state, I mix them, you have good tast their with the line magnetic and Ear, However, I do not recommend tube amps at all!, you can get all the tube sound you want with a tube source or tube pre-amp to solid state amp, my opinion, tube amps have way to many problems and to many tubes, I have seen tube amps with 18 tubes in it!, Imagine the bill on tube rolling that,LOL!, I have also seen tubes blow and take out important componets inside the amp, so no, I do not want those pain in the ass scenerios, do what you like, I am just saying what's best for me, man, I am so glad you are useing the cable properly, I love reading what the Tara Labs-The Two with HFX grounding station is doing for you, Awsome!, waite untill you get 300 hrs, your notes will have a natural decay like a real piano, most other brands of cables does not have that attribute, remember what the interconnect sounds like now, when you get 300 hrs, you will get surprised for the better, I may attempt to call you this coming week-end, will this work for you, or do you have plans?

@audiolab, got your messages too. Sorry for not calling back. I just got back and have been buried at work. Yes, I am using the jumper cables as you recommended and the ground lead is connected to a chassis screw on my cdp/dac. Another thing I failed to mention about this cables is that they are very dynamic with very good bass. The music notes are punchier and more crisp. I am interesting in trying a Tara Labs digital cable next.

I have not been a tube guy though many of my friends recommend that I consider a tube integrated for my Sonus Faber Guarneri Evolution speakers. Two brands I am looking at are Line Magnetic and EAR. I want to audition these in the near future.

@ Tboooe, you enjoy the vacation, where did you go to for vacation?, The Tara Labs-The Two with HFX grounding station will even be better at 300 hrs, after that, the cable will have small changes here and there, on the most part, everything will be broken-in at 300 hrs for that model, I enjoyed reading your discription of your impressions, I knew if you gave the interconnect some time the sound would improve dramatically, are you useing the jumper cable leads between the pig tails that come out the cable and the HFX grounding station?, and have you used the componet ground from station to a componet's screw to lower the noise floor?, congrats Tommy, welcome to the Tara Labs family, of course you can talk about anything on this thread, Do you have exsperience with tube equipment?

Hi guys sorry for not responding sooner. I was on vacation. My The 2 + HFX has about 150 hours on them and is sounding much better. The thing that really strikes me is how organic the music sounds! The soundstage is also clearly defined horizontally with instruments precisely placed. Finally, I am also hearing more fine nuance to the music, adding the sense of realism. Overall, I am very happy with these interconnects.

Grey9hound, If you find the time, this is the thread to post on that is the new home for all of us, you are welcome Here.

Calvinj, where are you?

pops- not really, however, I talk to others all the time that are looking for some Tara Labs cables, one way are the other, waxwaves is one of them looking to get a deal on a model that is better than the ones he has, He said he like to have The model "The one" or another cable model up the cable food chain, do you have any speaker spikes of some brand under your cs-6 Thiel speakers?

Audiolabyrinth - I do not, only have 1 pair and I am using them, the 0.8EX..Are you looking for some?

@audiolabryinth. It is used. They don't make them anymore. It is the sc7s2 marantz preamplifier. It is in champagne color and it is absolutely the most beautiful piece of equipment I have ever purchased. It is heavy and built like a tank. It is in pristine condition with no scratches on it. It sound great. It is warm and very musical. It gives you a mid hall perspective however I put some cables made by a European company vovox on them along with the tara labs 2 ex with ism interconnect with my clarus crimson speaker cable and it sounded great. It brought the sound stage up more to my liking. The sound is one that is musical. It is very non fatiguing. The highs are a little rolled off slightly but they are well extended and you don't lose detail. This piece is unique because it is slightly warm but you don't lose transparency or detail. We went to my friend golden sound house first. The first system we tested was with gato pm6 speakers, atlas mavros speaker cables, nordost Tyr interconnect, tara labs 2 ex ism interconnect, mark levinson amplifier 532 h, parasound cd1. With the ear 868 and using telefunkins as tubes. The ear has a glorious midrange and the voices were great but it sounded like there was a glow in that area compared to the marantz. It was a great sounding glow but to me it's not realistic sounding. It has kind of a faux jump factor in the midrange. Its great for vocals but the Marantz sc7s2 does more in terms of long listening sessions with my quartet jazz. It won't wow you it just takes in what you feed it and gives you back sweet music that you can listen to for long extended periods. I used the marantz sc7s2 with the parasound cd1 and the Macintosh mcd301. The parsound was a great listen and is the better player out of the two in the ear 868 combination. However the Macintosh mcd301 sounded better on my marantz sc7s2 with the vovox cables and we tried some mit hd 50 RCA interconnects as well that sounded great. However in my system with the marantz the Macintosh mcd 301 sounded better than the marantz parasound cd1 combination. With the ear 868 the parasound cd1 was great it gave the music great organics and widened the soundstage. When we put the parasound cd 1 in with the ear 868. It easily beat the other player hands down. However on the Marantz sc7s2 the cd1 does not mate together well. So I left my friends house and I took the marantz home to try in my system. I use vienna acoustics beethoven baby grands symphony edition/ classe ca 2200 amplifier/ clarus crimson speaker cables/ vovox textura interconnects / tara labs 2 ex with ism on board/ oppo 95 CD player /marantz sc7s2 reference preamplifier. With this combination at home I had a 6 hour listening session with cecile mclorin salvant, Gerald Clayton, terra lynn carrinton, chris Botti live in boston and Miguel zenon. I got a great sound out of this combination the tara labs 2 ex gave it some separation and live feel with Great organic layering. The vovox gave it body and separation and extended the highs and fleshed out the midrange and voices more. It did not have the glow of the ear 868 but it was a pleasing sound that didn't just spotlight one area. You paid more attention to the musicians as opposed to the female vocals. I also got great performance out of the oppo 95 as my source. This oppo 95 player benefits greatly from great balanced interconnects and great power cords if you can add them. I used a cable from the uk from clearer audio called the silver line Optimus. The parasound cd 1 also sounded great but I liked the oppo 95 more in this system. The parasound cd 1 with the ear 868 in the other system hit home runs but in my home system using the marantz sc7s2 I was very happy with the oppo 95. I got a 6 hour listening session in so that tells you that you have some secret music sauce cooking to listen that long. In closing, the marantz sc7s2 is a keeper. Remember however, it's all about system matching. Some equipment and cables will sound better in other applications. It is all system dependent. Changing one major piece can change your whole sound. A different amp, pre amp, CD player or source and/or a speaker can change what you hear. Also look at your room acoustics, speaker placement and seating position. These are othe factors to consider. I hope this extensive review helps someone.