Well balanced, open and musical sounding

The cost (hence the 4 stars for value rating)

Last month I upgraded my old speakers to Newform Research R630's and I was needing a speaker cable made for bi-wiring and thought perhaps I should also upgrade my old Audioquest Type 6 speaker cable which had served me well for the past 13 years. My local HI FI retail outlet loaned me 3 pairs of 10' demo speaker cables. The first was AudioQuest(AQ) type 6+, the second type was AQ Indigo, and third contender and highly recommended by the dealer, was Tara Labs RSC Prime 1000.
At Canadian prices of 6, 10, and 16 dollars per foot respectively, I was sceptical that a cable for $16/ft could be justified for an audiophile of limited means as myself.

I took the cables home and started with my original set, then on to the AQ 6+. I heard a slight improvement. Then on to the Indigo...still another slight improvement. Then the RSC 1000....well now the sound improvement leapfrogged into a different league altogether. The tonal balance was a perfect match for my audio system. The bass guitars started sounding tight and defined like I've never heard before. The vocals sounded richer and revealed subtle nuances not as apparent with the other cables. The stereo image was awesome with instruments and vocals precisely placed within the soundstage that provided an truly engaging and realistic performance.

I could go on and on, but to cut to the chase, I was hooked on the sound of these cables. There was no going back to the other contenders. I had to have the RSC 1000's, even if it meant biting the bullet and eating more macaroni & cheese for the next few months to justify the expense…. it's a good thing for me I like Kraft Dinner.

Similar Products Used:

AudioQuest Type 6+

Uncolored sounding.

Could be a bit faster

I have to say that this cable is very natural and uncolored sounding. The control of the highs and bass is just superb, and the mids flow beautifully. Every bit of frequency just sound smooth and silky on this pair of cable.

Excellent soundstage and imaging, clear highs and mids, and accurate bass.

None yet discovered

These cables are truly excellent, and a great bank for the buck. The minute I hooked these cables up, I noticed a marked sonic improvement across the spectrum - highs were clear and sharp, mid-range was accurate, and the bass was deep and resonate.

I have seen some of the reviews above about the Analysis Plus, but, having auditioned them previously, was unimpressed. They were decent cables, but not of the same quality as Tara. You will not go wrong with these cables.

Similar Products Used:

MIT T2s, Audioquest Type 4, Analysis Plus.

Smooth sound, little of its own character

None

Smooth sounding bi-wire cable. My first reaction was that there was just more sound, not more character, but more to listen to. I then began to notice how it smoothed out the sound while separating the instruments some.

Most of what I address applies to the upper bass through the highs. I have a room problem that keeps me from commenting too much on the low bass, other than to say it was improved over the kimber. I've recently changed amps a couple of times, and the Prime 1000 cable always seemed to be strong, capable of revealing the different amp sounds, and giving me the feeling it was holding up its part of the bargain. One of the amps had very high detail, but was a bit lean, the other was a bit warmer, with slightly less detail. The Tara Lab Prime 1000 seemed to handle both of them equally well.

I can certainly recommend the cable for the mid-fi stuff I have, and the others equipment I've heard. There is a lot of good cable out there, this is certainly one of them. I've no mind to change. Its cool looking, too, big and thick and meanin' business.

Definitely worth checking out, particularly, I'd guess, if you've got some sound smoothing to do.

Equuipment: McCormack, Wadia, JM Lab, Black Diamond Racing Cones, Toshiba DVD, Mitsubishi TV, Kimber interconnects.

Similar Products Used:

Kimber 4VS

Very smooth detailed, but not harsh

I have used this cable for about 4 months now and I am very satisfied with the performance. The cable is very smooth and give oustanding midbass. I bought these after finding that the Bettercables that I were using were too harsh with the upper frequencies. Immediatedly I heard all the harshness go away with the Taras, and that was without break in. The cables needed a good 100 hours before the cables completely broke in. THe build quality was very good. I had mine bi-wired terminated with bananas in 12' length.

Similar Products Used:

Monster , BetterCables, Generic

transparent sound, quite detailed, thick and well built

not very flexible

I had em custom made from a local dealer; the price above includes termination and the cost of the bananas.

my system:
Yamaha CDC 775
Prism 55 interconnects
NAD C350
Prime 1000
Paradigm Studio/40 v2
Mirage ss1500 subwoofer

I originally had these going into Monitor 7s. I must say that they did make a difference from what the Goertz wire provided. The bottom end was cleaner, distinct, and tighter. The midrange really opened up and came forward a bit, adding to the aggressiveness of the Paradigm sound. The upper end is sweet, without any harshness.

I then upgraded the speakers to the Studio/40. A definite winner. Just for fun, I connected them with generic wire during the break in period. After two weeks of waiting I put back the Prime 1000. Wow. The music is effortless. Everything just seems to flow from the speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Goertz HT, generic copper cable

Clarity, smooth mid-range, firm bass.high quality construction.

none so far

Excellent sound quality, crystal clear highs, natural mids, espicially human voices, firm solid bass(not exagerated like some cables I auditioned).Combined with the TARA interconnects I have an excellent sounding system.Highly recommended.
My system:
Rogue 99 Pre-amp
Rogue Mag. 88 Power-amp
Adcom 750 CD Player
Rega P2 TT w/ Dynavector 10x4 Cart.
Paradigm Ref.60 v2 Speakers

Similar Products Used:

TARA Labs REF. GEN 2 and RSC AIR 2 interconnects.

the best cable i had(note had)ever listened to.

flat everything compared to cable listed below

This isa follow up review to the one i wrote last month. i thought andrew was crazy because the tara rsc prime 1000 sound great, or so i thought. i went to the reviews page on anaylsis-plus and found everyone rated it 5 stars. so i became a little curious and checked their web site out. this company is truely amazing and i thought what the heck give them a try. I'm glad i did, this is the best cable by far. the highs are clearer and more apparent and the bass is greatly improved. Also note these cables are about same price if using a jumper from analysis-plus. i never thought i would say it but you were correct in your review Andrew and i owe you an apology. do yourself a favor and try these cables, they are incredible!

Expensive and cumbersome but sounds fantastic. Takes some breaking in, best to do with medium to high volumes. I upgraded in the store from my intended purchase of 2+2 to the 1000 and am glad I did.

more than word to say, neutral, soft, good bass, detail

none that I know

excellent speaker interconnect for the money.
I have 8' pair biwire into Martin Logan Request using Mc Cormack DNA-1 and Tlc-1 preamp. It's been quite some time that I am still enjoying it without regret or wanting to change to another speaker cable.

five star for value and sonic performance.