Revisiting Chinese Knockoff Cables
Why I don/t know, but the first thread has been removed recently. So, having benefited from it greatly, I felt compelled to recap my journey, so that others of limited budgets might make a huge leap that they otherwise could not afford:
When I first got my EVS 1200 I was using Series 8 WireWorld interconnects, speaker cables and Pangea Premier XL 1.5m coax cable. As you mentioned, I was extremely happy with the amp (compared to PS Audio M700s). Eventually I came across the Chinese Cable knockoff thread and first tried the fau-Nordost Odin 1.5m coax which was/is amazing: as they were so cheap compared to the $169 1.5m Pangea, I also bought a 1.0M Odin, but didn’t try it until after I replaced both the WW cables with Odin 2 XLRs and cables. Then I replaced the 1.5m with the 1.0 and was kinda blown away that 0.5m of the same coax could be THAT much better.
While my all SS system sounded very good, it was a bit too sharp, so I ordered Odin Gold speaker cables (at ~ $170/2.5m). Unfortunately one leg must of had a bad solder joint as it barely sent the music . It took a couple months before they replaced it, which I finally installed 2 days ago: BAM. Even immediately, but of course it needs break in time. The weather here (Ft Lauderdale) has been really bad, I have only left for short quick trips. Today we are under a tornado watch, so won't leave, but as soon as I can get out for a few hours I will put on my XLO burn-in disc, which I use on everything I insert, including the M 700s, EVS, and Voyager which expedites break in, which still takes a good 50-100-200 hours!
Summing this up: cables can/do make or break a system. If I had these cables when I first got the EVS, I probably would never have gotten the Voyager, which of course I am itching to compare again, but could still be awhile
Until today, I have not been getting updates since you asked for the VeraFi link https://verafiaudiollc.com/products/vibration-black-hole
They have quite a few excellent value products IE the Snubway, even with 20amp dedicated line and corepower 1800 the Snubway significantly improved my CDs |
I bought Odin ii power (1.5m) and Odin ii Gold RCA interconnect (1m) knock off cables. I got both cables a week ago. I put an intercont cable to FryBaby2 cable burner for 4 days. After that it sounds wonderful, comparable to my 25 years old Acrotec 2080 (Its retail price was $850). And the Odin Gold interconnect is getting better and better. The power cable is a different story. I don't have a burn-in device for it. So I connected my PC with two monitors to the outlet strip using this cable. After a week I tried to use it with my DAC . The sound is not clean and focused on high-frequencies yet. (I'm using my DAC with Furutech FP-S20N AC cable and FI-C15 NCF IEC). How much time does Odin ii power cable need for break-in? |
Update on replacing the AliExpress Odin 2 silver interconnect in my system. After a week of constant playing, it beats all my other interconnects, by a lot. It’s staying in place between my Chord Qutest and my amp for now. Oh, and it was only $23.81, which about 20x cheaper than my previous reference Nanotec/Furutech cable. |
