2. cables
  3. 147199-117322

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
nohissaudio
4 posts
 
There's a seller on ebay describing his China cables in the description box and he is comparing them to Car Axles. Made of the same material as CV Joints. I kid you not.
What in the world does a car axle have to do with audio cables? And he has sales. Its frigging unbelievable.
The Chinese they have good fakes, in-between fakes, and god-awful fakes. But they're all Fake. Take your pick.

daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,884 posts
 
Can't talk about cable fakes...but in the guitar world it has been known for years that there are tons of fake Gibson Les Paul's out there. So much so, that the well known brick and mortar stores here in the US have sold these as real for years!! These very same fakes are so well made that unless you take the guitar apart, you would never know! Problem is that the fakes are many times sold for the same price as the real item! One of the reasons that I will not personally buy a new Les Paul.
Presumably the fake cables are sold for a fraction of the real items price...which brings one to the old saying.." if it is too good to be true!"

BTW, anyone know about the fake cartridges that are being sold as the real deal??? Like fake Benz'es, Koetsu's, Clearaudio's etc..?
chipdelacalzada
64 posts
 
I purchased what I believe is a fake Furutech power cord with fake Oyaide 079 AC plugs while in Shanghai last year. At the time I didn't realize it was fake since I purchased it at a "hifi mall" which sold all types of high-end speakers and amplifiers which I'm pretty sure are authentic.

There was one stall that sold 2nd hand power cords and speaker cables (Siltech, Synergistic Research, Krell), and I ended up getting a Furutech Alpha PS-9 cord. Upon checking the Furutech website there's no Alpha PS-9 cord and the AC Plugs have no "Oyaide" brand printed on it. The same AC plug can be had on eBay for $10 upon checking. The sad news is that it sounds pretty darn good and was my 2nd favorite power cord.

Upon realizing this I've ordered an authentic Furutech power cord from eBay and authentic AC and IEC plugs from Chris at VH audio and will compare it to the "fake" one when I have received and installed it.
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,856 posts
 

Germantown


Welcome! I share your joy in carefully selecting Cabling for every system.

I, too, never (knowingly) purchase Audio junk-sourced to china. Not enough quality control nor vetting for me. It is no secret that some Cable companies secretly purchase the bulk materials from china as mentioned above. Worse,  these same companies allow manufacturing out of the states, then bring products back in country. Tara Labs was popped a few years ago on this very practice/subject. Audioquest, Cardas and Wireworld  may be guilty of their respective newer cable offerings.

I really like the Audioquest Storm Series Power Cords, for the record.

Prior to any purchase, ask questions , do your homework and research these manufacturers.  Happy Listening!

audiogabby's avatar
audiogabby
184 posts
 
Fake, clone, copy, imitation or any other name for that matter, those cables do work when you connect them to your equipment. Some of them ( like in my case) outperform highly touted U.S. made reference cables. The seller informed me when asked that they were a copy. Let’s say i’m happy with my $225 cables that replaced a $500 pair of cables. Just so we are clear, I’m aware some of them are real bad.
More to discover