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

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Counterfeit cables news on KIMBER and CARDAS websites speaks volumes.These two are 100% all made in USA premium OEMs.  and they have posted news  of the POS build and illegal counterfeit fakes.

Common denominator in both :

- ALIBABA and ALIEXPRESS are all crap fakes , and everything shipped out of Hong Kong and China is a fake,

These cheap build counterfeit fakes are produced with the cheapest materials and build quality they can get away with , ..go check out the KIMBER crap build example pics and the CARDAS last line reproduced here too. ( LOL)

The poster child of what a buyer can actually get: see KIMBER pic about gently sanding a counterfeit fake silver KIMBER cable that reveals it to be just POS cheaply tinned cheap-as-you-can find-it hardware store crummy grade copper made to look like silver cables.

https://kimber.com/counterfeits

https://www.cardas.com/counterfeit

 

KIMBER COUNTERFEIT CABLES

Some things to look out for when purchasing Kimber Kable online:

  1. Where is it shipping from? Any Kimber product shipping from Hong Kong or China is fake. Furthermore, any Kimber product shipping across any international border is probably fake.
  2. Has the product been discontinued?
  3. Is the packaging missing or incorrect?
  4. ANY "Kimber Kable" from Alibaba or AliExpress is fake.
  5. Any items selling as "new" or "multiple available" from eBay, Audiogon, auction sites, or 3rd party marketplaces should be considered counterfeit. We cannot cover these items under our factory warranty.
  6. The only way to ensure that you are purchasing authentic Kimber Kable products is to buy new cables from an authorized Kimber dealer or distributor. However, we realize there will always be a market for second-hand buyers especially given that Kimber Kable products retain such a high re-sale value. This high demand for used products and the fact that Kimber Kable is a trusted brand has resulted in the unfortunate appearance of counterfeit cables. These cables will appear to be Kimber but in reality will use the poorest of materials they can get away with to fool the prospective buyer.

    There is not a single Kimber product that is immune from counterfeits. Before bidding on or purchasing Kimber from a site you suspect, we ask that you contact us including a link to the auction or website that you are thinking about buying/bidding. We can often tell from who or where it is being sold if it is a legitimate Kimber Kable product or not. We will quickly look over the prospective product and let you know of what we find.

    If you have experiences dealing with fake cables and have information that you feel would be valuable in helping pursue these counterfeiters, please contact us to help pass this information along.

 

CARDAS Counterfeit Cables

We’re proud that Cardas cables retain high resale value, even years after their production. But unfortunately, some unscrupulous opportunists prey upon unsuspecting consumers by selling counterfeits of our cables.

​Some of these fakes are remarkably well done, visually, and even come in authentic looking packaging. Others barely try, slapping "Cardas" on cables that don’t look like anything we’ve ever made.

​This is a buyer-be-ware situation. Some buyers are able to return their counterfeit products for a refund. But most are left without recourse.

​How can I avoid counterfeits?

​Work at Cardas Audio for at least 10 years 😁. Our long-term employees can usually spot a fake about as fast as a mother can recognize her own child.

​Assuming you don’t work here (and statistically, you probably don’t), avoid sites like eBay and AliExpress. Every month we report dozens of obvious fakes using eBay’s reporting system, and nothing ever happens. Not a single post is removed, not a single seller is sanctioned. They just don’t care. AliExpress goes one further by having a broken reporting system. They pretend to have a mechanism for reporting counterfeits, but it is littered with dead links and buttons that can’t be clicked. they REALLY don’t care.

More trustworthy sources of second hand gear are Audiogon in the US and Canuck Audio Mart in Canada. Fakes rarely show up on these sites, and when they do, they’re both quick to remove them. There are probably trustworthy audio-focused sites in other countries. If you know of one, send us a link. If it looks good to us, we’ll list it here.

​And of course, consider buying from a Cardas dealer. Many of our dealers take trade-ins, and might have pre-owned cables.

​Are some cables more counterfeited than others?

​Yes. The two most commonly counterfeited Cardas cables are Hexlink and Clear Light.​

Hexlink was a flagship cable from many years ago. There were many iterations, all using the word "Hexlink". It is, by far, the most faked cable. So much so that the majority of listings for Cardas Hexlink cables are fraudulent. The counterfeiters have produced more fake Hexlink than we ever made of the real thing.

Clear Light is a more recent cable, and for whatever reason, is now quite commonly counterfeited. And whereas Hexlink fakes stand out (to us) like a sore thumb and can almost always be identified from pictures, Clear Light fakes are really well done (on the outside. Inside is garbage wire), including authentic looking packaging and documentation. Be very cautious when considering the purchase of any cable labeled as Hexlink or Clear Light.

​What sort of wire is inside counterfeit cables?​

​Bad wire. We’ve taken apart many counterfeits, and what we find is just hardware-store wire, at best.​

 

Post removed 

We’ll this thread tosses the credibility out the window for this site.

Surprised @tammyholt or another admin has not killed this thread. If I were a cable manufacturer/advertiser of any stature I would demand that this thread be taken down due to the negative impact it has on legitimate companies that offer fair pricing on quality products. Not fake chit from China.

Not saying there are not good legitimate cable manufacturers in China or even on the PRC owned sites like Aliexpress or Alibaba.

More trustworthy sources of second hand gear are Audiogon in the US and Canuck Audio Mart in Canada. Fakes rarely show up on these sites, and when they do, they’re both quick to remove them. There are probably trustworthy audio-focused sites in other countries. If you know of one, send us a link. If it looks good to us, we’ll list it here.

 

The entire premise of this discussion is comical.  A thread about the danger of counterfeit entries into what is already a totally fraudulent industry.  It reminds me of the scene in Monty Python's Life of Brian where women (who are actually men, aka. the Monty Python guys) dress up and act like men so they can get into the stoning.  It's so absurd, it's funny!

Yes, much ado about nothing. Tempest in a teapot. Sturm und Drang. Angst in their pants. Brought to you by the usual suspects. How many times does this subject have to come up?

The rest of the audio world (the other 98% who don't post and read this just for grins & giggles) goes about their merry way, grateful that they never contributed and instead, enjoy the fruits of their labor buying what they want.

All the best,
Nonoise