Thanks to Nightcraft’s Jonathan Nugroho for sending us samples of Nocturne and Vesper for this review. While we have no formal association with Jonathan, it’s been an absolute pleasure ‘meeting’ and working with such a humble, honest and enthusiastic artisan, whose exceptional work speaks for itself.
There are two types of people in this hobby: those who can hear the difference good cables make to the sound of an IEM, and those that are deaf.
Seriously though, it goes without saying that premium cables are about as divisive as global politics, and are often a topic best avoided lest you want jovial discussions turning into angry debate. So, if you’re one of those people who simply won’t countenance a glowing review of said cables, best see yourself out now.
Because today, my friends, we’re going to meet a unicorn of sorts, a normal guy who, through hard work, pure talent, or sheer luck (and probably all three), is single-handedly turning the established order in the ultra-premium IEM cable market on its head.
Yes folks, Jonathan Nugroho, or simply Jon as I’ve come to know him, started a small sideline in his native Indonesia by making himself an IEM cable. An automotive parts specialist moonlighting as a volunteer sound engineer and musician, Jon was one day approached by a fellow enthusiast wanting to buy the same cable he had made for himself.
And so, Nightcraft. It’s Jon’s secret identity, the mysterious craft that he practices quietly and discretely in a dark, shadowy basement at night… Except his secret is now being splashed all over the Internet (and audio meets) by pesky audiophiles who can’t get enough of whatever it is he’s making.
Okay, so maybe it’s not quite that dramatic, but it’s true that what Jon makes in his hidden lair is very special indeed.
Meet Nocturne and Vesper
I started hearing murmurings of Nightcraft cables from peers at recent Head-Fi CanJams, and on the Discord servers I frequent. One of them was kind enough to introduce me to Jon, and Jon was kind enough to share with me his two new creations: Nocturne and Vesper.
Both these cables have evolved from prototypes at trade shows to fully-fleshed-out commercial products, ready to challenge the status quo.
What really appealed to me at first was how similar they looked to the design language of my favourite cable brand – the benchmark-setting PW Audio. While this might be a con for some, to me it made perfect sense that Jon wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, but rather improve on it.
While I’m told there’s new hardware in the works for Nightcraft’s cables, I personally don’t think Jon needs to stray too far from what he knows and what clearly works so well already. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I’m sure in the months and years to come, many companies, not just PW Audio, will be flattered to be compared to Nightcraft (see what I did there?).
But I digress. Nocturne was the first of Nightcraft’s premium cables, as far as I’m aware, and the blueprint that set the stage for everything else to come. Vesper was Jon’s attempt at creating an even more premium cable that pushes all the buttons uber-enthusiasts look for in their gold-priced copper: ultimate technical performance.
As Jon tells it:
“For Nocturne I wanted an 8-wire shielded cable to pair with a friend’s [PMG Audio] APX SE, with subsequent designs introducing more warmth and musicality to what was initially a very neutral cable,” he says.
“Vesper was my attempt at pushing things even further, with higher quality materials, newer techniques (like cryogenic treatment), and larger multi-gauge strands.”
Both cables share many similarities, from their build quality to hardware, base materials (pure copper), and to some degree, performance. But they’re also quite different, and it’s in those differences that each cable will find the perfect pairing in your collection.
Continue to TL;DR…
