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REVIEW: MIT Cables S3.3 single-ended interconnect Cable

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Model: S3.3 single-ended interconnect
Category: Cable
Suggested Retail Price: $749 termination + $50 per half meter
Description: single-ended interconnect
Manufacturer URL: MIT Cables

Review by Luminator on December 24, 2009 at 01:22:58
IP Address: 75.25.148.121
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When you read my review on Cable Asylum of the Illuminati D-60, you enjoyed taking a trip back to the summer of 1986. But this is still 2009, so before we go anywhere, click on the links below, and read up on the MIT S3.3 interconnect.

Planetary Invasion
Cornerstone
Best Of Rockers 'N' Ballads
Building The Perfect Beast
Age Of Consent
Agent Provocateur

Did you enjoy the trip to San Francisco and Honolulu? Take a deep breath. In my posts on Audio Asylum, I have already cited music from, among other periods, the fall of 1986. I do not want to re-hash and repeat those songs. So this time, I am going to introduce even more songs from that period. Now let us re-live the back-to-school blues of the fall of 1986.

In the summer of 1986, once I saw the CD player, I knew I had to have one. So when I got back to school, I knew it was just a matter of time, before I could acquire one. In anticipation of getting a CD player, I actually bought a CD, Depeche Mode’s Black Celebration . That CD was in my possession, as I sat in my geometry class. With that CD peeking out of my book bag, I just could not concentrate on congruent triangles, distance between two points, and corollaries. That little 5-inch silver polycarbonate CD gave off cool-man rainbow streaks. The CD sure beat handling dirty vinyl records, or spinning the toothed-wheels of a cassette.

My sophomore class had two identical twin girls, Yvonne and Yvette. For identical twins, they did not look like carbon copies. Even when they wore the same clothes, they were easy to tell apart. They lived in San Francisco’s Sunset district. I lived across town from them. So, we took completely different bus routes to get to/from school. But one time, I decided to take the longer, but less ghetto, way home. I got on the same 29-Sunset bus as Yvonne and Yvette. I turned my Sony Walkman on, and the modern rock radio station played R.E.M.’s “Fall On Me.” While that song was playing, I looked at Yvonne and Yvette, and just thought that Yvonne was cuter.

One weekend, the fall weather, as is typical for the Bay Area, was gorgeous. So, my family took a drive up to Fort Ross. Radio stations kept playing Luther Vandross’ “Stop To Love.” And one time, the DJ said that the ladies “just love Luther,” and I wondered why.

The 1986 San Francisco 49ers were criticized for not being tough, deep, and talented enough. But Dwight Clark, Joe Montana, and Ronnie Lott did take time out to sing back up on the Huey Lewis And The News’ under-appreciated Fore! In the Reagan era, it was popular to bash hippies. So, that misguided prejudice worked against “Hip To Be Square.” Parts of the video were shot with a tiny camera attached to the end of a tether.

I do not recall if it was MTV or VH1, but I remember a Top 40 video countdown. At the end of the countdown, the channel would tease the audience, by playing a video, which may crack the next week’s Top 40. And one such video was The Human League’s “I Need Your Loving.”

Speaking of MTV, one popular video was Billy Idol’s “To Be A Lover.” Idol had his punk rocker image, but “To Be A Lover” was his attempt to sound like Elvis. Interestingly, Bunty Bailey, the star of A-Ha’s “Take On Me” video, appears as a backup singer in “To Be A Lover.”

Corey Hart’s “I Am By Your Side” was another song, which appeared on MTV, but not the radio. The mood of this song really fit in with the changing weather.

Back then, I had a Sony receiver. I have forgotten the model number; perhaps it was the STR-AV850. Whenever Dead Or Alive’s “Brand New Lover” came on, I always wished that the receiver could qualitatively crank out the jams better.

