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Tara Labs ISM OnBoard Digital 75, Part 8

Posted by Luminator on January 13, 2021 at 21:53:03:
Every 2-3 weeks, an audiophile will suggest or request more information and stories about Hawaii. The vast majority of my relatives still lives in Hawaii. Until college, I lived each summer in Honolulu. So, Hawaii is my second home.

In summer 1987, after my sophomore year of high school, I took a couple classes at Punahou. One Friday after school, I went with a classmate from the Creative Writing class, to the Bose store, then on Kapiolani. We then walked to Ala Moana shopping center. At the Shirokiya, we were in the electronics section. On a TV up on a column, MTV played Swing Out Sister's "Twilight World."

After that, we walked to the Tower Records, then located near Keeaumoku. There, I bought the Swing Out Sister It's Better To Travel CD.

In late August '87, my mom's side had a big gathering at The Pagoda. Sony D-10 Discman and SOS CD in tote, I sat near the waterfall. With that yellow early evening sun, it felt like this was going to last forever, or at least be the new status quo.

In terms of digital transmission, we thought it'd be optical. In fact, between CD or Laserdisc players and a DAC, we were more familiar with optical Toslink, versus RCA or XLR coax. Which brings us back to Tara Labs' ISM digital cables. In the early-2000s, I bought The One Digital, and added a full-sized Digital Grounding Station. Those now reside with relatives in Hawaii. Presently, the ISM OnBoard Digital 75 is taking up residence in my (Bay Area) home.

If you get away from urban Honolulu, Oahu's streams can be clean. This photo makes my cousin appear to be standing atop a waterfall. No, the water is shallow, and the drop-off is only about 2'. The fresh water is neither hot nor cold.

In terms of image focus, the California Audio Labs Delta gets better, as it goes from bass to treble. The Delta does not give you wide-open, breathtaking soundscapes. Thus, it is like the photo above, of my cousin in the stream, and you do not see the banks and the riparian habitat. The ISM OnBoard Digital 75 is like clean water, making other digital cables the equivalent of polluted and/or stagnant water.

Growing up in Honolulu, I took poke for granted. It was always ubiquitous and abundant. They used all sorts of seafood, besides ahi. They had a wide variety of garnishes and marinades, as well. At home in the Bay Area, poke is a 21st century introduction. And it's really only ahi with shoyu.

Holy cow! The ISM OnBoard Digital 75 reveals that internet radio MP3 does not universally all sound poor. There's actually great variability in sound quality, from the wretched, to "okay for background music," to "Hey that's quite good."

As you go from station to station, podcast to podcast, the ISM OnBoard Digital brings out whatever the bits can provide. It's like going back to Hawaii, and having a wide variety of poke to choose from. They are all different, and some are better than others.

-Lummy The Loch Monster