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.
@roxy54 so here is what I am going to do. I am going to order some of these alleged counterfeit cables, I will send a set to Cardas for counterfeit testing and analysis. I will send another set to my companies chemical/metallurgical testing lab in Ohio along with a known set of legitimate verified Cardas cables for testing. We will see who is right. pssst wanna buy a watch.
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I suspect many off the shelf cables, even ones from the reputable manufacturers are not patented. Most, if not all purchase metal and have it drawn by the same few companies, nothing to patent, the connectors and dielectrics mostly the same. This leaves design, and many of these cables use common designs, only so many designs available.
While Cardas may have patents, lets see the whole list of cable manufacturers with patents. Until its proven they have both patents and offending cable is indeed being marketed as the 'real' deal, we don't have patent theft and/or consumer theft. If being marketed as counterfeit cable no one's being fooled, they know exactly what they're purchasing, a counterfeit cable. And does one really expect they're getting an exact copy with counterfeit cable, I presume not.
I've been constructing some of my own power cords and IC's for a number of years now, the wire, dielectrics and connectors are exactly what is used in some name brand cables, I know this because some of these parts come from manufacturers who design and sell their own line of cables. This only leaves design, assume design I'm using is exact duplicate of some off the shelf design, after all, how many proprietary designs are possible with the limited number of parts that make up audio cables. Point is, if I can do this, so can Chinese, how do you know what they're doing is in fact patent infringement, they are likely doing the same as I, only difference marketing and selling as counterfeit. |
" ... Also 60 year olds with disposable income are not buying fake Rolexes on Maxwell Street nor are the buying fake cables at Ali Express. ... " No, I think you win the "dumbest post of the day" honor hands down. Interesting that you perceive yourself as gifted with factual knowledge of the income and rationale for spending choices of 60-year-olds. I look forward to many more flailing retorts from you (in addition to those already presented). |
Juan, many of those great Roxels are accurate to within minutes! Mott street used to be Mecca if you needed a roast duck and a "timepiece". LOL.
I wish I weren't so picky...I used to be downright militant about my purchases, today, less so. Not just where my suiting was made but by whom on their staff (Henry Poole). A different time today indeed. A mutual acquaintance of ours, Jim Hall, once mentioned to me a long time ago that Hap's car would be prepared early in the week and his would be later in the week due to the implementation of new ideas/proof of concept changes. He said it showed in the results/finishes. I jokingly told him that maybe Hap was a better driver or took better care of the car. We both know Mr. Hall didn't find that funny.
Fakes and knockoffs are troublesome. The buyer is certainly aware they are purchasing from the metaphorical white van. What could possibly go wrong when buying a "Neardost" power cable? If only....
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@maxima95 psst want to buy a watch. How about some Ray Bahn sunglasses. |
