Chinese fake cables How fake, how good?


I have noted a number of warnings about cheap Chinese fake cables on this site but curiosity led me to the Aliexpress site where I found a number of presumably fake big name cables from predominantly Cardas, Nordost and Siltech at about 15% of the USA or Australian price. I found Cardas Clear Light interconnects at about US$100 and decided what the heck let's give them a try at that price. Before buying I asked the seller the daft question as to whether they were genuine and got the reply that they were an OEM and constructed the interconnects from genuine Cardas cables and connectors. They arrived in a plastic bag rather than the Cardas box , not a great start but the cables looked real, and when connected, much to my surprise, they sounded really good. After 100hours or so burn in they sounded great and better than the Nordost Quatre Fils I had been using. I then took them to an Australian hi end dealer who sold real Cardas and asked rather ingenuously whether my cables were the real deal. The dealer would not commit but agreed to compare them to the real thing on a set up costing at a guess around A$100,00. Neither I nor the sales person could tell any difference so he then tried them against the Cardas Clear. Then there was some difference, not extreme but subtle, and certainly IMO not worth the price difference even if you bought the genuine Cardas Clear Light. So are these cables really fake and even if they are given my experience they are well worth a try. Maybe I'll try Nordost Odin or Siltech 770i next.
128x128mazian
Holy Mother of God.

Those Chinese fake cables are a complete crime. The people now gets very smart, and started channeling the sale from the *original* manufacturing countries with some minor signs of use.

I suckered into buying a few thru eBay at 75% of retail price. Found out (you can’t be that deaf to detect it). Those eBay sellers would gave you an return address that doesn’t exist. By the time you got the shipping problem sorted out, you’re already past the eBay/PayPal dispute window (p.s. that was 2 years ago ... now PayPal allows 6 months dispute window for international transaction, so you could be better off buying outside of eBay which has a much shorter window, I think?)

I also confronted some fake cable sellers. They told me their were poor saps in China trying to make some bucks to feed the family. I got that, their poverty does not justify committing crime.

Those fake cables were total junk. How can anybody claim there is quality in any scam?????

Amazingly, you’d see the same questionable stuff from many cable makers. Try slice open cables from AudioTXnX, low-end SiltXch, Anti-CablX, SilnotX, AudioquXst, BurmXster, HolXand, MYrk LXvZnson, RXd RosX, CXllo, entry-level CYrdYs, even entry-level NQrdQst (all of which were purchased from reputable local business or authorized dealers./ resellers). You would be completely blown away by what you see. Cheap material massively inflated. Not that different from the cheap Chinese metal and plastic inflated 200 times with fake Siltech, NBS or Kharma markings. But the inflated cables ain’t fakes --- there is no such thing as fake metallic conductor --- do that make you feel any better?

I am not sure if there’s any solace, but I am sure some corporate lawyers may write me soon.


Your getting shafted if you buy the fakes . your also getting shafted paying the inflated price  for the real ones. Classic catch 22
Re geoffKait. Most golf clubs these days, including all the big names are manufactured in China and only assembled in the USA. Are you guys in the USA only good assemblers? I think this whole argument is going round in circles as the Chinese mob I bought my cables from is basing their authenticity on the fact that they only assemble genuine Cardas cable and terminations in China.
Let me rephrase my question:Does Cardas, in fact, manufacture their cables in China?
I'm considering making my own.

I will source the cable specification build up, screening etc. and my favourite connection units. I will derive great satisfaction in putting it all together some wet Saturday afternoon.

With a quality specification and the fact of having made it myself I reckon I will hear that "special unidentifiable nuance " in my sound stage, something that is unique to my ear and nobody else has.. ie. an excellent audio cable specification build at less than 1/4 of the cost of the "names".

Prefer to invest in the source.