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

For anyone interested, I've found a compromise that works for me.  You can see it on thread "Not Chinese Fakes But Not big $$$ Either"  

I, too, tried the fake Odin 2 cables and found them to sound pretty good. A bit harsh but more detailed than the Audioquest it replaced. I definitely agree that there is a moral concern, though. I ended up using acetone to wipe off the Odin brand name from the connector and used wood stain to cover the burned on mark on the wood block. That way nobody can sell these on the second hand market as Odin's after I'm dead. Interestingly, I do now wonder what legal ultra high-end cables sound like, which makes the fakes a bit of a loss-leader! :-)

@pprocter

 

I had the privilege of auditioning a set of real Odin 2 ($17K) in my system for several weeks (my system is shown under my ID). I replaces a set of Transparent Ultra Gen 6 ( ~$3K). They sounded very similar for a few days… then I started to realize I was hearing slightly more detail, but the details were more natural sounding… and real… the more I listened the better they sounded. I had to pull them from my system… I could not afford to buy them… but they are clearly world class interconnects… pretty awe inspiring. If I could afford them, I would upgrade my preamp (to the Top of the line ARC)…. Then buy Odin 2 interconnects and. cables.

This is wrong on so many levels. There are plenty of good quality Chinese cables and components that aren't fakes.

Producing fakes destroys the used market which is very important to our hobby.

Currently I've seen some hi-end cables I would like to buy but the seller can't produce a receipt. Without provenance used cables are a gamble and as good as worthless.

Would you like to live in a country where you can't trust that baby formula doesn't have gypsum mixed in it?

Fake drugs, fake everything.

Generally I buy new now unless I can buy with proof of original sale.