Revisiting Chinese Knockoff Cables

I have tried most of theses cables with decent results. However, the digital coax cable stood out, jaw dropping change in detail and sound stage over my other digital cables. I am still amazed it could make that much difference. 

how much was the odin coax? they seem to offer many versions of the same cable. thanks...

Yep, every "store" is different. I bought this one:

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802201015097.html

at 1.5 m with BNC's it was about $90. I am still a bit mystified as to the design, what coax has two cables? Anyway, the results were startling.

Thanks...even AliExpress has multiple versions of "same" cable...

The story behind Chinese knock-off is extremely simple and clear:

While big branded bosses moving their operation for the cheap Chinese labor, Chinese entrepreneurs and businessmen take an advantage of building the same, but for a lot cheaper and even using same materials. When I've learned about that, I also became quite enthusiastic of getting those wires purchased from Alibaba or DHGate way before they were owned by Ebay and made some hefty money on that!

I boght some chinese knockoff RCA cable ends.  They had poor fit and finish but had serial numbers on them.  I got the sense that these were the ones rejected by QC.

Are there non-knockoff (genuine) CN cables anyone likes better for the same price?

What's puzzling some times is why most everything investigated or praised is some kind of "knockoff" cable.  How about genuinely good well built cables from China through one of the reputable providers listed here. Are those worth mentioning too.

While big branded bosses moving their operation for the cheap Chinese labor, Chinese entrepreneurs and businessmen take an advantage of building the same, but for a lot cheaper and even using same materials.

Source? Again spitting stuff off your assss. So much for the OBJECTIVITY you dudes proclaim. No different than your lecture about the drug cartel and Nordost profit margins. Sad pathetic creature 🤯

I also became quite enthusiastic of getting those wires purchased from Alibaba or DHGate

Hmmmmm…. Why? If the cables make zero difference, what you repeatedly preach in 5000+ posts of yours, why not just use the FREE stock cables or lamp cord? Why spend the money and the hassle buying from Ali and paying money (they are NOT free)?

If you feel good about supporting China just illegally copying and knocking off products using what is probably slave labor I guess this is great.  Not for me.  I have a bit of a conscience and just buy used cables if I can’t afford the original.  But that’s me.  Enjoy your “great deal.”

Don't assume the cables are knockoffs, but the name and use of wood blocks is

@jl35 

Most of mine came from DIY HiFi Store, but they did not offer Odin Gold, which I bought from Goltech

hopefully no one believes they are getting a $17,000.00 Odin 2 power cord for $41.00 ...

Thanks tweak1 

The profit margin for high end American Cables must be astronomical. I went for  Nordost and Kharma cables from AliExpress and the results are truly amazing.

Are the American cables better? I honestly don't care. All I know is that paying thousands of dollars for cables is just insane. American cable companies need to wake up and get real about their products. My guess is that most of what goes into American cables are from outside the country anyway. 

I would say that the state of American cable market is the equivalent of 'Professional Wrestling'.

@brauser 

100%

One of the issues cable companies face is the extreme high cost to advertise full page glossy adverts, without which, they won't be recognized by the public and certainly won't be reviewed

Meaning their profit margin is not based SOLELY on the cost of materials or manufacture

I'm sure there are a few clunker Ali-E cable companies, but the ones I purchased from are not

Don’t forget the R&D and product development upfront expenses that can obviously be considerable. 

@brauser 

I've been mentioned here all along that hi-end cables industry has profits similar or even larger than profits of drug cartel. Well profits of drug cartel turn out to be far more humble and honest. At least they risk their blood to get those...

Funny fact that folks here asking me to provide "source" of such information LOL!!!

@czarivey said:

I also became quite enthusiastic of getting those wires purchased from Alibaba or DHGate way before they were owned by Ebay and made some hefty money on that!

Note the words “made some hefty money”.  Does that mean you bought these and resold them?

Scumbag. Fraud. Lowlife. The very definition of them all. Human manure. And you seem to be proud of scamming people

@soix 

  +1

 Do not support the Chinese regime. 

tweak1:

Do you prefer the 1.0m or the 1.5m coaxial cable (this was not clear - to me)?

DeeKay

@dekay 

I was confused when I bought the Pangea, even though common sense would dictate shorter is better. If you donn't need the extra 0.5m definitely 1.0m

I have purchased several different cables from various Chinese vendors on Aliexpress (power, interconnects, etc.) and found most  of them to offer "extreme bang for the buck".....YMMV

CHEERS...

I have been using the Chinese Nordost Valhalla,  it's an amazing speaker cable for the price.

I use various Chinese Nordost Odin Silver and Gold, interconnects, power cord,  and ethernet cables.  Also use the Chinese (Nordost Valhalla) flat speaker cables. Agree they are amazing speaker cables. Better than the Silver Odin’s in my systems.  Mine were Audiocrast (don’t like them using the Nordost brand) but exact same construction. All these cables sound much better than any other cables I have used.  Ended up selling off my Morrow cables and am very content.  Just wish they would stop calling them Nordost which they obviously are not.

I read that the wood blocks were used to absorb/reduce cable vibrations??

@tksteingraber I slide the wood blocks into positions to support/separate as much as possible

@viridian Lol 

Thanks, I needed that.

RE: Odin Gold speaker cables. Now in the system about 10 days and sounding better and better How so? Warmer in the low-mids, upper mids and the bass, which collectively draws much less attention to the highs

Looking at the most positive side of roxy54’s original post it serves a very important purpose to inform potential buyers of these cables being sold as used (expecting the genuine article) to be on the lookout for counterfeits.

If you want to buy them, who really cares?  But I ask myself what I would think as a new person considering joining Audiogon what type of people are members of the site if they author threads actively promoting the purchase of Chinese counterfeits?

