they built bunch of fakes from most expensive wires and people were buying them hearing no differences. so they must be super good.

Onti Cat8, large diameter solid core, well shielded with magnesium cast connectiors. A class act for little money

I'm very happy with the Viborg VP1606 power cable I used to make the cable for my amp.  It can now be bought with terminations.  Highly recommended.  It replaced a very good Supra cable and the difference was apparent.

Most branded cables are made in China anyway.

I have patience to wait, and hands on to build my own, so China epacks, Aliexpress are terrific sources for me for items or parts, wire, cables, I might cut the ends off .....

After choosing an item I want, i.e. Cat 8, 6 nines copper I used to make speaker cables ... especially Aliexpress, I learned to pay attention to the shipping cost, that can make more difference than the item's cost.

If already paying some shipping, rather than get just what you need, find the same thing but in a package with a few spares, i.e. gold plated parts: adapters, banana plugs, ...

Interconnects with locking RCA connectors, waiting now for XLR/locking RCA 6 nines copper. Always as advertised, always sound great.

@carlsbad , you get the irony of getting involved in a thread saying that your not getting involved, right?

Foxhole? What a weird word come to think of it. Terriers go to ground and dig out a fox. Fox hounds run foxes down and _______ them. So what part of a "FOXHOLE" is good? As for the target on their chest, I prefer my back, hit me if you can, I'm out of here. They use to call me "The Chameleon". I can be the only person on a basketball court and blend in..

As for the cables, OP have you ever hooked up ANY cables that took your breath away. I have not. But certain cable do certain thing I like and others don't. It's a cable to a speaker. I haven't used bad cables, but I've sure used some that are better than others. 

More than 1/2 the cables I buy from China are not put together they way I would put it together. I look at the cable wire and see how it was pulled through the die.

I also order with Y spade connectors on both ends or double bullets/banana. BUT the ends are the same. I've reversed direction on the cable at least 25-30% of the time.. The other 15% of the time I'm swapping terminal ends out and went to copper, red copper, copper with silver clad or pure silver. It all makes a big difference.. NO Solder either.. RCA is the exception

Regards

Regards

It's a good question, because there are so many kinds. Some look really well made, but that's not a guarantee. I got lucky with my fake interconnects. I'm curious about braided cables that look like Kimber (no, they're not labeled Kimber). There are many others that look interesting as well. There are even bi wire sets that look good. I use bi wire speaker cables so that looked interesting to me.

FCC

I probably don't want to know what that's an acronym for.

Here we go again!

A few years ago I decided to try some new power cables for my Monarchy Audio mono’s.  I had always run the stock rubber cords on everything.  I found a pair of beefy looking W Audio pc’s on epay for $25 bucks a piece.  What the heck. I was very surprised to hear a very noticeable difference. Shocked actually. Tighter bass,better soundstage,everything just more coherent.  I’ve upgraded every cable at this point,however I still use those cables today on a pair of subs in my secondary system,in “The Pit”.  It was one of those purchases that got the ball rolling to spend more money,when I heard what cables could actually do for sound. 

Bought Kimber Kable 8TC bulk cable from Aliexpress to make speaker cables for my surround sound second system.  Looks identical, the copper strands vary in gauge and are wrapped in Teflon same KK.  Very happy with the sound improvement for $38.00 (5m)

I do like to make my own power cables following VH Audio’s Flavor 4 DIY recipe. Chris has some nice wire for reasonable prices.

I have all my cables made in Texas. I like that when I listen to my music the singers have more of a twang

GearIT 12Gauge OFC, Gold plated Banana plugs, Nice cable boots, braided fabric cover, and a lifetime warranty. The company has been around since 2006, founded in California.  $19.99 per cable for the 10 ft at Amazon. Delivered if you're a Prime member. 

Works for me.

I also use their Ethernet cables and jumpers, I buy them by the 10-pack. Never had a failure or QC issue.

Works for me. Marantz PM7000N driving KEF LS-50s, VPI Scout JMW 10.5" 3D Printed Epoxy arm, Pangaea phono cables, Hana SH cart. Marantz CD6007 CD Player, 

What I saved on cables paid for everything in my system except the VPI and the CD Player.

Personally, I don’t use aliexpress. Interested to know what recourse does one have if there’s a QC issue with a cable? 

They and their vendors have a return policy which I have used. It's similar to Amazon.

I only use USA cables not junk.

Edward, not all things from China are junk, although I'll readily admit that I would rather buy things made in the USA.

SKW is a Chinese cable brand. In my opinion they are well made.

For my next cables I want to go with non-soldered connections (screw, crimped, or "welded" like how Blue Jeans Cables does their RCA's, and also go with OCC copper, but I just don't trust aliexpress dealer claims about the quality of their copper.

I've recently seen an aliexpress cable ad informing customers not to believe ads that say the material is 9N or something like that (i can't remember if they were talking about silver or copper), since for that metal, that number of N is not made and those other ads are lying to you. 

I have purchased and use WAudio Power cables and I challenge anyone with crazy expensive power cables to try and see if they wont go sell their crazy expensive cable .

