Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Tara Labs The One speaker cable Cable by Keith

Model:	The One speaker cable
Category:	Cable
Suggested Retail Price:	$3900 / 6-ft
Description:	Tara Lab's supposed reference "ISM" cable
Manufacturer URL:	Tara Labs
Model Picture:	View

Review by Keith on February 17, 2002 at 00:43:48
IP Address: 216.175.80.44

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for the The One speaker cable

Prequel:
A few years ago, I walked into Innovative Audio of NYC to audition the Sonus Faber Signums. They had spent a good amount of time setting up the room acoustics beforehand -- and I have never heard such wonderful balance in a system. Every female vocal, orchestra, or pop that I threw at it sounded wonderful, and at the time, I marvelled at having found a pair of speakers that can work well even with such a high end system. They were at the end of a combination of Mark Levinson digital separates, leading into a BAT VK-50SE, a BAT VK-60, all wired with Tara The Ones.
At the current time:
That system was enough to convince me to buy the Signums, but alas, I do not have the same matching components, nor the same room. Believing that the rest of my components far outweigh my speaker cables, I've tried many different potential "upgrades", and found that nothing has blown me away. I was looking for that cable that would bring me a magical sense of realism through a more natural-sounding openness and quietness. What would make more sense than to try the actual cables that were in that wonderful system I heard years ago?
These cables have been well-used by my local dealer, and within minutes they replaced my $100 cables. To cut to the chase, well, I didn't fall out of my chair in eargasmic bliss. I must admit I have been quite happy with my system for some time, and have moved away from active listening in the past year towards just enjoying the music. To go back to actually sitting still and actively listening, even with the fortune of playing with such expensive cables, takes effort!
Jewel rapped off her guitar and drums in my first test track, and certainly these cables have speed. Wait, did I notice the separate percussion hits were more distinct? Well, not a night and day difference, but certainly her voice seemed a lot more recessed, like there is more echoing in the voice. The fade-outs certainly do last quite long, but not significantly any more "into absolute blackness" compared to my cables either... hmmmm.... so where's this ISM magic I was expecting?
Microdynamics seem to be slightly more present, but again, it was not a significant improvement over the DH Labs. I could hear a bit more vibrato and verrrrry faint brushings on cymbals that I have not heard before. So a slight improvement in low-level details was noticed. Instruments seem to fade in and out a bit more, making the entire presentation somewhat more showy. Strings seemed more legato, attacks on precussions seemed sharper.
The largest difference was really in the lower mids and bass. Those notes seem quite a bit more defined, and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique had more weight and coherence, as if it fleshed out the balance on the lower end of the tonal range. It was quite natural sounding... the overall picture did not seem to call particular attention to any one aspect, and the musical meaning continued to come through the rhythm and pace.
I also noticed on certain tracks that where the DHLabs might have been edgy, these cables did not seem as aggressive. More relaxed? Maybe only slightly, and certainly not sluggish.
By the way, they're quite thick. About 1" in diameter. But the ends are smaller than the rest of the length, and more flexible. Don't expect them to wind around a lot of junk, however.
So, in the end, what did I learn? Was it worth it?
1) Surprisingly, going from a sub $200 cable to a $4000 cable did not make or break my system. That means A) the DHLabs are freakin' good for the price, and B) perhaps my system is not good enough to show the true value of these cables. I don't think my system is low-resolution by any means; but compared to when I was just starting out a few years ago, the hobby is no longer as simple as just plugging in any "higher-end" gear and nearly always expecting that there will be dramatic improvements compared to my starter stuff (ah, such is the joys of this hobby).
2) As for the improvements on the lows, the details, the microdynamics... sure, it made a change. Perhaps more a sideways change than a vertical one because, honestly, I can live without it . The change did not blow me away. It is known that the DHLabs are not known for their bass performance.
3) Let's see, for the cost of a kidney, what else could I do to get the natural sound that I want? $4k allows the purchase of some pretty damn high-end tube preamps or power amps. Which, I would dare say, in my system, would probably be a lot more effective.
Oh well. I guess these were not the ones.

Product Weakness: Mad expensive.
Product Strengths: Ummm... sounds like quite a good cable. All the usual doo-daas, no glaring flaws. Would probably work very well in some systems.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	VTL Tiny Triode limited edition monoblocks (triode mode)
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	FT Audio LW-1 passive preamp
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	CAL Delta / Alpha tubed front-end
Speakers:	Sonus Faber Signums
Cables/Interconnects:	NBS Mine/Serpent-II, DH Labs T-14s
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	all sorts
Room Size (LxWxH):	14 x 16 x 9
Room Comments/Treatments:	Quite responsive, limited loading capabilities
Time Period/Length of Audition:	4 hours
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Chang 6400
Type of Audition/Review:	Home Audition

Product Weakness:	Mad expensive.
Product Strengths:	Ummm... sounds like quite a good cable. All the usual doo-daas, no glaring flaws. Would probably work very well in some systems.