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
@scroydon, or cables make such an infinitesimal difference that it’s a hat toss.
@boxer12 they came direct from China. I don't suffer from Xenophobia so I like to try things out. Small investment for some good sounding cables.QC leaves some to be desired but then I have experienced that with American made things (gasp).
These cables could have been made on the moon by Peruvian nuns and it wouldn't change my opinion.
Great example of insulting those of us with different views while posing as morally superior. Xenophobia is prejudice against the people of other countries. Some of us are able to distinguish between the Chinese people and the political ideology ruling over them. It helps to understand the meanings of words, and use them accordingly.