do you know tara labs (i need advice)

[nusiclover]

does tara labs make better speaker cable or interconnects??? after this question, what else would you recommend?
thanks for your posts.

[mtrycraft]

does tara labs make better speaker cable or interconnects??? after this question, what else would you recommend?
thanks for your posts.

They are both expensive, too expensive.

Speaker cable from Home Depot, 12ga about $.30/ft, or 12ga landscape wire for even less.
Radio Shack has interconnects, or WalMart, Target, your local electronics store, etc, even on line at partsexpress.com

[paul_pci]

does tara labs make better speaker cable or interconnects??? after this question, what else would you recommend?
thanks for your posts.

I have both Tara speaker cables (Omni) and audio interconnects and a couple of their component video cables. I'm not a Tara fanatic, my local dealer sells them and I think they make quality cables across the entire price spectrum. I like the Omni speaker cable ($1.50/ft), but the wire is really hard and pretty impossible to terminate. I like Tara because I feel that the company is unpretentious and they will not try to sell you a better cable than you need. If you flip through their product catalog they break down their product line from cables to replace "out of the box" cables all the way up to insanely expensive cables for super high end systems. A friend of mine bought a pair of Tara interconnects for only $20/m which is cheaper than most Monster cables, and she's happy with them.


P. S. Mtrycraft: You can buy a hamburger at McDonalds for real cheap. So what?

[mtrycraft]

I have both Tara speaker cables (Omni) and audio interconnects and a couple of their component video cables. I'm not a Tara fanatic, my local dealer sells them and I think they make quality cables across the entire price spectrum. I like the Omni speaker cable ($1.50/ft), but the wire is really hard and pretty impossible to terminate. I like Tara because I feel that the company is unpretentious and they will not try to sell you a better cable than you need. If you flip through their product catalog they break down their product line from cables to replace "out of the box" cables all the way up to insanely expensive cables for super high end systems. A friend of mine bought a pair of Tara interconnects for only $20/m which is cheaper than most Monster cables, and she's happy with them.


P. S. Mtrycraft: You can buy a hamburger at McDonalds for real cheap. So what?

Ah, but this isn't a hamburger, is it? I bet you could differentiate hamburger differences from different fast food chains, DBT. Consumers Reports tests them periodically. That is how they do it with expert tasters and tell differences under controlled conditions.
I have yet to see evidence for cable differences.
So, Tara labs just caters to the audiophiles gullibility, period. Not selling more of a cable than one needs is just marketing gimmick, slick.
There is no need for more than 1 cable, speaker interconnect, etc. Tara has a whole line. Hence, they are marketeers, selling what the market bears.

[nusiclover]

ok ok- wait a minute now!
are you saying that jps labs is nothing better than home depot?
are you saying that there are NO differences between different cable manufactures, so long as they are 10 gauge?!?!?
wow, if you are then thats saying a lot.

[paul_pci]

Of course hamburgers are not cables, but it was the only smart ass thing I could think of at the moment.

We're not going to change each other's minds about this, so the only response that I have is that calling Tara's wide ranging product line a marketing gimmick is more cynical than I'd like to get, and I love being cynical. I just can't imagine that Audioquest or Nordost or Cardas, etc. would ever make a conscientious move toward matching their product line with the varying quality of a consumers system. Perhaps I'm not getting enough oxygen on a regular basis ( I do live in LA after all), but I think Audioquest, for instance, would have no qualms selling their multi-thousand dollar speaker wire to anyone who steps up to the plate. I have spent a lot ot time on audio cable websites, and virtually no cable manufacturer, save Tara, organizes their product line to system needs. The only break down is price, leaving consumers either choosing by pretty cable colors, the techno cable mumbo jumbo, or what they are willing to throw down for a cable. The origianl poster of this thread inquired about Tara Labs and he could easily go through their product catalog and say, well my system isn't that high end, so I'll just buy this particular cable which won't be overkill for his particular system. Now, if said consumer were to turn to Audioquest, MIT, Cardas, there's no hope of sorting through the product line, save for a budget limit which may still produce overkill in the purchase.

What you call a gimmick I call a step in the right direction. I admit that I buy into a certain amount of the cable hype but there is a point where I abandon ship. Nevertheless, there's something about Tara Labs way about their business that I respect.

