I think that if you look closer at the description, you might see that it actually says copper. I don't know which ad you were looking at, but I've noticed this discrepancy with several of the ads, and then sometimes a photo of the product will actually say copper on the cable. I don't believe that any of the fake Nordost are silver. They might ne silver plated copper at best, and the use of the word "sterling" is in itself probably inaccurate. I believe that silver used in cables is always as pure as possible, or as pure as the customer can afford.
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.
- ...
- 920 posts total
Anyone bought the HiFi Dragons from Ali Express? They don’t say “Audioquest “ in their description, but the Audioquest name and logo is all over the place in the pictures. On another note, I wonder what the deal is with those counterfeit cables. Are they done from third party cable makers, copying the design, or are they “back door “ products from the same China factory/ workshops the real cables are made? That’s the real question is my guess. In any case, buying and selling used cables in Audiogon or USAM will for sure be much more difficult. Nobody will trust any individual seller on the authenticity of a cable with all these counterfeits around and readily available. And someone will surely find “innovative “ ways to make this a business, buying them cheap from Ali, and selling them here as “used” authentic cables. If not already happening that is, which I suspect it is |
well, this is not about deliberately buying the fakes from Ali, but to the point where @thyname makes - sometime back I bought 3 PS Audio AC12 power cords from authorized PS Audio dealer when they sold through dealership (this dealer was also listed in their website). When I received the cables, they looked very "genuine" superficially but sounded so so after given a long time with breakin. At the same time, there was a fake power cord thread on the PS Audio forums and I wrote to PS Audio asking if they would do an inspection of their cables which they gladly accepted. I sent just one. Within a week, I get a message from PSA that its a fake cable and asked me to sent the other two and so I did. As in turns out, all 3 were fake cables. The dealer had no idea how it landed in his stockpile. I have also bought DS DACs, BHK Preamps and Power Plant P20 from this dealer as well, so there is absolutely no reason for me to suspect the dealer. Being PSA as they are with their customer service, they replaced all 3 with the genuine ones free of cost. The bottom line is you never know what’s happening in the background, especially in the cable business where there is a huge profit margin with a fraction of the production cost. |
You were lucky. Maybe because you could prove it you bought them from an authorized dealer. I know with Audioquest, if you send a cable over for authentication, and it’s found counterfeit, you will never get it back. Or any replacement. Audioquest will however provide a detailed technical report on that cable, but only if you were to dispute the purchase with the seller and trying to get the money back via legal manners (I.e PayPal dispute, or credit card). |
- 920 posts total