B.L.U.F.: The newer S3-C had better detail and definition and was a more natural sounding cable than the previous version. However the older S3-C could be more exciting and engaging in specific instances (although that may have been a byproduct of it's specific tuning?). YMMV.
TL;DR version:
I've done comparisons of Norne cables to a bunch of other cables on a couple other occasions, which led me to become a Norne silver convert. But this is my first time (but won't be the last) doing a comparison between Norne cables, in this case two versions of S3-C for my HE1000 V2. One is the previous S3-C version (first photo with the Eidolic connectors on the headphone side) and the other is from the most recent revision that Trevor started making about a month ago or so. At first glance, the cables look pretty much the same with the obvious exception of the connectors (fortunately, that made it much easier to tell them apart). But upon closer examination, the newer cable is a bit thinner. I don't think it quite comes through in the last photo (older on left, newer on right). I did go ahead and measure them with my calipers. The older was about 1.55mm in diameter and the newer one about 1.3mm for whatever that's worth.
I did an quick initial listen comparing these two cables a few weeks ago and my impression back then was that the newer one had better resolution and soundstaging and seemed closer to the stage. I've since change my source setup (was Yggy USB5/A2) so it's now Singxer SU-1 KTE to Holo Spring KTE via I2S -> Violectric V281 -> HEK V2.
I listened to these 7 tracks:
- Schubert Piano Quintet "The Trout" Op 114, fifth movement recorded by Andras Schiff and Hagen Quartet - 44.1/16 FLAC
- Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 6 "Pathetique", 3rd movement recorded by Evegeny Mravinsky and Leningrad Philharmonic - HD Tracks 96/24 FLAC
- The Sidewinder by Lee Morgan on The Sidewinder - 192/24 FLAC from HDTracks
- Comin' Home Baby by Herbie Mann on At the Village Gate - 44.1/16 FLAC
- Space Cowboy by Kacey Musgraces on The Golden Hour - HDTracks 96/24 FLAC
- Get Lucky by Daft Punk on Random Access Memories - HDTracks 88.2/24 FLAC
- Havana by Camila Cabello on Camila - 44.1/16 FLAC
Playback was via Roon, upsampling set to max PCM rate (power of 2), smooth, minimum phase filter (still experimenting with these settings). Holo Spring set to NOS. Pre-gain input on Violectric set to -6db.
I'd say consistently across all tracks, the newer S3-C had better detail and definition. The interesting thing was that the older cable seemed to be voiced a bit differently; Trevor said he had tuned the cable he sent me to be "extremely neutral"; it sounds like he has manufacturing tricks to tune cables (don't know the details). When I first received the new cable I had just tested with the first 2 tracks on my Yggy , i thought the newer cable was voiced more "closer to the stage". But after doing more recent extensive listening (with my Holo Spring), I'd say that's not quite right or at least it sounds different. The older cabled seemed just a touch more forward. On the Trout Quintet, the older cable highlighted the violin a bit more. On Sidewinder, the high hat had a bit more sparkle to them. On several tracks, it had a bit more of that electric, raise-the-hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck (ASMR?) sounds, especially on the tracks with a bit more atmosphere (eg. Comin' Home Baby, Space Cowboy). The sound could be a bit more exciting and was generally more so with the rock/pop tracks rather than the classical and jazz ones. The tradeoff was that it was a bit edgier at times. There could be slight edge to some instruments and to vocal and could sound a little more exciting, but somewhat unnatural, sometimes a bit hyper real (if that makes any sense); the closest analogy I'd make was if you were using a bit too much sharpening on a photograph or using interpolation on video and getting a little bit of that soap opera effect. it could be very enjoyable at times (esp. on more non-acoustic tracks), but not necessarily as natural (interestingly enough this similar to what I felt with my initial comparisons of the Yggy vs. Holo Spring, but it's much more pronounced in the DAC comparison). Halfway through Get Lucky, there are some hand claps; we all know what hand claps sound like, but the newer cable just sounded a bit more natural. In Comin' Home, the flute was more forward and exciting with the old cable, but more natural sounding with the newer. So for me and my tastes, the newer S3-C is a "better" cable because of the better detail and definition, more natural and relaxed compared to the older S3-C. That being said, in the scheme of things, these differences are relatively small (my DAC change made much more of a difference), but you knew that already.
I have a Silvergarde S3 on order for my hifiman, so I'll need to do another comparison when that comes in.
