Bought a few cables from AliExpress, quite happy. Never did they look strange or suspicious to me.
Counterfeit Chinese Cables
I thought that I would write this for those who are curious about one of the many counterfeit Chinese interconnect cables that are available these days. I know that there have been threads about the subject before, and I was always curious because they seem to be such a bargain. I don't really recall much about what any members actually said about the performance of these counterfeit cables, and I didn't look back and do any research, but a couple of months ago there was a thread that came around to discussing the quality of Chinese made components, and oldhvymec said something that made sense to me.
He said that people that say that what they are making is junk should consider that much of what is in our gear, and a lot of our American brands are actually manufactured there. I decided shortly after that that I would take the chance on a set of interconnects, because I suspected that the interconnects going from my pre to my amp were the weak link and needed upgrading. The interconnects going from my DAC to my pre were Kimber Select which are very good, but the other set were LAT International (now defunct) which had cost $500.00 when new, but I had reason to believe they were lacking because I have one of their digital cables that turned out to be very poor sounding in comparison to others I own.
I decided on a one meter pair of counterfeit Nordost Odin interconnects for a total of $104.00 from Aliexpress. I received them a couple of weeks later. They appeared to be well made, and the locking fake WBT rca's were very impressive and are very tight.
First impressions after installing them were light, thin sound, lacking bass. Each couple of days brought improvements, but from the beginning I noticed that they were quieter. Now, weeks later, I can say that they are drastically better that the LAT's in every way. Detail and ambience are much better, but it's the focus and separation of instruments that is most noticeable.
I have no way of knowing if they are really a copy of the Nordost design, but I am impressed enough that I am going to try a counterfeit Nordost digital cable.
Obviously, this isn't a comparison that is useful to most, because there probably isn't anyone here using the LAT's, and everything is system dependent. I just wanted to relay my positive experience.
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Nothing to do with the Chinese building stuff from their garage. Kudos to them. This is about counterfeit cables. Using other people’s brand names, logos, technology, design, IP, to come up with their “replicas”, imitation, copy/ cats. That’s completely ethical to you? |
I started the original topic, which ran for several pages, when I bought pairs of fake Cardas and Nordost Odin interconnects out of curiosity. I still have these and continue to be most impressed by the SQ and value for money. Recently I bought a new power amp which was balanced only and as I did not have a pair of XLR terminated interconnects and the amp purchase had exhausted my available funds to the extent I couldn't afford quality genuine cables, I went for a pair of the fake Chinese Odins. Much to my surprise the cost was cheaper ( A$60.00 including shipping and taxes) and the quality, if anything, was even better. The XLR connectors were marked Nordost Odin and the quality surpassed any other XLR connectors I had previously used. Did I feel guilty - yes fleetingly but that passed as I am an aged pensioner not a wealthy US businessman or ex businessman. Ok so my integrity level might have slipped somewhat but what about the integrity of US cable manufacturers or rather assemblers who charge the cost of a well appointed car for a 1metre pair of interconnects. Incidentally since I bought the initial pair of fake Odins I have been receiving unsolicited newsletters from Nordost. Coincidence or what? |
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