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Chinese fake cables How fake, how good?

I have noted a number of warnings about cheap Chinese fake cables on this site but curiosity led me to the Aliexpress site where I found a number of presumably fake big name cables from predominantly Cardas, Nordost and Siltech at about 15% of the USA or Australian price. I found Cardas Clear Light interconnects at about US$100 and decided what the heck let's give them a try at that price. Before buying I asked the seller the daft question as to whether they were genuine and got the reply that they were an OEM and constructed the interconnects from genuine Cardas cables and connectors. They arrived in a plastic bag rather than the Cardas box , not a great start but the cables looked real, and when connected, much to my surprise, they sounded really good. After 100hours or so burn in they sounded great and better than the Nordost Quatre Fils I had been using. I then took them to an Australian hi end dealer who sold real Cardas and asked rather ingenuously whether my cables were the real deal. The dealer would not commit but agreed to compare them to the real thing on a set up costing at a guess around A$100,00. Neither I nor the sales person could tell any difference so he then tried them against the Cardas Clear. Then there was some difference, not extreme but subtle, and certainly IMO not worth the price difference even if you bought the genuine Cardas Clear Light. So are these cables really fake and even if they are given my experience they are well worth a try. Maybe I'll try Nordost Odin or Siltech 770i next.
128x128mazian
toddc2
19 posts
 
Someone on another site sold me a fake Siltech SPX-800 power cable for $350 USD claiming it was authentic. The cable worked properly but it didn't make a noticeable difference on my amplifier so I had my suspicions about it's authenticity. I sent the fake to Plurison and was promptly told "there's not one microgram of silver in this cheap knock-off."  They destroyed the cable and I was out the $350. 

The exterior of the fake looked fantastic, even Plurison was somewhat impressed. The fakes can look really really good. Shame on whoever made the cable and bigger shame on the guy that sold it to me as "authentic." Buyer beware on the used market. 

 
giri
39 posts
 
Recently, I bought PS Audio ac12 power cords from China, look good, sound good. Saved lot of money. Cannot compare to one from US shops, they are expensive. I bought USA made stuff from PS Audio and had nothing but problems, had to send back to factory 4 times due to manufacturing problems (they told me that it is very rare, for some reason, I believe them!). So, buyer beware is the best approach. 
grm
149 posts
 
Hi,
For me, I purchase my cables from Authorized dealers exclusively, never used, no matter what site they are on. Because of completely outrageous and in my opinion unjustified cost by some cable manufacturers, I simply cannot afford the perceived top shelf hooch. I can see why some people will try the knock-offs, I sometimes actually burst out with laughter when I see a interconnect that costs as much as my entire system! Crazy, right? I use authentic Kimber Silver Streaks throughout my system, they sound great to me and I can afford them. I know for a fact that there are many Fakes, even with this affordable cable, again, crazy. I'm quite content with the knowledge I'm supporting the now rare audio salon, the manufacturer, and feeling I get knowing I have the real thing. My 2 cents.
GRM       
larryi
3,981 posts
 
Some fakes are pretty impressive, as far as getting the looks right. Some even use authentic parts to get the right look.  Anyone can buy Audio Note RCA jacks and wire to make their own Audio Note cables.  But, I've seen the authentic jacks put onto fake Audio Note wire to make quite bad sounding knock-offs.  These fakes are pretty common on the used market.

As to some of the suggestions that the genuine wire is itself a rip off if you add up the cost of the parts, that is a trickier analysis.  Can someone really make their own Nordost Odin cable--are all the constituent parts available and is there a practical way to actually assemble the parts?  I've seen their cables and they are made of multiple strands of wire that are individually wrapped with some kind of fiber, which is itself covered by another insulator.  It is meaningless to add up the amount of silver, amount of teflon, etc. to derive a "cost" of the material.  I am sure Nordost has a crazy high margin on these products, but, if you like the performance of the cable, you have to pay the price to get it, or make it yourself, or find a cheaper alternative.
dht4me's avatar
dht4me
82 posts
 
American equipment manufacturers have been blurring the line for years. Audioquest made a video walk throuh of their plant to prove they were made in the USA. Well I call BS!  The plant had spools of product and soldering stations but where is the foundry and the plastic extrusion machines, chillers and heavy equipment to make even bare wire yet alone insulated wire in a co-extruded sleeve? My uncle worked at Anaconda Copper in Hastings NY and the infrastructure is huge and Audioquest has a tiny building where they supposedly "manufacture" cables but in reality they are terminating bulk cable made elsewhere.

Apple probably has the best designed and built phones in the world and they are made in China by Foxcon. Why would people believe that anything made there is garbage? My guess is that most of these things are made in China and the bulk product is sent to be finished and packaged in other countries.
With that said I have some genuine Tara labs cables and some from Alibaba.  I have a very resolving system and I can not discern which is which sonically or visually. So YMMV and the price was exceptional.

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