2. cables
  3. 160821-520

has anyone tried chinese cables?

Some of the cables on Ali Express, for example, look nice.  Of course, things like "Odin 2" cables for a few hundred dollars aren't legit, and the number of Cardas copies are legendary.  That doesn't necessarily mean they all suck.  They probably aren't all trademark-infringing ripoffs.  Lots of good hifi products are made in China, and those factories need to stay busy.  Asking if anyone has actually tried them; there's no way to tell visually what lies inside the insulation, or whether occ 7n copper really is only 6n. 
128x128lloydc
b4icu's avatar
b4icu
558 posts
 
Hi
When I look at your post, I wonder what properties do Chinese cables have, that others don't?
Till now, most went after cables with a say:
Ultra pure copper, Directional wire, Silver, Bi wire, Creo treated, Hex structure, or pure snake oil. 
No one asked for the electrical properties: resistance!
Well, that is a figure to calculate, based on the Amp's DF and the cable length. If you go by the first parameters, you can get a  Chinese cable for less. If you go by the calculated resistance value, it can be of any nationality, as long it has the same resistance. 
melm
1,082 posts
 
Further to my post above re: Monolith USB cables and how they are like those by Audioquest. Since (many, all?) Audioquest cables are made in China too, they may very well come out of the same factory. The Audioquest costing at least $80, the Monolith at $13.

So, actually what is a Chinese cable?
hdm
1,062 posts
 
I just replaced all my power cables with "Chinese cables". Initially I replaced only connectors (male/IEC) on DIY power cords that I'd used
for years that were cryoed DH Labs Power Plus with cryoed Marinco
connectors. Those outperformed a number of $300-$400 commercial 
offerings when I built them 12-15 years ago and prices have only gone
up as in most things audio. 

I used Viborg VM/VF 512 connectors ($60 a pair) and had those cryoed
before sticking them on the DH Labs and they were a big bang for the buck, big enough for me to buy a metre of Viborg 1606 raw cable
(which I also had cryoed) to switch out for the DH Labs on my 
integrated and experiment with. I ended up buying another 4 metres of the 1606 and built 4 power cords (two very short ones for a power distributor and a linear power supply for a DAC) and have enough left over for a 5th for my blu-ray player when I get around to it. 

The 1606/VM/VF 512 combination builds an unbelievably good 
9.5 AWG triple shielded very good power cord for $100-$125 max
excluding my cryo costs which were about another $80-$100 (would 
have been a lot less but I had stuff go into the unit on 4 different 
occasions). 

So for about $500 I have 5 power cords that would probably compete
with at least $2500 worth of commercial offerings and very possibly 
quite a bit more than that. 
audiodwebe's avatar
audiodwebe
244 posts
 

They've turned out to be my new favorites.

I started with the Odin 2 speaker cables.  I liked them quite a bit and better than the Hologram 2 I also have.  I then tried the Redwoods.  Quite awesome speaker cables.

I've now also gotten a pair of Odin XLRs.  I like them as much as the authentic Quattro Fils they replaced. 

Maybe I've just lucked out, but the ones I've gotten from Aliexpress have proven to be fantastic cables. 

I've got a pretty revealing mid-fi rig in an acoustically treated room and the cables allow me to hear differences in DACs and transports I've swapped in and out of my system quite easily.

Well worth the price.

thyname's avatar
thyname
3,107 posts
 
If you go Chinese, go Ghent:

https://www.ghentaudio.com/part/index-sp.html

Cheap, decent, and great ordering/ shipping/ customer service
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