Once in a while, I would hang out after school at the basketball courts. My friend Kendrick dressed nicely. He would take off his sweatshirt, and tie it around his waist. I never knew why he would not just leave the sweatshirt on the sideline. But anyway, this one time, Kendrick just broke out with O.M.D.’s “Forever Live And Die.” To which I responded, “Oh c’mon, O.M.D.’s most pumping anthem is We Love You .”

In other posts and reviews here on Audio Asylum, I have referred to the Beastie Boys and Run DMC. But we absolutely cannot ignore Rick Rubin’s other ground-breaking act, Slayer. Slayer came out with Reign In Blood , which we only heard about through word of mouth. You did not hear about it on the radio. You did not see it on MTV. You did not read about it in newspapers.

Since Slayer hailed from Los Angeles, it was common for L.A. Raiders fans to dig Reign In Blood . Indeed, with that album as the war cry, we thought that the ’86 Raiders were a nice alternative choice to have a good season, and go far. Alas, the NFL competition in the 80s was so fierce, the ’86 Raiders, good as they were, could only muster an 8-8 record.

A song we only heard at dances and on stations which played freestyle was Debbie Deb’s “When I Hear Music.” As I walked outside the main school building, I saw the JV cheerleading squad practicing to this song.

Lily played on the slow-pitch girls’ softball team. When she and I were in the same P.E. class, Lily did not want to pitch to me. She claimed that I was intentionally trying to hit sharp comebackers, in order to hit her. But other than that, we were good friends. One time, she was sitting in front of her locker. I noticed that she was using her Walkman, and asked what she was listening to. Instead of saying anything, she simply stuck one earbud into my ear. She was listening to Stacey Q’s “We Connect.”

Towards the end of ’86, I received a Sony MTS stereo TV tuner. I want to say that it was an ST-7TV, but I cannot be sure. In those days, MTS Stereo TV was relatively new. Most people had monaural TVs. You hooked up an antenna (usually cable TV) to the ST-7TV. The tuner then could run 2-channel audio to your stereo system, and composite video to your TV. The ST-7TV also gave you wireless remote control of the TV. Once I received the ST-7TV, I could not believe how good stereo TV sound was!

Up there in the same vein as Billy Vera, Bruce Hornsby, and the KBC Band was Kenny Rogers’ “Twenty Years Ago.” Hard to believe that 1986 was over 20 years ago…

From 1984-1986, heavy metal was dead. But that did allow aggressive acts like Slayer, above, to break through. At the other end, a suppressed heavy metal market allowed Stryper, with their album To Hell With The Devil , to create the Christian rock genre. And with that Sony ST-7TV tuner decoding MTV’s signal, I loved Stryper’s power ballad, “Honestly.”

While on winter break, my family took a day trip to Santa Cruz. During that trip, I kept hearing Benjamin Orr’s “Stay The Night.” I have a dorky picture of me in front of the Big Dipper. My Sony Sports headphones were a bright chartreuse yellow. While that photo was shot, KDON was playing Orr’s “Stay The Night.”

Though Depeche Mode continue to be popular, their Black Celebration album never really caught on or sold well. The album cover does not stick out, so it is easy to overlook. Likewise, the MIT S3.3 interconnect is only available in black. If you want another color, you are out of luck. The black network box has ridges on two sides. Dust gets into these ridges, and is hard to remove. Do not let the plastic box fool you; the cable itself is flexible and easy to work with. I guess that is like saying that Black Celebration , for all its aesthetic, marketing, and musical weakness, does sport three hidden gems, “A Question Of Lust,” “But Not Tonight,” and “Stripped.”

Does the S3.3 remind me of high school geometry? Not really. ☺

The S3.3 is available single-ended RCA and balanced XLR. The latter retails for an additional $200. I guess that is like the twins Yvette and Yvonne looking different enough, that you can tell them apart. As of this writing, I have not heard the balanced S3.3. I will have to save that for another day. I was playing R.E.M.’s “Fall On Me,” and as I looked at the S3.3’s locking RCA plugs, I realized that, in 1986, I did not even know that locking RCAs existed. If you do not like locking-barrel RCAs, nothing I say or write will convince you to use them. But in the interest of fair journalism, I do have to report that the S3.3’s RCAs were not as undersized as, say, the WBT-0147. I had no trouble slipping them onto various female RCA plugs. Furthermore, with just a little tightening, the S3.3’s RCAs grip tightly enough.

