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

@tweak1 

I'm not surprised. They clearly show you a cutaway of how their cables are constructed, and the materials that are used, which is not the norm. One thing that really impresses me is that their RCA's are all copper, not brass. Most importantly, they really let the music through. 

I think that we're all tired of hearing that this or that cable "blew away" another without a description of what is actually so good. I am sure that there are digital RCA cables that better this somewhere, but the price is likely far more. From treble to bass, this cable lets all of the color, texture and dynamic impact in the music through, more so than any other digital cable I have used, and the price for what you get is ridiculously low.

@roxy54 

As a very old timer started in audio in the mid 70s as a sales person, then store manager, eventually partner in Audio Tweakers. My partner had the $$$$$$ to buy whatever he wanted, including a dedicated listening room in his custom built house designed by an architect. It was an interesting experience to hear the cream of the cream on a regular basis, also he swapped gear and cables frequently. IMO, without a specific designed room, putting together a SOTA system is a crap shoot. My system for 3+ years now consists of; Audiolab 6000, Audio Alchemy DP-1 + PS 5, EVS 1200 or a LSA Voyager GaN 350 (both dual mono), and Emerald Physics 3.4s open baffle, no sub/s. Sadly I managed to blow one channel of the Voyager, so all wire upgrades have been with the EVS 1200, which continues to show how excellent this $2700 class D IcePower AS 1200s amp really is. And therein lies the dilemma for most hi-end enthusiasts, not realizing cables can make or break a system, and so they get trapped in a revolving door of swapping components, when most likely the issue is the room, then the cables and wires

hth

The topic should be more about a$$-hats selling fakes as used genuine brands for far more than they're worth on eBay. Those guys need jail time.

Any latest and greatest alibaba cables?  I need new cables all around (power, speaker, XLR, RCA) and am looking at the Odin 2 and Valhalla 2 offerings from RM Digital.  (I get that these are knock-offs, I don't care)

Thanks!

@tubeguy76 

My experience buying Faux Nordost Odin 2 Gold speaker cables/IC/power cords is they use the name only as these look nothing like real Nordost cables

FYI I have a 8ft pair of double wire Clear Day pure silver speaker cables if interested. He designed his cables around his tube amps