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

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Aside from the cables that are cearly counterfeit, I think the issue rasied around the more expensive, made in China cables like SKW, is an interesting discussion.  I have no problem buying high quality at lower prices.  Here is an example of power cord I'm considering:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003591571982.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000060.3.642f3652vfz06t&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller&scm=1007.13339.291025.0&scm_id=1007.13339.291025.0&scm-url=1007.13339.291025.0&pvid=f3ca4259-219d-403b-b536-61310791ad5c&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller,scm-url:1007.13339.291025.0,pvid:f3ca4259-219d-403b-b536-61310791ad5c,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238114%231999&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2212000026408994339%22%2C%22sceneId%22%3A%223339%22%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21CAD%2159.32%2138.55%21%21%21%21%21%402103222016672433571074029ed847%2112000026408994339%21rec

The specs are impressive.  OCC Copper.  15 strands per run equals 10 AWG.  In talks with the vendor he assures the specs are all valid.  If you Google OCC Copper you will find there are 20+ factories in China maufacturing wire using the OCC casting process.  And at $38 CDN per meter this is a great deal.

So why am I so hesitant to believe this product is what it claims?  I have no doubts when a Canadian or US vendor tells me they use OCC Copper and charge me 5 times as much.  I hate to admit this but I think it's the inherent racist views we have learned to hold againd all things Chinese.  I try not to be that person but I can't find any other explanation.  It's a sad comment on the world today, or at the very least, on the person the world today is making me.  

@bigtwin Looking over the link you provided, there is a lot of description, and it might be there, but I did not see anything that actually says the wire is made in China and none of the pictures of the wire shows the "Made in xxx" country.

I wonder if the Chinese vendors are buying cable made in Japan at volume discounts and then selling it for a markup on AliExpress.  

Incidentally, I would prefer cable made in Japan as are my Canare.

@jetter  In talks with the vendor, he refered to "thier factory".  I assumed he is talking about a Chinese factory.  I could be wrong but I think he would have highlighted the fact the wire comes from Japan is that were the case?

@nasaman

Pretty disingenuous John. Would you feel the same if the cords sounded great to you? And then you mention Amazon. I buy a lot of stuff from them too, but how do you think that is going to help America? That stuff is coming from China too. If you felt that strongly about trade with China, why did you buy them to begin with?

@nasaman had a moment of weakness and regrets his actions. Why are you such a strong supporter of the pirates as others have called them?

Why do you hate America?

Why do you hate American small business and ingenuity?

Why do you have such low ethics and integrity?

As it was posted earlier "But Mom everyone is doing it!" 

The old two wrongs make a right well it is a fallacy and illogical.   

I know one thing, I would never buy a used cable from any the folks in this thread. 

i love uh-mareca" only buys chinese knockoffs - Redneck Randal - quickmeme