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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
sgordon1
437 posts
 
I don't know what I am buying.  I freely
admit this!

If I like what I am hearing and believe it to
be a good value, I will be very happy.

I am not an enthusiast seeking to change the world,
by following edicts like "never do this" (buy fake goods
from China).

I just want to enjoy good sound, and accept the challenge
of doing it at a "reasonable" cost..

Make sense?

PS, I e-mailed a dealer who offered me Odin 1 at
a 50% discount.  Thanks, but no thanks.


bigcalx20's avatar
bigcalx20
1 posts
 
For some crazy reasoning in this blog,Americans as a people are elitist. There once was a time in American history that we fought to produce our own goods free from British rule. Fast forward 1975 or so,some billionaire said it cost too much to manufacture automobiles in the U.S. Enter the Honda Accord. And they haven't looked back. Americans whose incomes can support "Authorized resellers " can't fathom something being copied and sold as legit but aren't these same people making 90-98% of all the products in our homes? Start looking at country's of manufacture origin. Nothing is "made in America "" truly.
Look at all the brands that to stay in the game had to resort to "Chinese " manufacturers. We all should stop buying any products that are not made here but we have gone way too far to ever return to those days.
So if a supposed " knock-off" satisfies your audio orgasm bust it with the best of them because in all honesty the final judge is the person spending his/ her hard earned money on the things they feel complete they're audio systems to their liking.
scroydon's avatar
scroydon
25 posts
 
The origin of manufacturing is irrelevant to the discussion.

If a knockoff sound as good as genuine it may be genuine but pushed out the back door by employees trying to pad a paycheck. Theft of property rights is often the norm in China and genuine R&D gets robbed of cashflow that furthers more R&D.

That is what matters. Are we supporting the efforts of producers and their employees and other shareholders or are we supporting thievery?

I didn't cheat the recording industry by taping my friends records and buying knockoff or B-Stock or product picked up from a manufacturer's floor sold as the real deal still costs the original manufacturer his due,  whether insanely priced or otherwise.
avanti1960
1,480 posts
 
example- are these fake?  
https://www.ebay.com/itm/383796051249?hash=item595c06fd31:g:D3oAAOSwX-Bfo2mk
rocknss
130 posts
 
scroydon14 posts01-18-2021 3:06pmThe origin of manufacturing is irrelevant to the discussion.

If a knockoff sound as good as genuine it may be genuine but pushed out the back door by employees trying to pad a paycheck. Theft of property rights is often the norm in China and genuine R&D gets robbed of cashflow that furthers more R&D.

This is a well known issue with manufacturing in China. I don't really have any sympathy for them if they choose this option, apparently they believe that those costs are cheaper then manufacturing in the US.

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