Revisiting Chinese Knockoff Cables
Why I don/t know, but the first thread has been removed recently. So, having benefited from it greatly, I felt compelled to recap my journey, so that others of limited budgets might make a huge leap that they otherwise could not afford:
When I first got my EVS 1200 I was using Series 8 WireWorld interconnects, speaker cables and Pangea Premier XL 1.5m coax cable. As you mentioned, I was extremely happy with the amp (compared to PS Audio M700s). Eventually I came across the Chinese Cable knockoff thread and first tried the fau-Nordost Odin 1.5m coax which was/is amazing: as they were so cheap compared to the $169 1.5m Pangea, I also bought a 1.0M Odin, but didn’t try it until after I replaced both the WW cables with Odin 2 XLRs and cables. Then I replaced the 1.5m with the 1.0 and was kinda blown away that 0.5m of the same coax could be THAT much better.
While my all SS system sounded very good, it was a bit too sharp, so I ordered Odin Gold speaker cables (at ~ $170/2.5m). Unfortunately one leg must of had a bad solder joint as it barely sent the music . It took a couple months before they replaced it, which I finally installed 2 days ago: BAM. Even immediately, but of course it needs break in time. The weather here (Ft Lauderdale) has been really bad, I have only left for short quick trips. Today we are under a tornado watch, so won't leave, but as soon as I can get out for a few hours I will put on my XLO burn-in disc, which I use on everything I insert, including the M 700s, EVS, and Voyager which expedites break in, which still takes a good 50-100-200 hours!
Summing this up: cables can/do make or break a system. If I had these cables when I first got the EVS, I probably would never have gotten the Voyager, which of course I am itching to compare again, but could still be awhile
I started out with Odin 2 Silver ICs, coax and PCs with WW Series 8 silver speaker cables,when I replaced the WWs with Odin 2 everything got faster with darker sound stage, BUT, the warmth was gone. I replaced them with Odin 2 Gold and am very happy. I put the Odin 2 Silver on my video set up where it sounds VG
HTH |
For those who would never buy knock-offs fear not, Ali-E has OEM cables too. About a year ago, after I changed out my Fake name only Nordost Odin 2 cables (XLR and speaker cables) which are very fast, but no fuzz on the peach, probably best with tubes, to Odin 2 Gold I was unable to find a Gold coax, which I felt would compliment the other Golds. On a thread someone had gotten the Odin 2 Gold coax, so I found it on Ali-E but while there I saw a coax from Yangsane that I also ordered. After 10 days of breaking in the Gold 2, including several long sessions with my XLO and Stereophile burn in disks, and hours of listening, I decided to try the Yangsane $43.50/05m + free shipping. WELL! Immediately, it was on a much higher level than the Gold 2, which sounded soft where the Yangsane was fast yet had a natural live quality, and a much more focused and bigger 3D sound stage, and much better bass. My Orders page is under maintenance, so I was unable to give you that link, but this seem close. FYI they also have RCAs, XLRs and variety of cryoed PCs, but I did not see speaker cables HTH
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Both coaxes arrived a couple hours ago. Figured I would start with the Odin 2 Gold to compliment my ICs and speaker cables All I did was treat the connectors with Mad Science Audio Graphene Contact Enhancer. Both will take a few days to be at their best, but already it’s an amazing improvement on literally all aspects of the music; depth, width, height, and bass. Way more relaxed, yet great detail First CD is Jennifer Nettles Playin With Fire, a bright sounding CD in my system: Well not anymore. After playing it, I put on my XLO Burn in Disc and came downstairs to report HTH |
100% One of the issues cable companies face is the extreme high cost to advertise full page glossy adverts, without which, they won't be recognized by the public and certainly won't be reviewed Meaning their profit margin is not based SOLELY on the cost of materials or manufacture I'm sure there are a few clunker Ali-E cable companies, but the ones I purchased from are not
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Interesting that @middleman preferred the Valhalla 2 ribbons to the Odin Gold. I am not accusing him of anything, but I am floored by how much better the Gold is compared to the Odin IIs. I had real Nordost Blue Heaven ribbons decades ago and the rolling up of the ribbons annoyed me to no end Anyway, clearly as good as these Ali-E cables are, Odin Gold or Valhalla IIs, they are outstanding value. YMMV as to which better fits your system FYI the Odin IIs sound much better in my TV set up with OS Audio GCC 250 and Swan Diva 6.1s |
Any Ali-E shoppers using COAX RCA? The only Odin 2 left in my system is the coax. I am still experiencing a slightly hot top end. It seems none of the companies make Odin Gold coax (RCA/RCA), so Im looking for a recommendation Thanks in advance
@yada I was sure he referred to the ribbons. My experience was they roll up which bothers me aesthetically |
