Great responses so far! (Keep them coming if anyone else has input!) For the record, I asked the question because my "Emerald x3" sounds better than my older "Emerald." The original Emerald is too rolled, and missing too much breath-of-life, as compared to the "x3" version. ...and this issue is a complication when we read the ads for used Audioquest cables -- we're not sure if the seller just forgot to mention the "x3" designation sometimes, or if he's just selling an older cable (that I don't want).