Here on Cable Asylum several Inmates report that varying the tightness of locking-barrel RCAs yields different sound qualities. I do not hear any difference between a loosely locked S3.3 and a tightly locked S3.3.

MIT have this antiquated “2/2 rule.” According to the instructions, 2 days of regular use will get the cable about 75% burned-in. And 100% burn-in should occur after the cable has had 2 weeks of regular playing time. I like Luther Vandross, but I still do not see why he was supposedly so popular among women. Likewise, I still do not see why MIT cling to the “2/2 rule.” No amount of regular use breaks-in a cable or gets it anywhere near its potential. For that, you need a cable burn-in device.

Just like no one understands Huey Lewis & The News’ “Hip To Be Square,” MIT do not understand certain cable burn-in devices. MIT specifically warn against the Duotech Cable Enhancer. Okay, fair enough. But all other “active” devices? Apparently, MIT have not tried any others. The Audio Dharma Cable Cooker works perfectly on the S3.3. And an audio friend of mine confirmed that the Nordost VIDAR has no trouble with the S3.3.

Producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis gave the Human League’s “I Need Your Loving” a wall-of-sound treatment. The hard, in-your-face sound can be off-putting. But using the Cable Cooker for three days opens up the way the S3.3 can portray depth. The soundstage itself stretches out from front to back. And then, the images themselves acquire more depth. These qualities really make “I Need Your Loving” easier to take, easier to listen into.

Versus some of the older MIT interconnects I had on hand, the S3.3 corrects the older models’ tendency to magnify bass weight. However, while bass weight is more accurate, bass quality is still a little slow. The notes tend to linger a little too long in the air. The bassline on Billy Idol’s “To Be A Lover” should give the song a sinister, foreboding mood. Instead, it sounds more like the treatment David Ellefson’s bass was given on Megadeth’s Countdown To Extinction . You wish for more speed and detail.

One theory for interconnects holds that the cable should simply pass, unaltered, the signal. When I bring out the Creek Destiny CD player, many interconnects seem to adhere to that theory. The music takes place in a small, distant nook, a few feet behind the plane of the speakers. The MIT S3.3 ditches this theory, and imposes its own view of the music. It projects the Destiny’s soundfield out into the open, where you can “see” every instrument within Corey Hart’s “I Am By Your Side.” With the Destiny, this is a good thing. With the music given this much space and volume, it is almost as if you can see Hart look for a motorcycle [as in the video], and drive off.

Dead Or Alive’s “Brand New Lover” is a torture test for audio equipment. The bassline should sound like someone turned the key to crank up an engine. Regardless of which source I use, the S3.3 slows down the proceedings just a tad. Remember those mid-to-late 80s VCRs with the jog dial? Remember when your coach ditched the film, and went to videotape? Remember how you used that jog dial to slow down plays just a tad, so you could see the action unfold in slow motion? That is the effect the S3.3 has on “Brand New Lover’s” gurgling bassline. It is slowed down just a tad, so that you can hear each note. But it does not keep up with the real-life speed, so if you are trying to boogie, the rhythms are slightly lagging in time.

None of my source components does musical emotion as well as the Simaudio Andromeda. I pop in O.M.D.’s The Pacific Age , and cue up “We Love You.” While the overall sound is balanced from bottom to top, the song is not as compelling as it should be. It should make you feel like you are jumping up and down, in the middle of the crowd. Instead, the S3.3 is like you are at the back of the floor, watching the crowd expend energy. You are still stomping your heel to the beat, but you are not completely letting go, not completely engaging the crowd.

