TARA LABS TL2-/14
Speaker cables
When I swapped my reference wires for the TL-2/14 I was surprised at how clean the sound was. The background noise, or better, the electronic hash in the background, was vacuum cleaned. Such a canvas was perfect for the TARA Labs to start painting their sonic pictures.
Funkce a forma
TARA Labs uses proprietary extruded air-tubes inside their cables which eliminates the need for the typical dielectric construction in a typical cable. Using hollow channels along the inner wall of the main air-tube, the positive and negative conductors are isolated from each other with absolutely minimal dielectric absorption and coloration of the audio signal. Due to the absence of typical dielectric or insulation construction in the cable, the result is an extremely open and revealing cable product, able to transfer subtle detail and ambient information without distortion or coloration. So says the manufacturer.
The TL-2/14 speaker cable features 2x7 SA-OF8N solid core copper conductors individually encapsulated in polyethylene (Stable Valence Polyethylene or SVPA as TARA Labs calls it). It is quite thin and lightweight in fact, easy to manipulate and bend. The review sample was terminated with bananas which made good connections to my Bowers & Wilkins 802 Diamond’s terminals.
Nízké frekvence
I liked the exciting lower bass to midbass where instruments like electric bass guitar, kick drum or timpani have their fundamentals – it was contoured and full of energy, something that is rare in this price category. For example, the timpani gallop in Saint-Saens Samson and Dalilah (Eiji Oue and Minnesota Orchestra, Exotic Dances from Opera, Reference Recordings) was fast, impactful and perfectly delineated to the extent I could hear individual strokes of the mallet on drums skins.
Čistota rozlišení
The mids were tonally brilliant and seamlessly extended to pure and soaring highs. Triangles, flutes or blazing horns had both romanticism and bite, both emotions and technical perfection. Initially, there was a sense of hardness on the top of the frequency spectrum, yet this hardness had got refined with ongoing burn-in.
Tonální věrnost
I was blown with the soundstage that was rendered by the cheap TARA Labs cables. Realistically proportioned, with width and depth without any restrictions, totally fluid in its expanding wholeness – simply breathtaking in this category of products.
Prostorovost
So far it looks like the biggest bang for the buck ever, so where is the hook? Well, measured by the most critical standards, the TL-2/14 will not provide you with low bass and lacks the texture and micro-dimensionality. The cables are on the fast and light side of universe and did not manage to get deeper under the music’s skin. As the result, Fadia El-Hage’s voice was just a voice what hovered in my listening room, I missed the real person, the origin of the voice, the flesh. Similarly, the triangle in Marouf, Cobbler of Cairo was extended and pure, surrounded by airy ambience, yet it did not sound, it did not ring and resonate.
Doporučení prodejci
Gaia Connections, Praha, tel. +420 286 885 599
Web výrobce: http://www.taralabs.com
Připojené komponenty
- Sources: Van Medevoort CD transport CT460 and DAC DA466, Accuphase DP-78, Accuphase DP-700
- Amplifiers: Van Medevoort PSQ/CAQ/PAQs, Accuphase A-70
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Krautwire Fractal, Nordost Valhalla V2, Cardas Clear, Audioquest Wild, Audioquest Redwood, Actinote Sonata
- Loudspeakers: Bowers & Wilkins 802 Diamond, Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento
- Power conditioning: Nordost Thor (modified)
ANALYSIS PLUS Oval 9
I was impressed by the Analysis Plus’ proprietary solid bulk of pure copper – and gold plated – spades. They are really made from a billet of metal and milled into the shape - the mass of the single spade equals the mass of a fistful ...
Doporučení prodejci
Audiostudio s.r.o., Olomouc, tel. +420 608 752 475
ANALYSIS PLUS Silver Oval 2
Everytime the Silver Oval 2 returned to my system it reminded me of the immediacy of a live performance. Johnny Cash’s vocal was very emotional and communicative, it created a strong emotional link between the music and the listener. ...
Doporučení prodejci
Audiostudio s.r.o., Olomouc, tel. +420 608 752 475
ATOHM ZEF
Well, from a distance of 3 meters the ZEF looks like an ordinary white twin-wire. If you take a closer look it still keeps looking like the ordinary white twin-wire. There was simply nothing to indicate that the ZEFs would be such ...
Doporučení prodejci
Nisel SK, Bratislava, tel. +421 905 203 078
AUDIOQUEST CV-4
There is one thing that is common for both the CV-4 and the Rocket 33: the complex perception of a music and analog feel to it. The CV-4 is more mature, however, and the listener hears it.
Doporučení prodejci
AQ s.r.o., Červenka, tel. +420 585 342 232
AUDIOQUEST Dragon Zero | Bass BiWire
Supernatural silence. I mean the blacker than black canvas for music, as if the Dragon Zero | Bass was devouring the light. The digital zero is the first day of creation, one can hear molecules splitting in the empty space. Still, ...
Doporučení prodejci
AQ s.r.o., Červenka, tel. +420 585 342 232
AUDIOQUEST Redwood
Every great cable I had in my system before the Redwood has a certain feature that made it different from another – a certain quality that made it perfect match for one system and mismatch for another. In this context the Redwood ...
Doporučení prodejci
AQ s.r.o., Červenka, tel. +420 585 342 232
AUDIOQUEST Rocket 33
I have to say that I did not expect such a good performer in this price level. When I talked to Joe Harley of Audioquest this spring he kept assuring that the philosophy of Audioquest is to do as less harm as possible to a music ...
Doporučení prodejci
AQ s.r.o., Červenka, tel. +420 585 342 232