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
The origin of manufacturing is irrelevant to the discussion.

If a knockoff sound as good as genuine it may be genuine but pushed out the back door by employees trying to pad a paycheck. Theft of property rights is often the norm in China and genuine R&D gets robbed of cashflow that furthers more R&D.

That is what matters. Are we supporting the efforts of producers and their employees and other shareholders or are we supporting thievery?

I didn't cheat the recording industry by taping my friends records and buying knockoff or B-Stock or product picked up from a manufacturer's floor sold as the real deal still costs the original manufacturer his due,  whether insanely priced or otherwise.
scroydon14 posts01-18-2021 3:06pmThe origin of manufacturing is irrelevant to the discussion.

If a knockoff sound as good as genuine it may be genuine but pushed out the back door by employees trying to pad a paycheck. Theft of property rights is often the norm in China and genuine R&D gets robbed of cashflow that furthers more R&D.

This is a well known issue with manufacturing in China. I don't really have any sympathy for them if they choose this option, apparently they believe that those costs are cheaper then manufacturing in the US.

I’ve been using some $40 eBay cables and they were better than the AQ Evergreen, Cerious, and Morrow MA3 I had been using. Better extension on top and bottom.
But you do get what you pay for and they are weeping oil. Looking at AE to replace them and am hopeful they will give me more.