I also use Gear It speaker cables and again, pretty amazing .  Try them and let me know , maybe I am smoking something.    I know another person with 100's of thousands of dollars worth of gear that has also used the above and is blown away. 

Okay, so you don’t mind copyright infringement or theft of technology, so how do you feel about slavery? Like most, I have bought Chinese products and will probably buy more, since it is nearly impossible to buy products that aren’t made in China. However the Wuhan flu has brought many things to view for those who are willing to see. Among them is genocide and forced labor.or slavery. Maybe that doesn’t bother anyone else. But it does bother me.

China: 83 major brands implicated in report on forced labour of ethnic minorities from Xinjiang assigned to factories across provinces; Includes company responses

See all tags

Please click here for more information related to alleged forced labour abuses in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

In March 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) published a report Uyghurs for sale: ‘Re-education’, forced labour and surveillance beyond Xinjiang, which identified 83 foreign and Chinese companies as allegedly directly or indirectly benefiting from the use of Uyghur workers outside Xinjiang through potentially abusive labour transfer programs.

ASPI estimates at least 80,000 Uyghurs were transferred out of Xinjiang and assigned to factories in a range of supply chains including electronics, textiles, and automotives under a central government policy known as ‘Xinjiang Aid’. The report identified 27 factories in nine Chinese provinces that are using Uyghur labour transferred from Xinjiang since 2017.

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/china-83-major-brands-implicated-in-report-on-forced-labour-of-ethnic-minorities-from-xinjiang-assigned-to-factories-across-provinces-includes-company-responses/

@artemus_5  Amazon is one of them, yikes.  I am not sure if an average person is going to stop using Amazon services.  Their logistics & IT infrastructure envelops practically much of our daily lives.

Lots of nautical channels all over the world was build at slavery era by slaves. Should we refuse goods shipped through those channels too !? Or should we fight specific individuals and authorities who are responsible for modern slavery and forced labor ?

I have worked in China for over twenty years, in the very contract manufacturing and logistics facilities that make stuff you own. Our sales are bringing millions of people out of poverty. As these companies prosper, wages go up and the standard of living increases. The net is fantastic for China and is. China does violate human rights in some places. So, it is appropriate to put pressure on them, but not indiscriminately. The vast majority live their lives like we do with minimum interaction with the government.

@nyc_ben 

Amazon is one of them, yikes. 

Yes, I know. Walmart too. Both have run mom & pop business out. Both are very convenient to me. But I have decided to buy at other stores when possible

@surfmuz 

Lots of nautical channels all over the world was build at slavery era by slaves. Should we refuse goods shipped through those channels too !?

Oh C'mon! You can't change what HAS happened. But you CAN CHANGE what IS happening NOW. And this IS happening NOW. And many big mfgs are making a fortune off selling slave made products to the US citizens. And many of the US citizens will turn a blind eye to it because they like the cheap products  or audio cables or IPhone or some other trinket,.

@artemus_5

Oh C’mon!

No reason to think about us, US citizens, like we are righteous aliens from another planet cause we build our country with forced labor and slavery too. Highest ideals and words hardly works when money talks. When society get richer humanism comes next.

@surfmuz 

You seem to be stuck on the past  and trying to justify or build upon the wrongs committed rather than the right. This country also fought a civil war to end the practice of slavery. Hundreds of thousands of people died. But instead of seeing the good, you want to persist in looking at the bad.

There are people in this world who DO stand for whats right rather than what they will get from an action. They aren't perfect but they try.  I'm sorry if you don't know anyone like that. And if you don't you should consider the fact that those people are looking at you as a commodity also.

If I have misunderstood your position please clarify

@artemus_5 

There are people in this world who DO stand for whats right rather than what they will get from an action.

The problem here is bigger than you think and i don’t advocate for people in this world who DO stand for whats wrong. They are wrong but only by our moral principles and at the same time they think that they are right and we’re wrong. We need to educate them rather then sanction or boycott them. Economic measures or confines  won’t  work cause economical-vice they getting proofs that they are right from year to year more and more.  

I refuse to buy a product that is clearly a theft of design and IP.

I for one am not a POSER. 
 

@surfmuz 

I have never heard of any tyrant who has been educated away from his tyrannical ways. Have you?. Likewise I have never heard of an population who have complied their way out of tyranny.

I agree that the problem is a big one. But the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Also consider that no one can be educated if they don’t want to learn. Then too,education comes in many forms. Many of them are unpleasant. This gives the unwilling learner an incentive to learn.. The idea of incentive seems to have been lost in our modern mindset. But it works very well for many issues

Try Blue Jeans Cables (made in USA)  https://www.bluejeanscable.com/ 

You'll not be disappointed. Very reasonably priced. I love their Ultrasonically-Welded Speaker Cables. Have them on two different systems and have recommended to a few audiophile friends who are glad they used them. 

I bought some Kimber style braided speaker wire and interconnects on Amazon. The speaker wire brand was HannLinte (no longer available) and the interconnects were KnuKonceptz Krux (still available). My purchase was purely for aesthetics, though they certainly didn't do anything to degrade performance.

