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.
You know this one thread is selling a bunch of their stuff. I bought a pair of single ended interconnects just to see what they sounded like. The only place they would fit was in my headphone system. They sounded pretty good. But to really evaluate a set of interconnects I needed a longer set of XLR. So I just bought a pair. These I can swap into my main system and test against my contemporary Transparent Ultra. Should be interesting. |
Yes, aside from the polarizing subject of the fake Nordost cables, I think that it's a great thing that other members are discovering the high quality, reasonably priced cables and interconnects that are available under different legitimate brand names from vendors on AliExpress and other Asian sites. There is risk involved because returns may be difficult/impossible, but the money involved is not much, and if members share information about specific cables they have bought, and from which vendor, which is already happening, then the risk will be minimized. |
@harpo75 You have said you purchased some fake AudioQuest and Furutech cables that have amazed you with their quality. What store in Aliexpress did you buy them from? I am eager to test these near copies of the originals to see for myself if they are as great as stories have been told. |
