I have ordered several different types of connectors that were supposed to be great silver plated only to find them very magnetic and when placed next to a real one that is silver plated copper and not a bit magnetic at all. If they were all they were made out to be they would use international or industry standards for copper and silver and gold and not like “Fine Red Copper” or use terms that don’t even exist in the metals industry. The internet needs to become real and really never will be…
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.
920 responses
I have ordered several different types of connectors that were supposed to be great silver plated only to find them very magnetic and when placed next to a real one that is silver plated copper and not a bit magnetic at all. If they were all they were made out to be they would use international or industry standards for copper and silver and gold and not like “Fine Red Copper” or use terms that don’t even exist in the metals industry. The internet needs to become real and really never will be… |
@melm on how their cable and interconnects are manufactured. No point, I posted it so people can understand the difference between IP, real engineering and a knockoff. Have a great day.
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No, call them and ask. It’s likely you get to pay shipping to send your fake cable to Cardas to validate, and check if you have to pay for shipping the fake cables back to you on return. Then pay to ship them back to the person you bought them from. Worst deal ever to pay for fake non-performing cables. Best of luck on that! |
Do you know that Cardas also doesn’t return the fake cable to you? So you cannot even return the fake cable to the seller. What a deal!! I pay a fee and lose my money. I will take two. |
No point in talking about patents. Patents don't work in China. Are you really going to go into a Chinese court and spend $000,000s on suing a Chinese company. Even if you win (unlikely as the courts are Chinese government run) how will you enforce? Nothing to be done except wean ourselves off Chinese products like Europe is trying to wean itself off Russian gas. As Mr Dylan said, we never should have exported all our manufacturing capacity. |
I had the privilege of auditioning a set of real Nordost Odin 2 interconnects. They are quite honestly amazing… well, you have to have equipment that is good enough to realize their potential. Do I think these fake cables are made of the heavy silver of the real thing? Of course not. Just for fun I ordered a pair to see what they are like. One thing I am absolutely sure of is they are not remotely comparable. They are not stealing technology… only making the product look similar. But once I said that the scientist in me said I need to prove it… so I ordered a pair. |
Some people have counterfeit cables mixed up with fake. The counterfeiters are telling you the truth, and you're paying very little for them, what's the issue!
The fakes are the problem, you're paying for the real deal, getting something else. I don't think anyone here has a problem stating sellers of fakes are criminally libel.
I can understand why Cardas has patents, they do use proprietary copper in their cables. Still haven't seen a listing of all these other patented cables with their proprietary metal, parts and design.
Funniest thing is, usual attack around here is cables and cable manufacturers are snake oil and snake oil salesmen, why the sudden compassion for snake oil proprietors. |
It seems the US Government and Corporations were perfectly willing to place US citizens in direct competition with foreign labor markets. Free trade agreements have done this. You can compete with foreign labor, you just have to be willing to accept the same wages and resulting standard of living. I have no sympathy for companies that produce goods overseas in China for next to nothing and then sell them here at exorbitant prices. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. |
@melm guess you did not watch the Cardas video. That is okay you do you I just despise the entire counterfeit industry. Your opinions are very similar to the majority of people's justifications for buying counterfeit goods. All the top manufacturers of copper wire and cable are based in Japan and the US. I am sure they have extruders in China. The largest copper producing country is Chile then Peru, DR Congo, China, and the US is number 5
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I am outside of that set. 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. They buy Chinese cable, terminate them and mark them up 20X. I have no qualms Some of these cable formulations are 40 years old. |
Who did I insult? @spenav I apologize for that, just I am very very passionate about this issue. This very issue cost’s my business Millions every year. Enjoy your day. Read a few of the reports figure it out. Also all the tax dollars lost that could be used for? |
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Throwing in the issue of counterfeit aircraft and brake parts just clouds the issue and is not germane. It's a red herring. While on the subject of fake parts used in planes and cars, what pisses me off is not the Chinese brand trying to pass it off as the legitimate product, but the American businesses knowingly buying it up and passing it off as the real thing. Some unscrupulous Chinese manufacturer can make it but it has to get by all the checks and inspections to finally get used and when buying in bulk (after all the testing and approval) it's not the Chinese who are selling it to the company. It's some unscrupulous American business thats' doing it. All the best,
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"@roxy54 you have evidence that states these are not counterfeit. Please present it." Juan, As I said before, you don't know what you are talking about. I never said they weren't counterfeit. I clearly said that they were. I also said that there were many brands sold on Aliexpress that were not using branded American (or other ) names. If you want to spend your money on having cables tested (which I very much doubt) go ahead; but you won't be proving anything to me. |
There's absolutely nothing wrong with anyone buying something that looks like something else, expecting it to perform somewhat remotely as well as it, all the while knowing that it's not it. It's basically an homage to the original and it's not fooling anyone, especially the buyer. Time to unbunch those panties. All the best, |
@maxima95 psst want to buy a watch. How about some Ray Bahn sunglasses. |
Juan, many of those great Roxels are accurate to within minutes! Mott street used to be Mecca if you needed a roast duck and a "timepiece". LOL.
