2. cables
  3. 160821-520

has anyone tried chinese cables?

Some of the cables on Ali Express, for example, look nice.  Of course, things like "Odin 2" cables for a few hundred dollars aren't legit, and the number of Cardas copies are legendary.  That doesn't necessarily mean they all suck.  They probably aren't all trademark-infringing ripoffs.  Lots of good hifi products are made in China, and those factories need to stay busy.  Asking if anyone has actually tried them; there's no way to tell visually what lies inside the insulation, or whether occ 7n copper really is only 6n. 
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Showing 1 response by hdm

hdm
1,055 posts
 
I just replaced all my power cables with "Chinese cables". Initially I replaced only connectors (male/IEC) on DIY power cords that I'd used
for years that were cryoed DH Labs Power Plus with cryoed Marinco
connectors. Those outperformed a number of $300-$400 commercial 
offerings when I built them 12-15 years ago and prices have only gone
up as in most things audio. 

I used Viborg VM/VF 512 connectors ($60 a pair) and had those cryoed
before sticking them on the DH Labs and they were a big bang for the buck, big enough for me to buy a metre of Viborg 1606 raw cable
(which I also had cryoed) to switch out for the DH Labs on my 
integrated and experiment with. I ended up buying another 4 metres of the 1606 and built 4 power cords (two very short ones for a power distributor and a linear power supply for a DAC) and have enough left over for a 5th for my blu-ray player when I get around to it. 

The 1606/VM/VF 512 combination builds an unbelievably good 
9.5 AWG triple shielded very good power cord for $100-$125 max
excluding my cryo costs which were about another $80-$100 (would 
have been a lot less but I had stuff go into the unit on 4 different 
occasions). 

So for about $500 I have 5 power cords that would probably compete
with at least $2500 worth of commercial offerings and very possibly 
quite a bit more than that. 
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