IMO a counterfeit cable buyer says more about the buyer then the SQ or quality of the cable. The question is why would anyone knowingly buy a "fake" cable? They might claim curiosity or some might even believe they are able to copy the R&D of the cable makers. I think many want brand recognition most can't afford a true "Valhalla" cable and fewer won't pay the cost of admission for various reasons. Why not just buy Mogami cables and be done, if you are a cable "denier" "law of diminishing returns" or "snake oil" proponent?
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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@disc Thanks!👍 |
" Why not just buy Mogami cables and be done" The answer to your question is that many who can’t afford the real thing are curious about the sound of an imitation that is built in a similar way. It’s not too hard to understand. That said, I took the advice of another poster here and purchased a set of silver Xangsane interconnects which are self-branded, not fake anything, and they are amazingly good sounding and well made for $110.00. There are some good genuine Chinese made audio products. |
@roxy54 Thx for the civil reply. My point was if one does not believe there is any SQ difference between any cable or power cord why even bother wasting time and money buying anything but the least expensive. |
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