[mtrycraft]

We're not going to change each other's minds about this,

Well, I can based on credible evidence.


I admit that I buy into a certain amount of the cable hype

That explains a lot.

[/b] but there is a point where I abandon ship.[/b]


So, now we are quibbling about where?

Nevertheless, there's something about Tara Labs way about their business that I respect.

It is a business to sell, sell, and sell more, whatever it takes. They have a business marketing agenda a bit different form the others perhaps but it is there non the less. Otehrwise, they would be like Home Depot.

[mtrycraft]

ok ok- wait a minute now!
are you saying that jps labs is nothing better than home depot?
are you saying that there are NO differences between different cable manufactures, so long as they are 10 gauge?!?!?
wow, if you are then thats saying a lot.

Well, if the wire gauges are indeed equivalents, doesn't have to be the same gauge, 12 ga is equivalent to 14 or 16 ga, then there is no audible differences that anyone has yet been able to detect under bias controlled conditions. ]

But, if you have credible evidence that you can detect audible differences, please cite it, or anyone with this ability.
Yes, that is saying a lot, indeed. And, lots of $$$ has been offered in the past to anyone who could demonstrate such skills.

[okiemax]

Well, if the wire gauges are indeed equivalents, doesn't have to be the same gauge, 12 ga is equivalent to 14 or 16 ga, then there is no audible differences that anyone has yet been able to detect under bias controlled conditions. ]

But, if you have credible evidence that you can detect audible differences, please cite it, or anyone with this ability.
Yes, that is saying a lot, indeed. And, lots of $$$ has been offered in the past to anyone who could demonstrate such skills.

I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think an offer means much unless it is presented in a way that makes it's acceptance a legally binding contract or agreement. It would be interesting to study the details of a documented offer to pay money to an individual who hears a difference between two cables in a scientific test. Can you post a copy of such an offer?

[junkeroos]

does tara labs make better speaker cable or interconnects??? after this question, what else would you recommend?
thanks for your posts.

Check this speaker cables survey from The Absolute Sound. The Tara Labs review is in part 1 of the survey so you may have to look for that one in their back issues. This link is the 2nd part which includes Acoustic Zen, Audioquest, DH Labs, Nordost and Home Depot wires among others:

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/news...e_survey2.html

Their reference speaker cable is the ultra expensive Nordost Blue Heaven. In this, roundup however, there is no clear winner but some stood out more than others and have particular strengths. Their conclusion states that price is no indication of performance.

[pctower]

Check this speaker cables survey from The Absolute Sound. The Tara Labs review is in part 1 of the survey so you may have to look for that one in their back issues. This link is the 2nd part which includes Acoustic Zen, Audioquest, DH Labs, Nordost and Home Depot wires among others:

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/news...e_survey2.html

Their reference speaker cable is the ultra expensive Nordost Blue Heaven. In this, roundup however, there is no clear winner but some stood out more than others and have particular strengths. Their conclusion states that price is no indication of performance.

The methodology (or lack thereof) will drive many here nuts - perhaps rightly so.

But these quotes ought to warm the brains (not "hearts" as that kind of talk isn't permitted around here) of some:

"If you still think I’m kidding, know that Tony Faulkner—engineer of about a third of the best-sounding orchestral recordings of the last twenty years—used the Black-and-Decker equivalent [Home Depot outdoor extension cord] to hook up his Quad 989s at the recent Heathrow Show in England—“They are made from good, thick copper wire, look nice and sound good to me”—and that the designer of what is by provable standards one of the half dozen or so most accurate loudspeakers ever made uses and recommends it all the time."

"I also concur that the AudioQuest is a fine value, but the obvious top honors for value go to Home Depot’s outdoor extension cords: They won’t give you any bragging rights among certain audiophiles, but they’ll sure save you a bundle at very little sacrifice in performance."

Gee mtrycrafts, you've been close all along - you just never made it over to the proper section of Home Depot. Guess you don't do much outside gardening.

[mtrycraft]

Gee mtrycrafts, you've been close all along - you just never made it over to the proper section of Home Depot. Guess you don't do much outside gardening.

Oh, but I do, a lot I have recommended that more and more; it has escaped my memory. Maybe that is what I will do from now on except some may not like the plain black jacket