@yada the link you provided is for interconnects. Im looking for Odin Gold COAX @middlemass Thanks for the link. The jacketing appears much thicker. To be clear, I mean that they spool. The big question for me (as you said they lay flat) are they much better than Odin 2 Gold, which sound amazing in my system |
First I replaced PCs with Odin 2 on my dac/pre and EVS amp. They were fast but in my system a tad on the sterile sound. I replaced the EVS PC with Odin 2 Gold, also for my speaker cables. These are a much better match in my SS system. Dac/pre I am using a Tekline PC (circa early 2000s) and a bargain PC between CorePower 1800 to 20 ampdedicated outlet from Amazon Audiophile HiFi Power Cord, 10AWG AC Main Supply Cable with US-C15 Female Connector, 4N OFC 99.998% 3 Cores Cable for Speaker, Subwoofer, Turntable, AMP, DAC. (Rhodium Plated 10 AWG, 1.5M / 5.0 Feet) $32! Since then I have been in search of a Odin 2 Gold coax, which I recently found on Ali-E for < $50 but also bought a Grey Knight High Fidelity OCC Silver Plated Coaxial SPDIF Subwoofer RCA TV HD Audio Cable 75 Ohm Digital Audio Decoder Cable for $46. Both should arrive early next week. Anxious to hear if these better the Odin 2 coax, which sounds really good on well recorded CDs, but on the thin side with the many that are not recorded well. Fingers crossed YMMV FYI: I should be getting my LSA Voyager GaN 350 back in service soon. As much as I like my EVS 1200, I much prefered the Voyager. So, we'll see soon if that's still the case. If not, I'll send it to EVS for mods HTH |
As I often do, I think about my systems weaknesses even when Im not listening to it. Do you? Today's case in point: CHASING DOWN WEAK BASS. Where I was focused on my S/PDIF cables, it occurred to me to check what power cord I had on my Audio Alchemy PS-5 outboard power supply umbilicaled to my AA DDP-1 DAC/PRE. The PC mfg was recommended from a friend and sold on Amazon. Now in fairness to him, he said to get the copper version, but I bought the silver over copper: �Oxygen Free Copper Core】The US power cable is 10AWG Oxygen Free Single Crystal Copper Conductors with low harmonic vibration point and high damping provide optimal transmission. I just swapped it out for a Tekline Audio boutique cable circa ~ 2005 @ ~ $500. Even cold, it has a lot more low end grunt. I'll give it a couple hours then rotate my Pangea Premier SE coax with my NEARdost Odin 2 TBC |
After replacing the ~ $40 PC to my Audio Alchemy PS 5 (optional outboard power supply) yesterday, but still using the Pangea, the sound improved quite a bit BUT... The sound was "over there". Thinking the Pangea just needed some hours to round out its sound I let the music play and play and play. Finally I realized it wasn't getting any closer, so I swapped it out for the fau Nordost Odin 2 S/PIDF. This was a huge leap forward in 3D and warmth, but it needed a couple hours to settle in. This morning spun KD Lang Drag and am blown away. The music is very tube-like now.YIPPEE! The lesson learned is sometimes when swapping cables in/out one can go backwards. In this case swapping out JUST the Tekline PC between PS 5 and Core Power 1800 MkII for the $40 PC was the fly in the ointment that took me far to long to figure out HTH |
it's beyond silly to suggest that all Chinese cables are average. There are plenty of products from other countries around the world that are average at best. However, if one is expecting a sub $100 cable to be great, that is a crap shoot. My personal experience with Odin 2 speaker cables, XLRs and S/PIDFs, they are exceptional value |
My first Ali-E experience was after reading a thread on Agon. The experience was very positive, and the prices were so incredibly cheap compared to the rather expensive WW Ag Eclipses that were gifted to me; matching XLR and speaker cable. What could I expect? Curiosity killed the cat, so I decided to stick my toe in the water buying a fake Nordost Odin 2 coax cable, which at < 1/4 the price of my Pangea coax, it a carbon copy spec-wise of the considerably more expensive DHL. It took a month to arrive to S Florida, but wow Wow WOW, and that without any break in. That experience lead me to then replace my very expensive WW Ag Silver Eclipse XLR, followed by my speaker cable (gifts or I would never could have afforded them), and later most of my power cords. While the Odin 2 coax, XLR and speaker cables provided much more information, collectively, they were on the dry side in my all SS system (probably great for tubes though). Further research and I replaced the WW with Odin 2 Gold, except for the coax, which was not available then. Finally, someone on another thread had bought the Odin 2 Gold, after some searching I found it, and 25 days later (4 days ago) I inserted it and although in need of break in it was clear that it was what I needed. The next day I used a burn-in disc on repeat for some 14 hours while I was out. That helped a ton. Last night it was sounding really good on Wilson Phillips Greatest hits which always sounded shrill, but with the Odin 2 Gold was quite listenable with a greater sense of separation. I followed them up with Ray LaMontagne Till the Sun Turns Black a very good sounding disc, but now on another level HTH |
