March 29, 2012

  • Tara Labs PM/2, Part 1

    30 years ago, my classmates started picking up Ozzy Osbourne's Diary Of A Madman.  One of my classmates held the cassette, looked at the album cover, and calmly remarked, "Well, looks like he's trying to make Halloween last a little longer."

    For me, though, I tend to associate Diary Of A Madman with San Jose.  You see, in the mid-90s, my friend Margaret had a car.  Thus, we were able to go places.  I would ask her to go down the S.F. Peninsula, to check out high-end audio stores.  While heading to San Jose's Bay Area Audio, we heard Ozzy's "Over The Mountain" an "Flying High Again" on either KOME or KSJO.  Going down 101, that was exciting!

    I just completed reviewing the Adcom GCD-700.  During that review, do you recall Margaret's red panties? 

    Well, on a recent visit to my parents' place, I dug into my closet, and found another box of ex-girlfriends' mementos.  In that box was the matching red bra.  Now that I rediscovered it, my memory has been jogged.

    Margaret used to work at various Victoria's Secret stores.  Although she didn't particularly care for red lingerie for herself, she said that red was popular during Christmas and Valentine's Day.  Red is not as consistently popular as, say, black.

    Now I remember.  San Francisco's Audio Excellence carried California Audio Labs, Classe', Theta, and Thiel.  So did San Jose's Bay Area Audio.  Unlike Audio Excellence, Bay Area Audio carried MIT, including the Z-series powerline conditioners.  I already had API wedges, Power Packs, and powercords.  But I wanted to go for broke, so I checked out the MIT Z-series, which was more expensive than API, and also garnered more positive reviews.  I would then return to San Francisco, and have Ultimate Sound order a Z-Center and Z-Iso-Duo.

    When I brought them home, the Z-series products were a mild disappointment.  I didn't like the airless top end.  Worse, the units' transformers buzzed.

    When Margaret brought me to her home, I hope I didn't disappoint.  Actually, I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit this.  At night, in order to relax and wind down, Margaret and I would read in bed.  She would have a pocket-sized romance novel.  And I would read Stereophile.  But you know what?  Away from the disappointing and frustrating sound at my house, I could think clearly.  Tired of the API and MIT PLCs buzzing, I read about "passive" PLCs.  Eventually, that would lead me to Tara Labs' Power Screens.

    Two years ago, I blogged about Tara Labs' AD/6, which is meant for source components and preamps.  Kind of like finding Margaret's matching bra and panties, here is the companion to the AD/6, the 2-outlet PM/2.  The PM/2 is designed for the high-current demands of power amplifiers.  Alas, in the photo above, it is being used for a landline phone and to recharge an iPod.  When not charging the iPod, the PM/2 powers a vacuum cleaner, which is indeed a high-current device.

    Black may be a ubiquitous lingerie color, but for the PM/2, it is the only color.  Boo!  Lingerie can have lovely curves.  But see the PM/2's sharp edges and corners?  Don't cut yourself on them.  Worse, don't step on the PM/2!

    As far as audio goes, the PM/2 is dead silent, and generates NO heat.  Bravo!  Versus the MIT Z-series products, the PM/2 yields a sound which is not as fat and milky.  In fact, the midrange can be somewhat hollow, lacking in body.  But you know what?  This is the perfect antidote for the Primare A33.2.  In audio, mixing and matching usually leads to a Frankenstein creation.  In lingerie, mixing and matching bras and panties can sometimes lead to a -- okay, I'm not going to go on in this mode.  The PM/2 seems to drain some of the fat and milk from the A33.2's sound, leading to a more neutral, transparent sound.  And that can help prevent Diary Of A Madman from going into excess.