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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
cd318
2,636 posts
 
@mikeybc , err sorry for mentioning this, but you realise that even a bone fide Cardas cable will sound the same as 12 gauge, right? Or maybe they're not fakes after all.

Why do you think cable manufacturers only gently, very gently IMPLY and SUGGEST that their products might be better than the norm?

I have never seen any cable ever advertised as offering better performance. There might be a reason for this too.

For cable manufacturers to decry Chinese fakes must be the greatest irony in audio.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! 


markalarsen's avatar
markalarsen
630 posts
 
Counterfeit cables not only are of much lower quality, but anyone caught selling them are subject to a Lanham Act lawsuit. eBay will not advertise them if told they are counterfeit. AudiogoN will not advertise them. Buy this junk, if you like, but I can tell you first hand, it will not perform as well. The exterior may look the same or similar, but if you cut one in half, it exposes the low quality of the product.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
US - China trade agreement. They agree to buy our great products and we agree to buy their crap products. 
markalarsen's avatar
markalarsen
630 posts
 
Unless well supervised, I avoid buying anything from the PRC.   “Made in the USA” is a strong indication of quality to Chinese consumers. 
cd318
2,636 posts
 
Err...half the UK audio industry has moved production out to China without any adverse quality control issues. 

It's the implementation that counts. We used to hear this crap about Japanese cars until it sank in that they left the British made ones for dead when it came to QC and reliability. Ditto for motorbikes.

In fact it can be argued that British manufacturing, what's left of it, has improved dramatically because of this direct competition. 

As for the quality of these goods, well there is always the acid test - listening. No wonder some cable makers / sellers are so troubled - their little racket party has been gatecrashed.

The Chinese probably can't believe the idiocy of westerners paying such prices for copper cables, or for polyester football shirts for that matter.....


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