Controlled and extended bandwidth
If you could improve one thing about the sound of your audio system, what would it be? An expansive soundstage? High-frequency detail? Less glare? Warmth & richness?
TARA Labs cables are the perfect match for any audio system, regardless of the combination or complexity of the components you have. Does your “sound” need more detail, more air or a more expansive soundstage? Do you feel there is too much high-frequency glare, or that your sound lacks warmth? Our new Controlled Bandwidth and Extended Bandwidth cables will not only upgrade your sound but will also give you the perfect relationship between component and cable.
Controlled and Extended Bandwidth
TARA Labs is known as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-end audio cables. TARA Labs’ business model is built on both technological innovation and design. This philosophy has enabled TARA Labs to remain at the cutting edge of the high-end audio industry. With an eye toward continual manufacturing advances in audio components such as speakers and amplifiers, TARA Labs continues to lead the industry in developing new cutting-edge technologies. Our latest research and development has enabled us to create new reference-grade audio cables that work extremely well with many of the newly developed materials used in speakers, such as beryllium, titanium, Kevlar and ceramics, in addition to standard materials such as carbon fiber, fabrics, polypropylene and paper.
TARA Labs cables are categorized into two lines: Controlled Bandwidth and Extended Bandwidth. These two categories offer a wide range of reference-grade cables that will enable the audiophile to accommodate and upgrade the majority of the high-end audio components available today.
Controlled Bandwidth
The ISM™ OnBoard Series of cables employs the Controlled Bandwidth technology from TARA Labs. The ISM™ OnBoard Series presents a range of cables with more presence, midrange warmth and richness without sacrificing detail and high-frequency extension.
A common misconception is that the words “warmer” and “richer” may indicate a sound with smearing or coloration of the upper bass through midrange frequencies. This is not the case with any of TARA Labs’ cables. That sort of smooth or rolled-off sound is found most often with cables that employ filtering, such as the inductors and resistors found in network filter box designs. By contrast, the sonic signature of a TARA Labs cable is one that is more coherent and natural. The sound is often described as being lifelike with bloom and body.
The ISM™ OnBoard Series of cables is especially recommended for systems that have wide-bandwidth electronics (with limited filtering*), or with systems that use loudspeakers that have a tonal balance that emphasizes the high frequencies. In general, the ISM™ OnBoard Series (Controlled Bandwidth) is recommended for systems that are slightly etched sounding or overly detailed, perhaps with a sense of glare.
*Higher frequencies in the RF bandwidth, or electromagnetic interference (EMI), can easily be picked up by longer lengths of interconnect cable, especially those with low capacitance. Connecting this type of cable (especially single-ended) to high-powered solid-state amplification can sometimes be a problem with components that have limited filtering.
Controlled Bandwidth: the OnBoard capsule
The ISM™ OnBoard concept is unlike traditional shielding methods or filter networks. Even complex shielding methods still remain in proximity to the conductors, thereby distorting the audio signal. Filter networks in boxes at the ends of the cables often contain low-quality resistors, inductors and capacitors to perform the filtering. These reduce RFI/EMI in the cable itself by being soldered in series and parallel between the signal conductors. This alters the integrity of the signal, in particular the higher-order harmonic structure of the music.
In the ISM™ OnBoard system, RFI/EMI is dissipated and absorbed within the OnBoard capsule. This function occurs in isolation from the signal conductors.
The signal path is not cut and fitted with additional components. The OnBoard capsule is effective in eliminating the noise of RFI/EMI without the attendant high-frequency anomalies of filter networks.
Extended Bandwidth
Extended Bandwidth means that the cable’s construction takes advantage of electrical characteristics such as capacitance and inductance. For example, we can reduce the inductance of a simple conductor by changing its size, and in the case of a Rectangular Solid Core® conductor, the shape of the conductor itself reduces its inductance. By reducing the capacitance of an interconnect cable, we can extend the high-frequency detail. These factors, including a reduced dielectric construction, make the cable sound more open and neutral.
The Extended Bandwidth Series of cables is recommended for most audio systems. A very good example of the EX cable design philosophy is the Air Series of cables from TARA Labs. In most systems, the Extended Bandwidth cables deliver a sound that is more revealing, open, neutral and transparent.
Most audio electronics use filtering and do not amplify extremely high frequencies such as RF/EMI. The best loudspeaker systems are generally phase-coherent and do not sound forward, overly harsh or even bright. However, there are some combinations of audio electronics and loudspeakers that create strain or glare in the sound.
Extended Bandwidth with the HFX Floating Ground Station
The HFX Floating Ground Station is an extraordinary component that is included with all reference Extended Bandwidth interconnect cables. TARA Labs’ proprietary ground station is made of mil-spec aluminum alloy, whose specific metallurgical properties reduce EMI/RFI and electromechanical resonance. It’s 18.23% heavier and stronger than aircraft-grade stock. Equipped within the HFX station is a patented ceramic composite of metallic oxides and an amalgam of mineral elements in a ceramic binder called “Ceralex.” Because the HFX functions completely outside the signal path, it is able to dissipate EMI/RFI (electromagnetic interference & radio frequency interference) and eliminate its effects, which include sonic distortion, noise, “snow” and lack of image clarity. The appearance of the HFX station is one of beauty and elegance, in addition to its superb performance.
Wide-bandwidth audio cables for wide-bandwidth amplifiers
Generally speaking, most amplifiers have a controlled-bandwidth topology because their input circuitry is buffered or filtered. This is done to prevent amplification of EMI/RFI frequencies. Some wide-bandwidth amplifiers will sometimes oscillate beyond normal temperature guides due to an influx of EMI/RFI entering the component. In our continuous pursuit of symbiotic relationships with all audio system components, TARA Labs has now created extreme high-end audio cables specifically designed to work with wide-bandwidth amplifiers. Now available are the Zero Evolution SP and the Grandmaster Evolution SP interconnect cables.