I have tried many Chinese cable products and currently use some in a mix with other commonly marketed brands from here in the US. Some items are just OK and price appropriate, and some are very good and fantastic bargains. I am currently using an Audiomeca power cable that cost about $100 on my phono preamp’s power supply and it is great. I also have had good luck with inexpensive Chinese power conditioners. I would not call them Shunyata “killers”, but they clean up power in some challenging environments and improve sound. These products are all Chinese branded.
I have also built many power cables from Chinese supplied parts that are clearly fake imitations of well known Japanese products and they make good sounding cords. I would never try to sell these as anything other than home made cables from carefully Chinese sourced parts, and if I ever did try to sell them, I would cover any markings that might hint at a false branding. Currently I just use them or give them away to friends.
I also have experience with a couple of cables from China marketed as well known name brands and models. One was a supposed Furutech power cable that when available retailed for over $3k. I think I paid about $100 USD. Although it passed simple tests for continuity (no shorts or current leakage across conductors), resistance, and capacitance, it sounded dull and lifeless, and the connector which looked like $350 NCF product physically fell apart after about 6 months. I think that would qualify as “garbage”.
The other name brand product I tried from China is an Odin 2 silver interconnect. The outward build quality and resemblence to the real thing is uncanny - either a cable that got lost from the OEM factory floor, or a remarkable forgery. My initial reaction to this cable was competent but not compelling enough to replace any of my existing cables. I have some recent experience with mid-tier Nordorst cables, and I don’t hear the pace and dynamics in this Chinese “Odin”. The reason I am posting today is that I recently pulled it out of my closet to try with a completely revamped digital front end and I was astounded by what I heard. It sounds very different from any other interconnect that I have, and in some ways better. I am leaving it in for the Nordost prescribed 168 hours of burn-in to see where it settles down. For comparison, my other cables cost between $200 and $500, so I am not saying this forgery is as good as the original, just that it clearly isn’t “garbage”. And I think it cost me about $45.
kn