I couldn't resist it Jerry. It was such a comical mistake.
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.
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I become less and less comfortable with buying these things. I bought a couple just to be sure when I said they don’t sound like the real thing, I really tried them. Ok, mission accomplished. I had real Nordost Odin 2 in my system and the fake ones do not sound anything like them.
But there is a lot more important point here. Buying stuff that you know is fake is ethically wrong. The problem is there is a large aftermarket for cables. I have bought Transparent and other cables (as test cables). Buy flooding the world with fake branded cables they fuel the used market. I will destroy the fake Nordost that I bought, but will everyone? Will many folks decide to sell them in the used market? This is a real problem. So, it is really best no one buys these things. |
@ghdprentice Nice post and yes it is of questionable ethics to buy known counterfeit products. The problem is not the Chinaman. |
Ok back to the regularly scheduled program…for those of you who might care how these Chinese cables sound my experience is that the Odin 2 silver RCA interconnects copy sound very good. I compared them to WBC Mogami and Morrow MA3 and the Odin sounded much better than either of them. So much more detail, improved bass and more layered defined soundstage. Best I have heard. Additionally, I compared the copy Kimber Kable 12TC DIY speaker cable with 100% copper spades to DH Labs Silver Sonic Q-10 Signature cables and the 12TC sounded much better. Much more detail, better defined bass and just a much fuller richer sound.
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