I wish I weren't so picky...I used to be downright militant about my purchases, today, less so. Not just where my suiting was made but by whom on their staff (Henry Poole). A different time today indeed. A mutual acquaintance of ours, Jim Hall, once mentioned to me a long time ago that Hap's car would be prepared early in the week and his would be later in the week due to the implementation of new ideas/proof of concept changes. He said it showed in the results/finishes. I jokingly told him that maybe Hap was a better driver or took better care of the car. We both know Mr. Hall didn't find that funny.
Fakes and knockoffs are troublesome. The buyer is certainly aware they are purchasing from the metaphorical white van. What could possibly go wrong when buying a "Neardost" power cable? If only....
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" ... Also 60 year olds with disposable income are not buying fake Rolexes on Maxwell Street nor are the buying fake cables at Ali Express. ... " No, I think you win the "dumbest post of the day" honor hands down. Interesting that you perceive yourself as gifted with factual knowledge of the income and rationale for spending choices of 60-year-olds. I look forward to many more flailing retorts from you (in addition to those already presented). |
I suspect many off the shelf cables, even ones from the reputable manufacturers are not patented. Most, if not all purchase metal and have it drawn by the same few companies, nothing to patent, the connectors and dielectrics mostly the same. This leaves design, and many of these cables use common designs, only so many designs available.
While Cardas may have patents, lets see the whole list of cable manufacturers with patents. Until its proven they have both patents and offending cable is indeed being marketed as the 'real' deal, we don't have patent theft and/or consumer theft. If being marketed as counterfeit cable no one's being fooled, they know exactly what they're purchasing, a counterfeit cable. And does one really expect they're getting an exact copy with counterfeit cable, I presume not.
I've been constructing some of my own power cords and IC's for a number of years now, the wire, dielectrics and connectors are exactly what is used in some name brand cables, I know this because some of these parts come from manufacturers who design and sell their own line of cables. This only leaves design, assume design I'm using is exact duplicate of some off the shelf design, after all, how many proprietary designs are possible with the limited number of parts that make up audio cables. Point is, if I can do this, so can Chinese, how do you know what they're doing is in fact patent infringement, they are likely doing the same as I, only difference marketing and selling as counterfeit. |
@roxy54 so here is what I am going to do. I am going to order some of these alleged counterfeit cables, I will send a set to Cardas for counterfeit testing and analysis. I will send another set to my companies chemical/metallurgical testing lab in Ohio along with a known set of legitimate verified Cardas cables for testing. We will see who is right. pssst wanna buy a watch.
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@roxy54 you have evidence that states these are not counterfeit. Please present it. Also 60 year olds with disposable income are not buying fake Rolexes on Maxwell Street nor are the buying fake cables at Ali Express. Your shopping says volumes. |
For a service fee $, if buy used and they don’t sound or look right, you can send in your unknown Cardas and they will investigate, validate, and/or authenticate for you.
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@spenav You win the dumbest post of the day !!!!!! So if they are not worried about it why do they file Patents, Trade Marks and Copyrights. These companies spend millions every year trying to stop the degradation of their brand and it products and by the WAY ITS AGAINST THE LAW! Folks that buy this crap are criminals too!!!!!!! |
@roxy54 to quote Muddy Waters, "You can't spend what you ain't got, cant lose what you never had.
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Okay Roxy....They do all this and sell for $150 on the CCP eBay/Amazon aka Ali Express.. You are deluded. Like I said zero integrity, zero ethics. Enjoy that cheap chit and I will support North American cable manufacturers and their retailers. Fake is fake. Only people who can not and will not afford the original buys the counterfeit. |
See USPTO.gov. and China IPR Toolkit. All the best, |
Violating Patent's, Trade Mark and Copyright laws. Pure unadulterated theft.
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