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.
Simple, the same reason a Rolex is orders of magnitude more than a plastic digital watch. They both tell time. Someone is willing to pay for it. That’s how the market works. It’s not magic, it’s capitalism. Why a Picasso cost millions and a painting from the flee market cost ten bucks, why a Ferrari cost more than most houses? Hope that helps. |
@tweak1 …”, my guess is as long as the seller presents them honestly,” This is where I have the concern. First one buys counterfeit and then years later… think folks are going to explain they are counterfeit? Sure a few. But the used audio market is international. If you look for cables… there are lots of sellers from all over the world.
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The problem is that "the real" are fake, and "the fake" are about as real as "the real". It all comes down to the pseudo science and fake claims made by the big bucks cable companies. What is "real" about both are the materials used to make them-- and in the case of many cable fakes, those materials are about the same. I’d be willing to bet anyone that they could not hear any difference consistently between the real and the fake in any decently run double blind test. IMO, "the real" are sometimes more fake than "the fakes"-- because of the absurd and unsubstantiated claims made by "the real" cable companies. You know, the ones making OBSCENE profits from selling you "the real" versions. Do good cables make a difference? Yes! Is there even more difference if you spend thousands per cable? Sorry, nope, nada, no way, no how. |