 

jetter

2,701 posts

05-07-2023 at 10:26am 

Looking at the most positive side of roxy54’s original post it serves a very important purpose to inform potential buyers of these cables being sold as used (expecting the genuine article) to be on the lookout for counterfeits.

If you want to buy them, who really cares?  But I ask myself what I would think as a new person considering joining Audiogon what type of people are members of the site if they author threads actively promoting the purchase of Chinese counterfeits?

You are absolutely correct! As a matter of fact, we had a member posting here in this thread (now deleted), a cable hater, proudly proclaiming he bought several counterfeit cables and sold them as genuine, duping many people and making a fortune in the process. Yes, such jerks exist. Unfortunately 

Greed pure and simple, regardless of your position on cables.

thyname

2,742 posts

05-07-2023 at 10:09am 

 

 

jetter

2,701 posts

05-07-2023 at 10:26am 

Looking at the most positive side of roxy54’s original post it serves a very important purpose to inform potential buyers of these cables being sold as used (expecting the genuine article) to be on the lookout for counterfeits.

If you want to buy them, who really cares?  But I ask myself what I would think as a new person considering joining Audiogon what type of people are members of the site if they author threads actively promoting the purchase of Chinese counterfeits?

You are absolutely correct! As a matter of fact, we had a member posting here in this thread (now deleted), a cable hater, proudly proclaiming he bought several counterfeit cables and sold them as genuine, duping many people and making a fortune in the process. Yes, such jerks exist. Unfortunately 

I have original Nordost Odin 2 cables. One of the members in my audio group obtained these Chinese cables and he came to my house to compare them. The interconnects, especially the gold, looks very similar to the original (from the outside). They sound wonderful especially for the price and hate to say it but they have the Nordost signature. I would say they give 70-80% of the real Nordost sound.
Unfortunately I think the Chinese use the same interconnect cable design for power cables as well as speaker cables. This makes the Chinese copy power cables sound a bit harsh. The worst is their speaker cable as it is not even close in design (nordost makes ribbon speaker cables). The Chinese Nordost speaker cables are also made with interconnect cable design which clearly causes distortion. I have not tried any other Chinese versions (digital cables).

Of course it is for the individual to decide if it is ethical to support copying and flagrant disregard to patent rights. I understand that the originals are way overpriced. So I don’t think anyone can be totally faulted for going the Chinese route.

Anyway buying is not illegal but selling them as real ones may land someone with criminal consequences. So please be careful.

I found this speaker wire with similar look of Valhalla to sound fleshier than my Valhalla 1 speaker wire yet still have the Valhalla sonics. Very robust and fast speaker wire. RM Digital is the only store to sell anything with this form factor. 

https://shorturl.at/cehwA

I’m also using the Valhalla 2 speaker cable from RM Digital. Big improvement over the Odin Gold.

I have several of the Chinese "Nordost Gold", power cables and they don't sound remotely harsh....in fact the opposite.... As they say YMMV.....

CHEERS....

middlemass...

What didn't you like about the Chinese "Odin Gold" speaker cable (I am referring to the round body style (not the flat wire type) compared to the silver " Vahalla " from RM Digital?

Never said I didn’t like them. Used the Silver Odin 2 (9 months,) and then the Odin Gold (3 months.) 2 interconnects and 5 power cords, also. 3 of those were originally Silver but all 7 have now been upgraded to Gold. Have been so impressed with this group of products, particularly the cost versus performance ratio, that I decided to try one of the pricier offerings, the flat cable Valhalla 2. A whopping 170.00 for a 2 meter pair. I’m at one month break in and they’re simply outstanding. Yes, better to my ears than the round Odins. More of everything yet somehow more relaxed and natural. Hard to put into words.

decooney said:

I have a pair of TOTL copper Viborg interconnects - 09G801. I’m using them between my Bob’s Devices Sky 20 & EAR Phono Classic. Very nice. Not inexpensive (about $200 CAD +/-). Solid copper connectors.

middlemass...

Thanks for the feedback.... Just to confirm, you tried the Gold round Speaker cable for a period of time, then went to the Vahalla 2 (flat) Silver Speaker cable (your above post mentions trying seven different Gold cables ( 2 interconnects, 5 power cords).....

Thanks...

These HDMI Cables I don't think are knockoffs? I have them. Best HDMI cables I have used. Picture improved and sound went to another level.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804078553714.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.70fc2113ZAItWL&algo_pvid=4cd9ad20-8e36-4283-9fc5-b31cfadfdd25&algo_exp_id=4cd9ad20-8e36-4283-9fc5-b31cfadfdd25-0&pdp_npi=3%40dis%21USD%2137.68%2122.23%21%21%21%21%21%402102160416835498205802064d0745%2112000028566731295%21sea%21US%214520179894&curPageLogUid=9cg36nJaLqJS

musiclover1...

Yes, that is correct. Was pointing out that I’m basically using a full loom of Gold products at this point and couldn’t be happier. Was just curious about trying the flat cable and am very pleased with it. Might switch back to the Gold after a few months.

Interesting that @middleman preferred the Valhalla 2 ribbons to the Odin Gold. I am not accusing him of anything, but I am floored by how much better the Gold is compared to the Odin IIs. I had real Nordost Blue Heaven ribbons decades ago and the rolling up of the ribbons annoyed me to no end

Anyway, clearly as good as these Ali-E cables are, Odin Gold or Valhalla IIs, they are outstanding value. YMMV as to which better fits your system

FYI the Odin IIs sound much better in my TV set up with OS Audio GCC 250 and Swan Diva 6.1s

tweak 1:

What would there be to accuse me of? Having an opinion? I agree that the Gold are better than the Odin 2's. That was my experience also. And the Valhalla 2 is even better. TO MY EARS. YMMV.