Taralabs grandmaster evolution: new top of the line cables from Taralabs

Bodhi

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2014
1,051
361
155
AC, I agree choice of cables is more an exercise of what sounds good to you & in your system for best synergy. I like the natural/organic sound of Jorma, though I was impressed by the flagship Tara Labs cables when I heard them which sound very quiet, detailed & dead neutral. Btw Jorma said the Statement sc's are much better than Prime in every area (without using Bybees) :)
 
Last edited:

TBone

New Member
Nov 15, 2012
1,237
1
0
This is indicative of what's wrong in the world and our McDonald's mindset.

if a steady diet of McD food "arguably" compromises long-term health, that factor alone becomes a "mindset" that's entirely different from any "mindset" within this particular hobby.

apple & oranges ...
 

Jazzhead

VIP/Donor
Aug 26, 2012
1,466
108
985
Audiocrack , great to hear of your experience with the new TL's , enjoy in good health .
 

edorr

WBF Founding Member
May 10, 2010
3,139
14
36
Smyrna, GA
Good you wear your Casio and I'll keep my IWC and Panerai.

This is indicative of what's wrong in the world and our McDonald's mindset. There is no appreciation of quality. Soon We'll hear how McDonalds is the same as Boulet since they're just protein, carbs and fat anyway. Plus we can throw in a side order of jealousy.

I could be wrong, but I think Franz is saying that the price of an ultra expensive items can be explained in part by "utility value" and in part by "luxury value" (i.e. status / snob appeal). Ferrari is mainly utility, and a $5,000 designer purse and $100,000 watch is almost a 100% luxury good. He then makes the point that while originally prices of audio equipment were almost 100% explained by "utility value", many ultra expensive audio items are now developed for and marketed to the "luxury" market, probably targeting the nouveau riche in places like China and Russia.

I don't think audiophiles lamenting this trend are necessarily reflecting a McDonalds mindsets, nor exhibiting jealousy at not being able to afford ultra-expensive "luxury" goods.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
I could be wrong, but I think Franz is saying that the price of an ultra expensive items can be explained in part by "utility value" and in part by "luxury value" (i.e. status / snob appeal). Ferrari is mainly utility, and a $5,000 designer purse and $100,000 watch is almost a 100% luxury good. He then makes the point that while originally prices of audio equipment were almost 100% explained by "utility value", many ultra expensive audio items are now developed for and marketed to the "luxury" market, probably targeting the nouveau riche in places like China and Russia.

I don't think audiophiles lamenting this trend are necessarily reflecting a McDonalds mindsets, nor exhibiting jealousy at not being able to afford ultra-expensive "luxury" goods.

Really? I do. Perhaps you need to go back and reread more of the posts where people were dissing MikeL's system. Or how every time an expensive component comes up, the same people come out and trash it.

No it's about craftsmanship. Ever see what goes into and how long it's takes to build a repeater? Same with audio. If only we/high-end audio could upsize production and slam stuff out in China. Oh sorry, some are trying. We know what has happened to the first companies trying to do that.
 

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
1,577
35
970
Midwest fly over state..
But you'd like to hear the Tara Labs right? I know I would. :) I can't afford them either.

In fact Matthew offered me an opportunity to his new cables in my system. Unlike others here, I'm curious to hear. I'm with you AC.

Why a few people here get away with pissing on every high-end product without ramifications is beyond me. There is just something wrong here; you never hear anyone dissing Ferraris, Patek watches, expensive wines or other haute couture products. Why some audiophiles feel the need to tear down their hobby all the time is beyond me.

Just to make it official I'll be the first, apparently, to **** on the haute couture...Ferrari...cool for sure but you can get the same if not better performance from the lowly new generation sting ray...Patek watches...laughable there are $50 watches that keep better time...wines...hmm, if it's over $20 you are officially a wine snob. A $42K speaker cable...total bullshit. There it's official...some folks do diss the haute couture stuff
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
Just to make it official I'll be the first, apparently, to **** on the haute couture...Ferrari...cool for sure but you can get the same if not better performance from the lowly new generation sting ray...Patek watches...laughable there are $50 watches that keep better time...wines...hmm, if it's over $20 you are officially a wine snob. A $42K speaker cable...total bullshit. There it's official...some folks do diss the haute couture stuff

Good then you can take over the website. I've already heard accusations of how some people have driven members away from WBF. Well it works both ways. I know a lot of serious audiophiles who either eschew or have left WBF because of this continual crapping on high-end gear. Keep it up and this place will look like audiokarma.org.
 

RogerD

VIP/Donor
May 23, 2010
3,734
318
565
BiggestLittleCity
Just to make it official I'll be the first, apparently, to **** on the haute couture...Ferrari...cool for sure but you can get the same if not better performance from the lowly new generation sting ray...Patek watches...laughable there are $50 watches that keep better time...wines...hmm, if it's over $20 you are officially a wine snob. A $42K speaker cable...total bullshit. There it's official...some folks do diss the haute couture stuff

Lol! But at least with the Ferrari you could argue it was a investment. With a 42K speaker cable....not a chance.
 

RogerD

VIP/Donor
May 23, 2010
3,734
318
565
BiggestLittleCity
Good then you can take over the website. I've already heard accusations of how some people have driven members away from WBF. Well it works both ways. I know a lot of serious audiophiles who either eschew or have left WBF because of this continual crapping on high-end gear. Keep it up and this place will look like audiokarma.org.

Myles,

It just a cable for God's sake. What technology is @ work here to justify that price tag...other then it fills a minute market of people that have that ability to purchase. Does the high end really depend on this kind of product? If so,no wonder some feel some high end manufacturers do a disservice. As it's just human nature to gravitate to the highest price and that can't be a good thing.

