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

@roxy54 , maan you are DEFINITELY #1 watcher for the correct spelling and grammer. A true and dedicated language pro or even Nazi...

I myte consider doin' wrong spelling on perpuz so to be entertained by your ansorz :-)

Sorry for exposed roxy-pot-roast recipe. 

@czarivey 

Thanks for the compliment. I let most of them pass because with many, like yourself, English is not their primary language, and I admire those who are bilingual which I am not. That said, we can all learn from corrections, and be better for it.

When a person uses improper spelling, punctuation or conjugation in written words, I think readers lose respect for them. 

@roxy54 brass is much maligned nowadays but it has been the metal of choice for connectors for almost a century.

Oh yes, some good pure copper or silver (if you can afford those) might be even better, but my Chinese Valhalla SC sound so fabulous with their original, chinese brass bananas that I doubt I’ll ever bother to swap them. I’m not in a hurry anyways.

@rolox

If I had speaker cables like those that were already terminated, I wouldn’t try to reterminate them because you might run into trouble if you’re not really experienced. Having said that, I had read in recent years that brass wasn’t as good as conductor as copper, so I decided to change the binding posts on my speakers to KLE low mass copper from the heavy brass ones that they came with, and the positive sonic difference was noticeable.

More recently, I bought a different set of speakers that are single wire, and I had a bit of a problem, because my favored cables were an internally biwired set. For a few weeks I used them with the unused banana plugs just hanging out in free space, obviously not a good idea.

I then remembered that I had for many years these Monster cable heavy brass banana five-way things that would allow me to put the other two banana terminated wired in contact with the speaker. I lived with that for several weeks until I remembered that I had seen some piggyback bananas once, and if I could find them it would solve my problem. I did some research and found solid copper piggyback bananas on walmart.com (of all places!) for $19.00 for the 4 pieces that I needed. The were made with set screws (no soldering) and I did the job two days ago.

Punchline, the difference sonically is a revelation! For the first time in three months, I am realizing how good my speakers really are. I am still shocked.

I have since looked at binding posts and RCA’s on walmart.com, and it turns out that they are a great source for these things at extremely affordable prices.

4Pcs Banana Plugs 45 Degree Angled Banana Connectors Screw Locking Connectors for AV Receiver,Amplifier,Speaker Silver - Walmart.com

Rolox.

Do your Chinese Valhalla SC have the large ( approximately 3 inch by 3 inch wood sections) that the clear plastic portion wire runs thru) ?

Aliexpress shows 2 different versions.... One with the aforementioned wood blocks...its referred to as Nordost Valhalla 2 Reference. The other, less expensive version, is call Valhalla 2.