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Counterfeit Audioquest Cables

I just wanted to put out a general query in regards to how people feel Audioquest is handling the issue of counterfeit cables. Personally, I am a huge fan of Audioquest and their products but I feel there could be a little more room for transparency on their behalf... No pun intended...

I don't mean to sound like a total heretic or a paranoid conspiracy theorist but I don't feel like my suspicions would be totally misplaced if I were to speculate that Audioquest is not only benefiting from the existence of bogus copycat look alikes but that they are deliberately allowing it to happen if not entirely responsible for it in the first place.

It is undeniably an effective way to dissuade consumers from private sales and coercing them into paying full retail prices for any of their products. It's also hard to ignore the steady decline in classified ads for Audioquest products on the various audiomarts.

Also, to the best of my knowledge, the AudioQuest Authentication Process also does not require them to explain their findings thus granting them authority to summarily judge a cable's authenticity.

In my humble opinion, a company as innovative as Audioquest could certainly divine a method to apply serial numbers to their products. That way, everything could be traceable and consumers could register their products. Not to mention that Audioquest could rebuild some of the lost confidence in their brand name.

Am I totally out of line here or perhaps missing something obvious? I would love to hear more points of view...
pontifex
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
I also agree in terms of sending products to Audioquest. They really offer nothing in terms of consolation if they say that your cable isn't genuine. Many people would probably rather keep the cable to at least have something to show for their money instead of risking playing "Audioquest Roulette".

I once had a cable that I thought was genuine, but which a manufacturer (for reasons that I do not remember these many years later) thought had been "cut down" and reterminated in a way that would adversely affect SQ. The manufacturer did not have a formal authentication program (at least at that time) but they offered to look at the cable and return me an authentic one; either the one I sent or a new one if mine had been altered. They turned out to be right; I got a pair brand-new, most recent version cables back. I'm not gonna say the name; the president of the company personally got involved, was very gracious, and I wouldn't want them flooded with similar requests, 5-10 years later. They are smaller than AQ, but a very well known player in the cable game.

I agree that AQs program is really punitive and offers no incentive for anyone to use it. OTOH, they are in a no-win situation on this issue. The idea of S/Ns is appealing, but as I think about it more, it seems to me that if you can counterfeit the cable labeling and packaging effectively enough that a sophisticated consumer is fooled, why couldn't you just counterfeit the S/N?
seikosha
218 posts
 
@Swampwalker,

You are completely correct. People counterfeit S/N's all the time. The bad counterfeiters simply use the same one over and over making them easy to spot over time, but the good ones change them up.

The only way to truly authenticate products using S/N's is to have a corresponding database listing the owners and it's not very easy (almost impossible really) to reliably maintain something like this.

S/N's on products do very little to stop counterfeiting.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"03-13-15: Rlwainwright
>>Do you really think that having a 20 year transferable warranty costs the company money? <<

Yes, it does. It may not be a lot of money, but having a very long warranty DOES incur additional costs for the company."

I read an interview with Stuart Taylor, and when asked about the warranty, he said they make more money because the 20 year warranty is in place, not less. Its very rare that they actually get a piece back that fails from something covered under warranty.

"Once again, what the heck does this have to do with the discussion at hand? You would be well advised to think a bit more carefully about the words you commit to this discussion...

-RW-"

Sorry, but I say whatever I want. I don't really give a rat's ass if you, or anyone else has a problem with that.
pontifex OP
31 posts
 
Let's keep it cordial folks! :)
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Serial numbers may have little affect, but at least it shows that the company is making an effort. It can make one more hurdle that may make a counterfeiter hassle an easier target, like Audioquest. Audioquest has more problems with counterfeit than other companies, because they are such an easy target.

Also, companies like Tara Labs and XLO that have serial numbers and registration programs do help even more. If you are buying used cables, ask the seller for the serial number. Tara Labs and XLO could tell you if that seller is the registered owner of the cables. If you then buy the cables, you can have the registered title transferred to you.

This may sound ridiculous to some, but when you are talking about buying used cables costing many thousands of dollars, it can be comforting to know that they are authentic. It can be done, wouldn't you like to know that some of your $10K speaker cables paid to help authenticate them? LOL!
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