Taralabs cables

Hi Sts, I agree!, +1, I enjoyed reading your site, you are a young company starting out, I believe you are on the right track, I remember when Tara lab's started out, it is difficult to compete, you are doing some nice thing's with the metal of conductor's, I would do R&D on RFI/EMI if I were you, one of my early post say's that I/Cs are essentially antennae's for RF singnal's,I posted 1-21-15,pm me some time, cheers.

Filter Network


Some cable products use boxes attached to the cables that contain low-pass filter networks to filter RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) from the audio cables. These should not be confused with the Isolated Shield Matrix® products. The differences in both function and effectiveness are significant.

A filter network removes RFI from the audio signal by filtering out or rolling off all high frequency energy above a certain range. This affects a great deal of high frequency information at the upper end of the musical spectrum. Furthermore, these filter networks are connected directly in the signal path. When the signal is interrupted and fed through these low-pass filter networks, the cable's electrical characteristics are changed to make a modified cable interface with limited and unnatural filter characteristics. The high frequency bandwidth is reduced. The audio band is affected also, as it is subjected by the filter network to rippling, and slower rise time (in the case of the Fourth-Order Bessel low-pass filter.) Furthermore, in a filter network RF inter-modulation has not been addressed properly because the heterodyning effect still affects the audio band. Additionally, the amplitude of the extreme high frequency harmonics of the music are filtered off, along with the RFI distortion, by generic capacitors and inductors in the filter network. The effects of a filter network are therefore subtractive, and ultimately color the original signal.

I thought I would post this because alot of thread's talk about RCA single ended and balanced cable's, it is my opinion that I can hear a clear difference with Tara Lab's cable's useing balanced,
Balanced Line


The IEEE dictionary defines a balanced circuit as "a circuit in which two branches are electrically alike and symmetrical with respect to a common reference point, usually ground." This is the essence of a balanced interconnect. Namely, that two lines are driven equally and oppositely with respect to ground. Normally this also implies that the receiving circuits have matching impedances. Exactly matching impedances is preferred for it provides the best common mode rejection. Balances lines are the preferred method (for hum free) interconnecting of sound systems using a shielded twisted-pair. Because of its superior noise immunity, balanced lines also find use in interconnecting data signals, e.g., RS-422, and digital audio, e.g., AES/EBU. The principal behind balanced lines is that the signal is transmitted over one wire and received back on another wire. The shield does not carry any information, thus it is free to function as a true shield, but must be earth grounded at each end to be successful. (For a detailed tutorial on proper grounding practices, see: RaneNote 110 Sound System Interconnection) [Long Answer: To understand why balanced lines are so successful, first examine a balanced, or differential (equivalent term) output stage, and then an input stage: A differential output stage simultaneously drives two lines, one positive and one negative. The voltage difference between these two wires is the audio signal. The two signals form an envelope that rides the wires to the balanced input stage. Note that the audio signal exists uniquely between these two lines -- not between them and ground. The complete circuit path travels down on the positive line and back on the negative line. Ground is not needed to transmit the signal -- this is the essence and power of balanced lines. Ground is used only for shielding and safety purposes. Conversely, an unbalanced line is one that transmits the audio signal between one wire and ground. The circuit path is down the wire and back through the shield cable connected to ground. Ground is the return path; the circuit does not work without it. A balanced (or differential) input stage extracts the difference between the two input lines, and that, of course, is the desired audio signal. It receives the envelope sent down the cable by the differential output. This circuit's shining virtue is its great noise rejection ability. It has what is called great common-mode rejection. The concept here relies on induced noise showing up equally (or common) on each wire. It is mainly due to EMI (electromagnetic interference: passing through or near magnetic fields), RFI (radio frequency interference: strong broadcast signals), noisy ground references, or a combination of all three. The best balanced line designs have exactly equal impedance from each line relative to ground, guaranteeing equal noise susceptibility. Since the balanced input stage amplifies only the difference between the lines, it rejects everything else (noise) that is common to the lines.]

Tara Lab's ISM on board-
ISM Onboard Capsule™


An advance in the technology that was applied in the design of The One™ and The 2™. The ISM OnBoard cables employ a capsule that is fitted directly to the cable. The ISM OnBoard capsule enables more effective control over RFI, as well as offering the advantages of a sleeker, more compact design and ease of connection.
Tara Lab's HFX, Grandmaster Duel mono block ground station, Air Evolution ground staion, all three of these ground station's are this technology,
Isolated Floating Shield™


This unique and proprietary shield design is central to the Isolated Shield Matrix®. Unlike conventional shields, which are connected to the cable at the load end, the Isolated Floating Shield floats at both ends. It is completely decoupled, both mechanically and electrically, from every component in the system, including the cables themselves.

This is an important distinction because it has a profound effect on lowering the amount of RF intermodulation that can be introduced into the system via the cables. TARA Labs' in-house testing shows that the best of conventional shield designs are not effective at preventing RF intermodulation. The Isolated Shield Matrix, with its floating shield, dramatically reduces RF intermodulation of the audio signal.

In a typical interconnect the shield may prevent a certain amount of RF from modulating the signal through the conductors. But the shield is not deflecting RF energy in the environment - it is actually being absorbed. That energy is then returned to the system through the chassis of the component because the shield is coupled to the connector at one or both ends. By floating the shield at both ends, the Isolated Floating Shield avoids this problem. Energy absorbed by the shield is then transferred directly to the Floating Ground Station.