We are all slaves but we dont notice.

@gerrie what a ridiculous post.

Try Blue Jeans Cables (made in USA) https://www.bluejeanscable.com/

their interconnects are an abomination. Had some in my cheapo system and waited forever for them to develop any sort of dynamic contrast. Total blandsville. Gave up and replaced with home constructed twin shielded inters using decent off reel cable from local Audio dealer. Sonic relief.

Try Blue Jeans Cables (made in USA)  https://www.bluejeanscable.com/ 

You'll not be disappointed. Very reasonably priced. I love their Ultrasonically-Welded Speaker Cables. Have them on two different systems and have recommended to a few audiophile friends who are glad they used them. 

I'm not a big "cable guy".  I tend to buy more based on need - length, flexibility, quality and type of connectors, etc. than as system "upgrades" as I don't notice major differences in sound quality from different cables.  BJC speaker cables were however detrimental to sound quality of my system, there was a loss of detail and dynamics.  I wouldn't recommend them. 

Some of their other cables are OK, I have some subwoofer and coax cables that are fine, however their RCA interconnects are also a little lifeless.

I don't really care where the cables are made, but I'm not going to buy cables that are intentionally knock-offs of someone else's design.

I bought some Blue Jeans interconnects just for fun to play with. I found them no improvement over the cheap rubber banded interconnects that come with budget gear.

I'm on a kick with trying different digital cables, because they all sound so different (to me at least). I ordered this one yesterday.

PAPRI GX 75G 6N OCC+Silver Plated 75 ohm Digital Coaxial Cable RCA To RCA Jack RCA Male HiFi For Amplifier Audio| | - AliExpress

I recently terminated a pair of Chinese copies of Kimber 12TC.  They are not advertised as Kimber but seem to be a very close copy.  In a post here someone wrote that Kimber can tell the difference between its braid and that of a Chinese copy.  I'm not sure I can.  I'm not sure it would matter.  

The sonic results are excellent.  Of course I cannot swear that the results would be the same if I bought a 2M pair of unterminated Kimber cable at $644.  But I would say that if I did and the sonic results were the same I would be satisfied.  But then if I bought Kimber cable I'd have them terminated.  Terminating these braided cables is a trial.

As most "American" cables are made in China these days, including these I believe, I am happy to go to the source.  I don't need Kimber to do it for me.

I find Chinese copies objectionable, that’s why I bought the Onti Cat8 as well as no name power cords that all proved to be very good.

roxy54 how are the digital cables working for you? 

Regards

I have bought several pairs of Ghents canare 4s12 cables...i was even surprised that the ends really were not objectionable sounding.Hes a great guy to deal with as well.

No complaints here for the $...cant get 4s12 in states either.Fwiw prefered it over 4s11 slightly because of xtra awg/bass weight.

oldhvymec,

The fake Nordost interconnects have turned out to be really excellent. Transparent and natural sounding is how I would describe them. The digital cable was impressive at first because of its very good treble performance, (hence, very good perceived detail) but in the end I realized that the midbass was missing in action and it made the music sound unnaturally thin. So, I left the interconnects in, and my Cerious Technologies digital cable back in, and that combination is sounding really good.

I am looking forward to receiving a new Papri digital cable this week from aliexpress. It’s a heavily shielded type using high purity OCC copper with copper gold plated RCA’s. It was pretty expensive for being Chinese but I’m taking the chance. I’ll let you know what I think after I receive it.

I don’t buy knock off cables no matter what country they come from. Why? First high end cables performance is based on more than what is visibly obvious… for instance cloth sheath and copper colored wire… the exact composition of the conductors, they can be shielded or cryogenically treated, etc… so performance is extremely unlikely to match the real thing. Even if it does, how do you know? Buy a real one and compare performance? 

High technology everywhere is about success through constant innovation. No company can create a good product and sell it for ever. Someone will quickly figure out how to match the performance by some other way or the same way. You can have a huge legal department or a huge Research and Development department. The only protection is the R&D. Although Apple is really good at both.

As I mentioned, I have spent my career around the world in the design, manufacturing and logistics facilities of the phones, tablets, PCs, DACs and cars you guys use. Innovation is the key and it is in your own best interest to buy from the original companies creating great products.

Yeah valid point ...i guess resale is were its going hurt as well not having oem product.

I see they have no WELFARE in China. Forced labor? You mean if they want to eat they have to work. I sure wish they would implement that in the US. If you don't work you don't eat. I like the idea.

With 1.3 billion people in one country and have already lost 100,000,000 to starvation in the 40-50. You work in that country. If you happen to be in the LAZY zone like our San Francisco bay area.

Head for tent city and round um up. NO WORK no tent permit.. Country full of LAZY FAT people and complaining about another country making people work..

I say work their big FAT A$$ off right here in the US. The land of the Hippos.

Hip and knee replacements will only be outpaced by gastric bypasses surgery.

Snort Snort, no pig troughs here..