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Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Tara Labs The 2 line-level interconnect Cable by Luminator

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REVIEW: Tara Labs The 2 line-level interconnect Cable Review by Luminator at Audio Asylum

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Tara Labs’ The One and Air 1 cables have garnered their fair share of attention at their respective price points. The One cables are demonstrably superior to the Air series cables, but the former cost roughly three times as much as the latter. So what if you like and want The One’s performance, but can’t afford its hefty price? Is there anything in between worth investigating? What about Tara Labs’ The 2? Does it come close to the performance of The One? Is it any improvement over the Air 1?

While I have tried The 2 speaker cables, both the single-wire and internally bi-wired versions, I do not have enough experience with them versus other comparable cables to write a worthwhile or meaningful review. Sorry, speaker cable fans, I will have to put you on hold for now.

I have had extensive experience with Tara Labs’ The 2 interconnects, both balanced and single-ended. Current production The 2 interconnects now come with either an online ISM module, or an external Solo Analog Ground Station. These are included in the new and higher prices. Prior to this, customers had to purchase the Ground Station separately. So no, Tara Labs isn’t ripping off its customers with the new price schedule.

I am vehemently opposed to black-colored stereo gear. So I was pleasantly surprised, when Tara Labs heeded my request and made my cables with a clear/white outer jacket. Not only that, but one of the production engineers said that there is no sonic difference between the colors of Teflon. I appreciate that honesty. To top it off, Tara Labs did not charge extra, even though making up cables with custom colors is an added expense. Bravo, Tara Labs! Mark Levinson (Madrigal), are you listening?

It’s nice to know that, if you are going to spend the small fortune that these products cost, you can at least get them in the color of your choice. If you are fine with the stock black jacket, I will say that it is a pretty shade of black. The lighter internal colors do shine through the black mesh, so the cable isn’t completely black. Overall, it turns into a shiny pewter color. I wish my work clothes were that sharp!

If you have the older version, for which you need to purchase the Floating Ground Station separately, use caution. The Solo Analog Ground Station ($400) is, in my experience, a small improvement over the Chassis Ground Station that comes with the interconnect. Much better is the Analog Floating Ground Station (AFGS, $600), which is over twice the size of the Solo. However, if you connect two ISM cables to the AFGS, the sound noticeably deteriorates, becoming less clean and precise. If you have two ISM series cables, you’re better off with two Solos versus one AFGS. Of course, if you have the cash, go all out and get one AFGS for each ISM interconnect you own.

Keep in mind that the Ground Stations can be used as weights on top of components. Used for this purpose, the larger mass of the AFGS (over the Solo) makes it superior for resonance control. Once I used an AFGS on top of my McCormack MID, the MID did not need the VPI Magic Brick. I then was free to move the Magic Brick to the video switcher. But the point is, not only is the AFGS effective at EMI and RFI suppression, it makes a good vibration-control weight.

Likewise, the AFGS can be locked into a Tara Labs Docking Station ($400). The Docking Station is the same size as the Isolated Shield Plate ($300). The Docking Station comes with three cones instead of rubber feet. And the docking station has grooves to accommodate four Floating Ground Stations. I tried a loaded Docking Station on top of a variety of components. I find that most weights on top of components literally weigh the component down. The sound becomes slower, more ponderous. Treble is robbed of air, vibrancy, and extension. Transparency is reduced. Happily, a loaded Docking Station does not exhibit these sonically deleterious effects.

If you want to go all out, you can add Monoblock Ground Stations (MGS, $1100/pair) to the receiving end of ISM series cables. Think of the MGS as two AFGSes. I did not find the MGS all that cost-effective. I’d peg its performance as better than a Solo, but not quite as good as an AFGS. Given the cost of the MGS, I would only recommend them to those who own The One interconnects.

I have access to a broad variety of gear. I have never been overly impressed with balanced (XLR) operation, at least for general home use. I compared balanced and single-ended versions of The 2, and I was more impressed with the single-ended samples. My audio buddies and I can not entirely blame The 2; we have experienced this with other brands of cables. Still, when comparing the balanced versus single-ended Mark Levinson and Sonic Frontiers gear, we found the balanced operation to be a touch bland. Is this an indictment of The 2 and the other cables we tried? I think not, but it warrants further attention. I would like to get feedback from other inmates, regarding balanced versus single-ended operation.

