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Counterfeit Chinese Cables

I thought that I would write this for those who are curious about one of the many counterfeit Chinese interconnect cables that are available these days. I know that there have been threads about the subject before, and I was always curious because they seem to be such a bargain. I don't really recall much about what any members actually said about the performance of these counterfeit cables, and I didn't look back and do any research, but a couple of months ago there was a thread that came around to discussing the quality of Chinese made components, and oldhvymec said something that made sense to me.

He said that people that say that what they are making is junk should consider that much of what is in our gear, and a lot of our American brands are actually manufactured there. I decided shortly after that that I would take the chance on a set of interconnects, because I suspected that the interconnects going from my pre to my amp were the weak link and needed upgrading. The interconnects going from my DAC to my pre were Kimber Select which are very good, but the other set were LAT International (now defunct) which had cost $500.00 when new, but I had reason to believe they were lacking because I have one of their digital cables that turned out to be very poor sounding in comparison to others I own.

I decided on a one meter pair of counterfeit Nordost Odin interconnects for a total of $104.00 from Aliexpress. I received them a couple of weeks later. They appeared to be well made, and the locking fake WBT rca's were very impressive and are very tight. 

First impressions after installing them were light, thin sound, lacking bass. Each couple of days brought improvements, but from the beginning I noticed that they were quieter. Now, weeks later, I can say that they are drastically better that the LAT's in every way. Detail and ambience are much better, but it's the focus and separation of instruments that is most noticeable. 

I have no way of knowing if they are really a copy of the Nordost design, but I am impressed enough that I am going to try a counterfeit Nordost digital cable.

Obviously, this isn't a comparison that is useful to most, because there probably isn't anyone here using the LAT's, and everything is system dependent. I just wanted to relay my positive experience. 

Nordost ODIN&2 RCA Fever Audio Signal Cable Double Lotus Sterling Silver Audio Cord Video CD Amplifier Tube Cable High Quality| | - AliExpress

roxy54
tweak1
3,685 posts
 

Ozzy, I think you will smile at taking the plunge. FYI: they are returnable

melm
1,085 posts
 

@rsf507

I do take issue with this Chinese cable being marked as "Nordost Odin 2." I can’t say I know what the legalities are. Google, an American company, permits them to advertise this way and is happy to take their money. American capitalism at its . . best. I am confident that no one will think they are getting the "real" Nordost Odin 2 for the price being asked. While the cable and terminations look fine enough, the wooden rings that carry the false labeling seem crudely made compared to pictures of the real ones. So it’s a poor counterfeit. Nevertheless, as to my personal point of view I hold no brief for Nordost. I can buy a nice car for what they charge for a 1 meter pair of their Odin 2 interconnects. For the cable business generally, "ripoff" comes pretty close to describing their exploitation of the audiophile buyer IMO. And they’ve been doing it for a very long time.

 

ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,579 posts
 

I guess if the cables were not labeled Nordost Odin 2 it would not have attracted so much attention. 

Again, I don't expect it to be much, but I hope I am surprised. For the total price including shipping it is worth a trial.

ozzy

ghdprentice
7,558 posts
 

I admit to be a bit conflicted in buying a pair just for fun… although this is not stopping me from buying real ones. If I could afford them, I would probably buy real ones… but a full loom would cost roughly the same as my system, so that would be a hard sell.
 

I swapped them in to my headphone system between my DAC and headphone amp. I had a pair of Harmonics Pro-Silway 2 before the switch (high quality “budget” ($600?, 25 years ago) interconnects (silver coated copper). I was expecting a notable shift to a bit more trebly sound. No, immediate noticeable change… pretty good for $50. I’ll have to hook them up to my break in system and see what they sound like with a couple hundred hours on them. 

spenav
445 posts
 

Like it has been said times and again, the fake Nordost is not in competition with the real one for various reasons that have been pointed out in this thread. Unintendedly, it is doing a number on cables between $50 to $3k+, especially the Gold. Wish they had called it Neardost. That would have solved a lot of ethical and moral conflicts. I always thought that when it comes to cables, there is a certain level where real improvements are really a matter of opinion, personal taste and visual preferences. After trying a set of Neardost PCs in my AGD monos, I realize that I was wrong in at least one count: my current power cables had not reached that level yet. There were rooms for improvement. I will not name the cable that was replaced out of fairness for the manufacturer.
P.S. I removed the wooden blocks right away to dissolve any pretense. At $35k a piece, the real deal is out of my league.

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