Where I'm coming from is every large and well know cable manufacturer supplies different levels of performance for a higher price. There is science involved and it is precise,so there has to be a ground breaking principle here. The overal science is that interference degrades the audio signal.
 
Last edited:

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
1,577
35
970
Midwest fly over state..
No danger of my taking over WBF Myles. My posts go largely ignored. Regarding mega buck purchases if one can afford it, go for it. It's free country so far..
 

TBone

New Member
Nov 15, 2012
1,237
1
0
I've already heard accusations of how some people have driven members away from WBF. Well it works both ways. I know a lot of serious audiophiles who either eschew or have left WBF because of this continual crapping on high-end gear. Keep it up and this place will look like audiokarma.org.

Perhaps you should advise them to "grow a thicker skin" ... because with all social media, every business, in any facet, must face the same level of adversity based on perceived "values".
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,471
11,368
4,410
Myles,

It just a cable for God's sake. What technology is @ work here to justify that price tag...other then it fills a minute market of people that have that ability to purchase. Does the high end really depend on this kind of product? If so,no wonder some feel some high end manufacturers do a disservice. As it's just human nature to gravitate to the highest price and that can't be a good thing.

when we hear reproduced music cables are a large part of what we hear. some are speaker cables, some are interconnects, others are inside electronics or inside speakers. they all do their part, add something....affect something. and at the top of the food chain they become a bigger and bigger variable collectively.

and when you've taken the room/gear/speakers as far as you can go in a particular direction and are searching for that last smidgen of performance cables loom large as an area of opportunity.

recntly i heard a product which was changed from a previous version mainly internally by the cable geometry inside and it was dramatically better. makes perfect sense to me. this performance change was worth big bucks on the value curve as it moved my reference.

is chasing that last iota of performance worth it to everyone?

of course not.

but cheers to those on the hunt!!!
 

GaryProtein

VIP/Donor
Jul 25, 2012
2,542
31
385
NY
Lol! But at least with the Ferrari you could argue it was a investment. With a 42K speaker cable....not a chance.

A Ferrari can NOT be argued to be an investment either. It WILL go down in value. Only a very few ever appreciate, and then only after decades pass and the particular car is one of few remaining in good condition.

The ROI on a spectacular car takes way too long to appreciate enough to make it worth being an investment.
 

audioblazer

Member Sponsor
May 13, 2010
765
204
1,605
Malaysia
Supply & demand . Let the market decide. If someone is willing to spend USD42k on a SC , I will congratulate him NOT thrash him simply because I thk is over price but mostly because I can't afford it . I wonder why some of us bother how others spend or throw away THIER money
 

Audiocrack

Well-Known Member
Aug 10, 2012
2,175
687
1,158
I have expressed more than once on this forum my concern about the imho intolerant reactions of some members towards higher priced products such as eg Tripoint and Trinity. Yes they are very small companies (as is btw Ferrari compared to eg Volkswagen) but they are making exquisite products. The discussion regarding the pricing of audio components on this forum leads to nothing in my view. Therefore I would like to ask everybody to rather concentrate on the quality of the various audio products. In other words, can we go back to the topic of this thread, the Taralabs grandmaster evolution cables, and exchange our views on the technical merits of these cables as well as exchange our experiences?
 
  • Like
Reactions: amadeus

GaryProtein

VIP/Donor
Jul 25, 2012
2,542
31
385
NY
. . . . they all do their part, add something....affect something. and at the top of the food chain they become a bigger and bigger variable collectively. . . . .

I have to disagree with that.

At the top of the food chain where the quality becomes impeccable and perfection is approached, the variables and differences in sound must become SMALLER because there is only ONE "perfection."
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,471
11,368
4,410
A Ferrari can NOT be argued to be an investment either. It WILL go down in value. Only a very few ever appreciate, and then only after decades pass and the particular car is one of few remaining in good condition.

The ROI on a spectacular car takes way too long to appreciate enough to make it worth being an investment.

it also can be argued that there are a number of vintage audio products that have appreciated many times their original cost.

we can only speculate about future value of anything new today. certainly the price of acquisition for any uber-car today is stratospheric to begin with. for them to actually appreciate is far from likely.
 

RogerD

VIP/Donor
May 23, 2010
3,734
318
565
BiggestLittleCity
A Ferrari can NOT be argued to be an investment either. It WILL go down in value. Only a very few ever appreciate, and then only after decades pass and the particular car is one of few remaining in good condition.

The ROI on a spectacular car takes way too long to appreciate enough to make it worth being an investment.

I had a friend that had a TR that he sold for 50K many years ago. It recently sold for 26 million.....not a bad investment.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kris

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,471
11,368
4,410
I have to disagree with that.

At the top of the food chain where the quality becomes impeccable and perfection is approached, the variables and differences in sound must become SMALLER because there is only ONE "perfection."

we are speaking to different issues.

i'm saying that cable differences are more clearly heard and appreciated the higher the performance of a system. btw; everything matters more when you can hear more information. differences between recordings are more evidant too.

i think you are saying there are fewer opportunities for improvement as one improves performance. which i don't disagree with if you add the fact that those smaller differences are more and more significant as you go toward higher performance.

look at any race car series or likely anything competive to see these principles at work. sure; the measureable diiferences become less; but the significance of the smaller improvements become larger.

and the effort and resources it requires to find these improvements becomes significantly higher.

commitment to the pursuit is always the variable. and if you don't share the same level of commitment then you will not understand the level of pursuit. which is the fundamental disconnect.
 
Last edited:

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing