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.
The fake Odin2 power cables were a lot better than my genuine Heimdall2 without break in. In every aspect. But how does this fake Odin compare to the levels above Heimdall? Would Tyr still be better? It's possible. I have no reference to compare. But for the price it cannot be beat. Build quality is stunning for the money. They have cloned the holo plugs down to the tiniest detail. |
OK I now have a few of these Neardost Odin 2 power cables incoming. I will put them up against real Nordost Heimdall 2 power cables, head to head. |
IMO the store you should use is RM Digital. There are various cheaper versions of these Odin knock offs but the build does not look as as good as the ones from that store. My experience is with the power cable only.
I would also avoid the Odin Gold knock offs. Its not going to be using gold conductor like the real Odin Gold. All they are doing is coloring the connectors and internal conductor shield of the Odin 2 to a gold color. On the power cables you can even see they have dipped the shield in a fake gold paint and it is flaking off inside the clear teflon tube exposing the silver underneath.
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Further impressions of the power cables. Firstly, I purchased the better build quality Odin2 from the RM Digital store. I did not like the look of the cheaper cables from other stores, of which there are a few. I have had all Heimdall2 power cables for a while so can only compare to that. The fake Odin2 was slightly better on audio, but slightly worse on the digital/video. I am a videophile as well as an audiophile, so its touch and go as to which I will keep using. Considering the cost, a 1.5m is $125 USD shipped, this is a no brainer for anyone wanting high level power cables at basement prices. You could not even buy the 2 connectors of that quality for that price, let alone an entire cable with this performance level. |
One Nordost secret sauce is their quality connectors, as Rolox has pointed out above. But their main claim to unique tech is the single/dual micro mono-filament technology, and the mathematical lay/winding process. |
@rolox I think there is 3x 16ga solid core runs for each positive and negative leg. This adds up to a fairly decent gauge power cable. Enough for most power amps IMO. |
@spenav I totally agree and have been trying to tell people here to pay the $30-40 extra and get the RM Digital versions. They seem much better quality than some of the other AliEx Odin knock offs. |
