In the distant future, I will be picking up a new cable but in 4 pin XLR to pair with ZMF VC/Eikon/possibly more ZMF. I am curious how the Vygarde compares to FAW's Noir Hybrid, can someone help elaborate on differences in sound, feel, rigidity, etc?
Won't comment on the sound as I don't own the Vygarde or Noir Hybrid HPC, but I did own a Noir mk2 HPC and currently have a Noir Hybrid adapter cable (as well as some other FAW interconnects).
The FAW cables are very nice for the price, and Matt is nice to deal with. As I said, I've had a bunch of their cables and I really can't say anything bad about them. They are nice cables if you are trying to limit your spending (especially if you are in Europe, though I suppose with the current dollar prices...). They are nice to use and they feel soft to the touch, though I never did like their splitter, which is a bit too large for my preference, even if it looks nice. At their price they usually compete with stock cables from manufacturers, and for the same money I would always go with FAW.
The Norne cables are really a step up in my opinion though. The sleeves used by Trevor aren't quite as soft, but look better and feel more solid. Though this is helped also by the fact that Norne really fill out their sleeves with thicker cables, at least for the ones I have (a sleeved Skollvar and Vykari), while the FAW sleeves clearly has some give in it. The black of the Norne cables is also darker then the FAW sleeve, which you won't really notice until you see them side by side, but once you do the FAW sleeve seems a bit washed out and makes the Norne look much more premium. In terms of flexibility, I would say the FAW cables are bit more flexible, though only because the cables themselves are thinner, which makes them a bit lighter, though the splitter weighs it down again. My sleeved Norne cables are all chunky 17.3 AWG ones and I really don't have any complaints about them, though I'm partial to the hefty feel they have. The Vygarde would likely be much closer to the FAW options in terms of flexibility and weight since it is a smaller gauge.
In my opinion, if you are willing to pay the premium, the Vygarde is the better option all around. On top of everything I mentioned above, with Norne you also get the option to choose the look of your sleeve and splitter and just create a really cool look or match it to your headphones. I can't say enough good things about the metallic tracers they use in some of their sleeves either. I have never been let down by Trevor and I can honestly say that regardless of any change in sound, his cables will upgrade your headphone experience and are worth the money for that alone, in my opinion.