Especially in longer lengths, The 2 and ISM-3 cost pretty much the same. They sound very similar, but in long-term observations, The 2 is smoother, with better-defined imaging. So The 2 sounds less jittery, compared to the ISM-3. This makes The 2 a more neutral cable, which will show up when you use it with a variety of equipment, or with the same components over a period of several months.

Used with top-notch gear, The 2 will make the otherwise excellent Air 1 sound broken. As you climb the ladder, the Air 1 sounds opaque, confused, and restricted. In absolute terms, the difference between The 2 and Air 1 is small. But musically, the difference is significant and of supreme importance. When you go from Air 1 to The 2, you might not notice anything. But when you go down from The 2 to Air 1, all of sudden, the music loses its flow, and you can’t see through the soundstage as clearly. Little details are smeared, obscured, or lost.

Alas, The One is superior in every parameter. The first thing I notice is an increase in transparency. I can see through each recording, and marvel at the clear boundaries where the music exists, starts, and stops. The images themselves are clear, focused, and unambiguous. If the recording is muddy, like Sting’s “Brand New Day,” you know it, but you are still able to see where the producer and engineers screwed up or added too much processing. The compression on drums is noticeable, but you are still able to discern the character of each one. The snare on Billy Joel’s “Innocent Man” is blunted, but you can hear the decay of the notes. And then you wake up, when the clap-clap of “Uptown Girl” picks you off your seat. On The 2, these subtle flavors are slightly homogenized, regressing toward a mean.

The One is amazingly neutral through the treble. The 2 seems ever so slightly restrained, just a touch lazy. When you first hear this effect on hyped-up recordings, you may find it pleasant. But if you perform long-term comparisons with The One, you realize that The 2 is not strictly neutral and honest. So a tiny amount of cymbals’ and triangles’ burnished tone, zest, brilliant sparkle, zing, and bite are lost.

So The 2 gives up a little compared to the top-notch The One. Neither does The 2 have the suave sophistication and refinement of XLO’s Limited Edition, or the 3-D life-sized images of MIT’s Shotgun cables, or the effortless dynamics of Synergistic Research’s top-of-the-line cables. But compared to those in and below its price class, The 2 is an honest, neutral, hard-working cable. The 2 may not be a world-class defenseman like Al MacInnis, Ray Bourque, or Scott Stevens. Rather, The 2 is more like a Marcus Ragnarsson, Bret Hedican, or Teppo Numminen.

Used between preamp and power amp, The 2 will allow you to hear changes made upstream. You may feel that The 2, when used between tuner and preamp, is all you need. You will appreciate The 2’s quiet landscapes and freedom from noise, when it is used between phono stage and preamp. Used between digital gear and preamps, The 2’s lack of bass boom and upper midrange nasties allows for long-term listening pleasure. If you are into parties, you can use The 2 on affordable CD players like the Musical Fidelity A3CD, Creek CD43MK2, Sony SCD-333ES, and Rega Planet 2000, and let ‘er rip! Especially compared to “True Blue,” Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” can sound thin and sharp. The 2 reveals this, but will not exacerbate it. The Vengaboys’ “Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom,” is a good test for mid to upper bass boom. So what a relief it is for The 2 not to add any more boom to this party track. Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” does not melt into a garbled mess. And The 2 does not prevent Metallica from belting out “Ain’t My Bitch.”

The 2 is definitely more honest and less colored than the lower-priced competition. No, The 2 is not as revealing and neutral as the massively expensive, top-of-the-line cables. But if, like the rest of us, you can’t afford those top-of-the-line beasts, you may consider The 2 interconnect as the next best thing.


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Topic - REVIEW: Tara Labs The 2 line-level interconnect Cable Review by Luminator at Audio Asylum - Luminator 15:29:48 05/8/01 ( 7)