(Are you currently in Hong Kong?)
Wouldn't it be better to buy the American made NBS cables from NBS authorized distribution in U.S., especially if the price is the same?
I asked, since I was from Hong Kong and I still travel there annually. Typical equipment is 20% - 40% more over there, used or new. Most things are elevated: Average brands in U.S. would be marketed as hip luxury brands imported from USA.
(Heck ..... there are so many high-end storefronts that include NEW YORK, MILAN, LONDON, GENEVA city names ... but those brands cannot be found in any of those cities nor their respective countries ... that's the kind of rampant advertisement non-sense in Hong Kong.... )
Hong Kong is an notorious front for mainland China counterfeit. Whatever you buy in Hong Kong will be questioned, even if you buy from genuine outlet.
True story: I got an special limited Asia edition diamond necklace for my wife from Hong Kong's Tiffany store. Had the receipt too. When I was in U.S., nobody would recognize it. The local Tiffany store refused to offer free clean up after their senior manager checked it for 30 minutes, not until they contacted the Hong Kong store to verify it was genuine Tiffany.
So, special, Hong Kong only exclusive edition may not be a good thing, not when NBS is one of the most counterfeited cable brands in Asia.
===
Now onto quality....
Can't speak for the black label. I used to own their cables (power cords, interconnects, digital, speaker cables), some were Statement (then top of the line), some higher model Omega.
My $0.02 .... (the flame throwers)
1) Their cables are awfully over-priced but performance would not disappoint. They all have that rich and darker mid/low-mid range that's intoxicating. Rich bass (somewhat round and mushy on some power amps, trial and error). Significant performance variance between entry level and top of the line, but I, II or III made only very subtle differences.
2) I absolutely despise their owner (or ex-owner?) When I started questioning the investment-return ratio in some review, I was told by the owner I got fake cables. Really, the same cables from their authorized seller?
3) To expand on (2), every NBS cables I purchased in the used market were declared as fake when trading in with NBS. I would get soda can like trade-in value (I was told, they were doing me a favor to offer money on the fakes so they could "destroy" them). Old and non-sense story. Perhaps they are better now.
4) NBS cables could be faked so easily from cosmetic point of view. However, their stiffness and weight density are unusual, impossible to fake. You put one on your hand, it feels different than all others. Cannot explain.
You cannot go wrong with NBS but you should think twice to buy them from Hong Kong.
Hope this helps.
Wouldn't it be better to buy the American made NBS cables from NBS authorized distribution in U.S., especially if the price is the same?
I asked, since I was from Hong Kong and I still travel there annually. Typical equipment is 20% - 40% more over there, used or new. Most things are elevated: Average brands in U.S. would be marketed as hip luxury brands imported from USA.
(Heck ..... there are so many high-end storefronts that include NEW YORK, MILAN, LONDON, GENEVA city names ... but those brands cannot be found in any of those cities nor their respective countries ... that's the kind of rampant advertisement non-sense in Hong Kong.... )
Hong Kong is an notorious front for mainland China counterfeit. Whatever you buy in Hong Kong will be questioned, even if you buy from genuine outlet.
True story: I got an special limited Asia edition diamond necklace for my wife from Hong Kong's Tiffany store. Had the receipt too. When I was in U.S., nobody would recognize it. The local Tiffany store refused to offer free clean up after their senior manager checked it for 30 minutes, not until they contacted the Hong Kong store to verify it was genuine Tiffany.
So, special, Hong Kong only exclusive edition may not be a good thing, not when NBS is one of the most counterfeited cable brands in Asia.
===
Now onto quality....
Can't speak for the black label. I used to own their cables (power cords, interconnects, digital, speaker cables), some were Statement (then top of the line), some higher model Omega.
My $0.02 .... (the flame throwers)
1) Their cables are awfully over-priced but performance would not disappoint. They all have that rich and darker mid/low-mid range that's intoxicating. Rich bass (somewhat round and mushy on some power amps, trial and error). Significant performance variance between entry level and top of the line, but I, II or III made only very subtle differences.
2) I absolutely despise their owner (or ex-owner?) When I started questioning the investment-return ratio in some review, I was told by the owner I got fake cables. Really, the same cables from their authorized seller?
3) To expand on (2), every NBS cables I purchased in the used market were declared as fake when trading in with NBS. I would get soda can like trade-in value (I was told, they were doing me a favor to offer money on the fakes so they could "destroy" them). Old and non-sense story. Perhaps they are better now.
4) NBS cables could be faked so easily from cosmetic point of view. However, their stiffness and weight density are unusual, impossible to fake. You put one on your hand, it feels different than all others. Cannot explain.
You cannot go wrong with NBS but you should think twice to buy them from Hong Kong.
Hope this helps.