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.
Don’t see many counterfeit audio cables causing a lot of plane crashes and car accidents. Question; when they counterfeit an aileron, do they always label it an 'alerion'? Juan, your writing style and late night personality changes are very similar to a recently banned member. C’mon, tell us your banned username...
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Is it being argued that buying a "fake" cable from a Chinese distributor is going to kill someone, somewhere in the world? Sounds similar to the plot from the movie, The Box.
Just what's with all the alarmist rhetoric going on? Remember back when Hussein was ruling Iraq? Everyone and anyone who wanted to have a job had to be a member of the Ba'athist party or you'd starve. That same narrow way of thinking led to the US not employing anyone who was affiliated with them (a stupid standard) which led to a massively disaffected and out of work police force and army which spawned ISIS. But hey, we sure did show them, didn't we? Now, fast forward to present day goings on and you have an entire country run by an autocrat who takes a piece of all the action and who has some pretty horrible human rights practices but the general population is just trying to get by. Some of those people are hard working stiffs stuck in that system trying to make a living where there are no laws regarding copyright protections. It's been that way since, forever, and is just their way of life. And some just happen to have very high work standards and pride of work just like here, in the states, and they can turn out some incredibly well made product at a price that's too good to pass up for those who want high quality at a price they can afford. That puts us in this present day, simplistic argument that's not going to make anyone happy as no one is going to budge and neither side should. Go with your own beliefs and moral standards and to those who can rise above and see through the BS, be happy with your choices. And yes, they shouldn't brand their product as the real thing but in the end, it's been repeatedly pointed out that no one is falling for it. Googling the name just gets one to the site with the product they want and that's about it. On those sites are plenty of other similar makes with completely different and original names with some made by the very same people who make the knock offs. How do the naysayers respond to that? Would that satisfy and quench their hate? All the best, |
@rolox remember that when a plane crashes and kills people because an unscrupulous aircraft parts distributor or airline operator unwittingly or with prior knowledge installs counterfeit flap and alerion actuators rod ends. Said part fails and the aircraft crashes. Remember that when a repair shop buys what appear to be premium brake pads and hardware from a dealer on Amazon and said break pads delaminate from their backings and fail, Said SUV fly’s through an intersection and takes out 2 cars causing damage to personal property and putting lives at risk. If me calling you a name will cause a person inclined to buy this stuff pause before supporting these activities then the better. Now go enjoy your fake cables from a country that had threatened our Speaker of The House.
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I have no problem with knock-offs. It’s done all the time, even referencing the real thing. Walmart advertises its own brand of small coated aspirin, looking exactly like a Bayer, as "Compare to Bayer." Some of our fellow ’philes don’t care for knock-offs and seem to take personal offense. I’m happy with my Chinese sourced speaker cable that looks exactly like a Kimber 12TC. One industry insider has suggested it is the same and from the same factory as Kimber’s. It costs one tenth as much. With that in mind I do take issue with the Chinese interconnect being marked as "Nordost Odin 2." It is an excellent cable. I can’t say I know what the legalities are. Google, an American company, permits them to advertise this way and is happy to take their money. American capitalism at its . . best. I am confident that no one will think they are getting the "real" Nordost Odin 2 for the price being asked. While the cable and terminations look fine enough (though the XLR connectors are very light in weight), the wooden rings that carry the false labeling seem crudely made compared to pictures of the real ones. So it’s a poor counterfeit. The use of it puts no one in any jeopardy and I do check the cables for conductivity and shorts before using. Nevertheless, as to my personal point of view I hold no brief for Nordost. I can buy a very nice car for what they charge for a 1 meter pair of their Odin 2 interconnects. For the cable business generally, "ripoff" comes pretty close to describing their exploitation of the audiophile buyer IMO. And they’ve been doing it for a very long time. |
I don’t believe anyone has a problem with someone trying to sell a product, especially a high value product that in your estimation also performs at a high level. That’s cool.
I can see why some have a problem that the person/organization doing so doesn’t have to be shady and use the name of another company who has worked hard, invested and built their brand. Its a very low character thing to do to sell your product, riding the coat tails of someone else’s work. In parts of the world, this practice is common place, which is unfortunate.
