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. 

Nordost ODIN&2 RCA Fever Audio Signal Cable Double Lotus Sterling Silver Audio Cord Video CD Amplifier Tube Cable High Quality| | - AliExpress

128x128roxy54

@spenav it’s also no surprise that the best sounding Odin counterfeits are those who are using the best copy of Nordost’s Holoplugs.

I recently ordered a few pairs of Odin Gold RCA ICs; from two different vendors and at very similar prices.

The first pair uses Holoplug RCAs that use the same general ideas (very low mass) and same connection scheme of the + and return wires as the genuine, and it sounds very very good. The second order uses EXACTLY the same wire but uses basic heavy brass RCA plugs that only look like Holoplugs from the outside shell. Those were extremely disppointing sound wise and I had to return them for a refund.

The devil is often in the details!

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.

So what are the fakes doing? They are using a loosely wound single mono-filament spiral around the conductor, not the dual mono filament the real Valhalla/Odin has. Also you can presume the fakes are just approximating the lay/winding of a real Nordost.

So the fakes give a taste of what the real cables could do. They are still better than anything I have tried in their price range. I would once again urge those testing it to purchase the obviously higher quality AliExpress variants that cost only a bit more.

Has anyone had any experience comparing power cords ChinaOdin2 vs Original Valhalla1?

In my opinion,any “name brand” selling on Alibaba is a counterfeit. That being said,I have purchased a “PS Audio AC12 power cord about three years ago for $79.  It has been in use since it was delivered,and works good for a $79 cable. I will give it away before I sell it. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night having someone think they got an authentic PS cable for cheap.  

 

@rolox 

The second order uses EXACTLY the same wire but uses basic heavy brass RCA plugs that only look like Holoplugs from the outside shell. Those were extremely disppointing sound wise and I had to return them for a refund.

Hmm… now you’ve got me wondering which ones I ended up ordering… Do you happen to remember which vendor had the better connectors?