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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
cd318
2,636 posts
 
Err...half the UK audio industry has moved production out to China without any adverse quality control issues. 

It's the implementation that counts. We used to hear this crap about Japanese cars until it sank in that they left the British made ones for dead when it came to QC and reliability. Ditto for motorbikes.

In fact it can be argued that British manufacturing, what's left of it, has improved dramatically because of this direct competition. 

As for the quality of these goods, well there is always the acid test - listening. No wonder some cable makers / sellers are so troubled - their little racket party has been gatecrashed.

The Chinese probably can't believe the idiocy of westerners paying such prices for copper cables, or for polyester football shirts for that matter.....


tlinkie
107 posts
 
Your getting shafted if you buy the fakes . your also getting shafted paying the inflated price for the real ones. Classic catch 22

Simply buy from a moderately priced vendor which publishes specs, like Blue Jeans Cable or Zu Audio.


Also. I do not read posts which are over 5000 words long, so apologies to the other gentleman upthread.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
There is a difference between a Foreign company using inexpensive labor in China to assemble or manufacture products using materials and methods supplied by the Foreign company in their own facility AND a Chinese company producing its own products with its own materials, methods, facility, etc. However, China is not shy about acquiring methods, materials, etc. any way it can, including espionage. Japan, on the other hand, produces great products. They always did. There is no comparison between China and Japan in that respect.
boxer12
8,656 posts
 
cd318, It's hardly the same thing... Japan improved upon a given design (car, watch, whatever) and put their own name on it.  
petg60
1,486 posts
 
nice subject, we all buy from time to time fake or imitation products and in the end we wonder why we did not purchase original from the start.
We are not rich to spend money like this. The good scenario is that nowadays a fake product will behave 70%-80% at best compared to original one but it is not genuine and ethic wise is not correct (reasons well expressed on all above comments).  On the other hand today all products, be original or fake, have a decent quality at least. I do not have experience with fake copper made cables but avoid any Siltech imitation, they do not come even close. 
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