The way you describe it, its no big deal. I happen to agree with you that pride of ownership is a personal thing. My challenge with the whole exercise is they are using someone else’s name to profit from. They didnt have to do that. I know you must have a line where this practice is horrible right? @juanmanuelfangioii is rightly bothered by this practice because fake aviation parts put people’s lives at risk. Fake baby formula kills children. Fake pharma can as well. By purchasing “insignificant” fake items you see no harm but the practice emboldens “fakers” to follow the money and begin counterfeiting those things that can endanger lives. I get it, people are just trying to make a buck and those purchasing are just trying to save a buck. The slippery slope is a result of those that partake in either side of a transaction like this. |
@axeis1 but is it really what this is about? We are not talking about a fake Louis Vuitton or a fake Rolex. There shouldn't be any "pride of ownership" involved. Those fake cables sound fantastic, and that's why people buy them. Who am I goin to brag around? The two audiophile friends that visit once a year? "Hey guys, look, I've got myself some Odin cables?" of course not. No one cares. They just sound great. |
@juanmanuelfangioii I'd rather buy fake than start calling people names. I've replaced 100% of the cables in my system with fake Odin from AliExpress and couldn't be happier. Build quality is far ahead of anything that could be purchased for the same price or even 10X the price, and sound quality is simply stupendous. I'v put all my genuine VanDenHul Integration and various others to rest. There really isn't any comparison. They are the best cables I've ever tried in 25 years being in this hobby, by a (very) large margin. The price that high end companies are asking these days for mere pieces of wires has gone completely over the edge. I won't feel sorry for them. Besides, I strongly doubt anybody who has the means to buy the genuine Odin cables would ever buy anything from AliE, and I strongly doubt the fakes are hurting Nordost. Thank goodness there are still enough morons who believe anything has to cost 4 or 5 or 6 figures to sound half decent. A pair of fake Odin RCA cables costs between 50 and 150$ depending on length. A pair of the genuine is what... 15.000? 18.000? more? we aren't even comparing the same thing here. |
Roxy54, It was very nice of you that you shared the information. I never tried any expensive cables in my system but you ignited my interest so I ordered several interconnects and a speaker cable. You probably expected some strong responses as there are people in these forums who think they need to be negative about the other countries, China in particular, in an attempt to prove their patriotism, but I am glad you took a risk. All the best, Lectronjh50 |
Wow, really dislike the personal attacks on this post. Actually, some are quite funny. I personally don’t have a problem with products made in china or any other third world country. That being said I choose to support products made in the USA whenever possible. For example , I won’t purchase Nike shoes for myself. My son however loves the product. His choice, not mine. |
Sharing my experience with a fellow ’phile, he noted the Odin Gold PC might not be heavy enough gauge for the PLC and recommended a Chinese PC that is available from Amazon; 10ga single crystal copper, very high quality Rhodium plated plug 1.5m just $45 with 20% discount, shipped in 2 days, compared to the ~ 3 weeks from China!. I decided to try it on the dac/pre PS- absolutely no comparison, so Saturday I ordered another for my transport, which is scheduled to arrive today On entry level kit one may not notice much, but if your system, sans cables, is $3K +, Im confident you will be highly rewarded |
I watched the Cardas video. It was interesting but I must say, $10,000 for a four foot length of the Clear Beyound Speaker Cable???? I guess if you have $500,000+ invested in your system you could justify, and afford, 10K - 20K for a set of speaker cables. But for the average person? And is the impovement in sound, over a $1000 cable going to be that much? I have gone down this rabbit hole many times and can't honestly say I have ever heard a differnce. But that's just my experience. |
Festivus was meant to be single day event, not 24/7 365 day celebration. This not example of American exceptionalism, becoming all too far common.
And so another candle came to Audiogon, just waiting to see how long before it burns itself out.
The truly exceptional always mindful of maintaining global view of every topic under review. Repeating same old rhetoric and provocations has no purpose other than to antagonize.
Even more on point, this is audio forum, infiltrators intent on injecting political grievance should limit their anger to audio topics, should be plenty of grievance to exercise here. We can have another snake oil cable thread, how fun! |
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@ps SNL died 10 years ago. Show how significant you are. Good night pops. |
I am not a subscriber to the notion of "American Exceptionalism" And FYI, my course is true. I’ve lived longer than most of you here. I suspect this post will be removed by the mods. Before that happens, I will say this: the primarily apolitical cult world that most audiophiles inhabit is a futile and often humorous one in which to talk morality and of some higher "rightness or wrongness." . "If it sounds good it IS good." |
@ps yours are the most authentic cables in this thread. |
@thecarpathian Okay I overlooked that. Point taken, as should the point that they steal IP all the time. Thinking you have some of these bootleg cables?
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Can't misinterpret that, can you? Cut and dried. Speaks for itself. A singularity of context. Just look at a history book to see how ignorant your statement is. Say juan, what was your previous username before you were banned? |
Well let’s see; The compass, gunpowder, paper, the abacus, the seismograph, moveable type printing, horticulture, the mechanical clock, tea production, silk, the umbrella, iron smelting, porcelain, rocketry, bronze, the toothbrush... That enough for you? What a monumentally ignorant statement. |
I don't believe true audiophiles are interested in Chinese knock-offs.Respected ,legitimate companies are the way to go.What is there return policy,and what kind of warranty is available?The Chinese have been stealing from American companies for years.As for technology,what have they ever come up with on their own? Nothing! |
@tweak1 |
Thanks. I have a couple of good burn in discs, including Stereophile, XLO and Iso-Tek, which has a lot of sweeps. Reading the manual reminded me I need to do that My experience is the Neardost cables are impressive from the get-go, but improve a lot in just a few days. They've all been in the system for 10 -20 days, the last one a Gold PC between wall and Equi-power 1800 PLC |
Take a look at this website. There are a lot of info there: https://www.nordost.com/downloads/multiLanguage/Odin%20Gold%20Instruction%20manual_ENG.pdf Good luck. |
The fake Odin2 power cables were a lot better than my genuine Heimdall2 without break in. In every aspect. But how does this fake Odin compare to the levels above Heimdall? Would Tyr still be better? It's possible. I have no reference to compare. But for the price it cannot be beat. Build quality is stunning for the money. They have cloned the holo plugs down to the tiniest detail. |
Exactly. Buy the real McCoy if you can, not the one pretending to be something else. At least you’ll have a better idea of what you are getting. |
This thread sure went off the rails, especially juan of the members. |