The Wadia 781i further scrutinizes the S3.3. As elsewhere, the S3.3 glosses over fine texture. Thus, Slayer’s Reign In Blood loses some of its bite and grit. Like O.M.D.’s “We Love You” above, the S3.3 is more like being at arm’s length from Slayer and the violent crowd. Interestingly, on “Angel Of Death,” that slightly slow-motion quality makes it easier to hear the lyrics. Also, you can clearly hear where the edits in the tape were made. Because this album, via the S3.3, is not as brash, gripping, and in-your-face, I was not reminded that the ’86 Raiders went 8-8, or that the 49ers would suffer perhaps their worst ever defeat, 3-49, at the New York Giants. For some fans, this is a good thing ☺

Honestly, my worst-sounding medium is vinyl. It is just so fraught with distortion, it cannot be considered hi-fi. While I do have cheaper analog gear, I pulled out my Koetsu Jade Platinum/Rega P9/EAR 324 combo. Here, the S3.3’s big soundstage and lack of grain are significant assets. This cable helps tamp down that awful warbled distortion generally found at the end of records. It does not heap further sonic garbage on top of Debbie Deb’s “When I Hear Music.” And for once, because of the S3.3’s clean presentation, I can hear distinct differences, as I choose from the EAR 324’s three impedance settings. The lowest setting, which most audiophiles use with Koetsu cartridges, is too weighed-down, ponderous, and slow. The highest setting thins out the sound, which makes records too irascible. It is like dragging a rake along the sidewalk. The middle setting balances everything out, and at least allows us to judge the record, rather than worry and fuss about the phonostage. Okay, via vinyl, “When I Hear Music” does remind me of the JV cheerleaders practicing to the squawky boombox.

My friends and I could not stand vinyl, so it was a welcome relief to go back to CD. In this case, the old California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss threw us a curve ball. With other interconnects, the Icon M2PB’s treble is too far back in the soundstage, and has only mediocre detail. Because the S3.3 throws such a large soundfield, and fills it with properly scaled images, the Icon M2PB’s treble becomes more in tune with the rest of the spectrum. We have Stacey Q’s “We Connect” on both vinyl and CD. On vinyl, the instrumental textures and image sizes are just that much more realistic. But in all other parameters, the CD, even on the Icon M2PB, just stomps the vinyl. The S3.3 gives the synthesized treble a wider and taller image. Is this strictly neutral and honest? No. But does this improve the Icon M2PB? Undoubtedly. No, the S3.3 cannot magically make more treble texture and presence appear. Via the Icon M2PB, they simply do not exist. Going back to my Kimber KS-1036, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse, and XLO Signature 1.1 shrinks the treble, making “We Connect” more distant, less danceable. With the Icon M2PB, the S3.3 is the one which makes me want to find Lily. I would tell her, “No, I was not trying to hit linedrives at you, or anyone else, for that matter. I knew that you threw strikes your pitches would be near the plate I would get something good to hit, and was really trying to take you deep aiming for the fences.”

When used between the Jeff Rowland Criterion and 312, the S3.3 starts to show its weaknesses. Despite all of the S3.3’s soundstaging prowess, Kenny Rogers’ “Twenty Years Ago” sounds glossed-over, more plastic. That song came out [as of this writing] 23 years ago. But with the S3.3 throwing out some low-level detail, no, it did not transport me to 1986. In this application, the Wireworld Platinum Eclipse, with its finely-resolved low-level detail, restores the surfacing of “Twenty Years Ago,” and provides better contrast between music and space. The song moves more freely, and its pace reminds me of how I heard this song via my Sony Walkman, while I walked past the San Francisco Zoo, where the L-Taraval line comes to an end.

Some of the best sound actually comes from satellite TV broadcasts. Use a properly burned-in interconnect between your receiver and stereo system, and you will hear excellent sound. Now that I have young children, we watch Nick Jr. Wow Wow Wubbzy has outstanding sound quality. With the S3.3, you will never feel the need for surround sound or home theater. The S3.3’s soundstaging is that good.

