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

128x128roxy54

It's amusing to see how the Viborg brand is more expensive than "Tara Labs", "Nordost" and "Cardas".

IMO the store you should use is RM Digital. There are various cheaper versions of these Odin knock offs but the build does not look as as good as the ones from that store. My experience is with the power cable only.

 

I would also avoid the Odin Gold knock offs. Its not going to be using gold conductor like the real Odin Gold. All they are doing is coloring the connectors and internal conductor shield of the Odin 2 to a gold color. On the power cables you can even see they have dipped the shield in a fake gold paint and it is flaking off inside the clear teflon tube exposing the silver underneath.

What’s the point of having a cable, even a knock off, that has fake gold paint on it? It’s never going to be real gold use your head. Infact its probably going to be a worse performing cable with gold paint on the outer shield.

 

 

Just received the second (3M) pair from China from the Timeless audio store.

First listen, they sound like they are already broken in! Not like the other set.

They are like the other set, very good looking and seem to have pretty good sound quality. Especially for the money.

ozzy

Wow! I just read most of this thread. It’s disturbing to say the least. Sooner or later, if not already, someone US based with figure out a “business” out of this, buy these cables in bulk, and sell them as used genuine cables “bought from authorized dealer “. My guess is it’s easy to secure genuine boxes and original cases. Very sad

@thyname 

Yeah, that is my concern. On the other hand I would not buy a +$10K cable used, except from a reputable dealer. While, they may say Nordost… the wood blocks are a joke… any dealer would know the difference.

 

Honestly, I am interested to hear one in my main system… having heard a real one. The real one was the best interconnect I have ever heard.