Tara Labs The One Speaker Cable

10 Foot Speaker Cables with Spades in original box and fancy black bag
Since their founding in 1986, TARA Labs (an acronym for “The Absolute Reference Audio”) has been in the innovative forefront of research and development in the field of audio cable design and manufacture. The cables under review here, TARA Labs “The One” speaker cables, ISM Onboard 0.8 interconnects (“0.8”) and ISM Onboard 0.8 XLR digital cables come in one step below the top of the line “The Zero” audio cables in TARA Labs’ complete product line. These cables all feature TARA Labs’ most recent proprietary technologies, including a conductor material called “Super Annealed Oxygen-Free Eight Nines Copper.” This solid core conductor material is composed of unbroken monocrystal structures that are said to achieve a smoother transfer of frequencies over a wide bandwidth. This conductor material is designed with a unique rectangular cross section pattern (“Rectangular Solid Core”, or “RSC”) claimed to achieve maximum frequency linearity. TARA Labs then places this RSC conductor material within a Teflon Air tube, utilizing air as dielectric. Finally, all of these cables incorporate TARA Labs latest “ISM Onboard” technology. This technology combines shielding techniques with the placement of an unobtrusive capsule directly on the surface of the cables (away from the signal path) that serves to absorb and ground Radio Frequency and Electromagnetic Interference (“RF/EMI”).
This cable line from TARA Labs is special indeed. Like the Nordost Tyr line, it stands at the pinnacle of the best cabling that I have heard in my system to date, albeit with different refinements than the Tyr offers. I have not auditioned the lower priced cabling in the TARA line, but if they possess a good slice of the sonic gifts of these higher priced cables, I would definitely recommend them too for an audition in a mid priced or entry level system. For those most fortunate to have a truly reference caliber system, and looking to get it to another level of “that’s it!” organic solidity, soundstage layering and ambient spaciousness, these TARA Labs reference cables are among the finest I have heard. I will be keeping the 0.8 interconnects as my new references in my system. They, like TARA Labs The One speaker cables and 0.8 digital cable, have that special gift of refining the “soft spoken purple” tones of an instrument like Kashkashian’s viola so that it fuels our passion for listening even more. I can think of no better compliment!