We were watching VH1 Classic, and saw Stryper’s “Honestly.” Back in ’86, even after I got MTS stereo TV, “Honestly” sounded small and lumpy. Now, with satellite TV and high-end audio, I see that the S3.3 projects “Honestly” between the speakers. The images are rounded, especially the piano, keyboard, and drums. In contrast, Oz Fox’s guitar sounds small and strangled. This is obviously the production’s fault. Still, I have been listening to “Honestly” and the rest of the To Hell With The Devil album for 23 years now. With the S3.3 linking any of my CD players or satellite receivers to the preamp, I have an even harder time believing that To Hell With The Devil is not an analog recording [it was recorded on a Mitsubishi X-850 32-track digital recorder].

My friend Eric and I are among the few who have the guts to come right out, and state that there is nothing as awesome as 1980s synthesizers. But then I went over to my friend Joe’s place. We put together a Mac Mini, USB-to-S/PDIF converter, MIT Digital Reference, Cal Alpha, and the MIT S3.3. If you are tired of small, raspy computer sound, think again. Even the Youtube video’s sound is captivating. So when we played Benjamin Orr’s “Stay The Night,” Joe remarked, “Man, you gotta love those 80s synthesizers. They’re the best!”

The S3.3 was doing its part to keep the soundstage voluminous. It was large enough, that my mind started to drift. I thought back to late 1986, when my family went on that trip to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. When I heard “Stay The Night,” I anguished over the only girl who actually liked me. CT was your stereotypical straight-A student, who was benign, and would not harm an ant. I agonized over her, because she was too clean, too sweet, too smart, way too good for me. We hung out in study hall, ate lunch on the grassy hill. She was the model of goodness and purity, and I was, well, the bad boy. I never felt good enough for her. She would blush, when she sat next to me, and I just felt like I was walking on eggshells.

I never had the ability or guts to say no to CT. That is one thing I have always regretted. But you know what? That prepared me not to care what others think about me. When it comes to writing about audio, I do not pull punches. If something sucks, I say so, and in what context. If something merits commendation, I say in what parameters. If something is middle of the pack, I do my best to spell out how the positive, mediocre, and negative traits come together or fight each other.

Writing about the MIT S3.3, with its peculiar set of characteristics, has been difficult. CT’s handwriting was neat, uniform, and easy to read. And for a high school freshman, she sure had control over English grammar. If CT is reading this review, I am sure she would flash that nervous smile, and wonder why I skip around and change tenses.

To which I would reply, “That is the effect the MIT S3.3 has had on me. The cable itself performs consistently. However, as I take the S3.3 from component to component and system to system, that performance yields unpredictable (and different degrees of) success or failure. I know that the audiophiles like to have issues presented in black and white. But in this case, there are gray, silver, charcoal, and pewter. I’ll just throw ‘em all out, and let the audiophiles decide if the S3.3 is interesting enough to warrant further investigation.”

I am listening to “Stay The Night” on the CAL Delta/MIT Digital Reference/CAL Alpha/MIT S3.3 path. CT went into chemistry, and is now a lawyer specializing in biotech. I have no idea what that means. Yours truly writes free-of-charge reviews on Audio Asylum. I have no idea what that means, either.

-Lummy The Loch Monster


Product Weakness: only available in black; locking-barrel RCAs hard to use; network boxes get dirty; no short (<1-meter) lengths
Product Strengths: frequently discounted; can (and should) be used with the Cable Cooker


Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: numerous
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): numerous
Sources (CDP/Turntable): numerous
Speakers: numerous
Cables/Interconnects: numerous
Music Used (Genre/Selections): rock, pop, metal, R&B, Hawaiian, dance
Type of Audition/Review: Home Audition




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Topic - REVIEW: MIT Cables S3.3 single-ended interconnect Cable - Luminator 01:22:58 12/24/09 ( 9)