Fake Audioquest cables??

Toolfan66

A friend of mine told me to be concerned about buying fake AQ Cables off ebay anybody heard anything like this? and how would you know?

comfortablycurt

You do have to be careful about that. I've heard of people buying Monster Cables off ebay before, and they ended up being counterfeits. I'd imagine the same will happen with AQ's.

I guess you're not really gonna know until you receive it...but watch out for overseas sellers and sellers with real low numbers. Checking their feedback never hurts either

BlueFox

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I've heard of people buying Monster Cables off ebay before, and they ended up being counterfeits.

I wonder if they worked better.

comfortablycurt

BlueFox wrote: »

I wonder if they worked better.

lol...It's entirely possible.

mmadden28

How would one know if they (AQ's) were real or not? Are there any telltale signs?

Willow

On the box of an HDMI cable, I noticed that there was a spelling mistake, everything alse from the pics looked the same but I did notice that soelling error and I doubt the real AQ would allow that.

Ric5811

comfortablycurt wrote: »

You do have to be careful about that. I've heard of people buying Monster Cables off ebay before, and they ended up being counterfeits. I'd imagine the same will happen with AQ's.

I guess you're not really gonna know until you receive it...but watch out for overseas sellers and sellers with real low numbers. Checking their feedback never hurts either

There are a lot of of overseas sellers right now selling AQ's. Most have high feedback, and high transactions, but then none are for the AQ's. Gavin (MIT) there is a lot of counterfeiting going on in Hong Kong right now. Almost all of the AQ's are from Hong Kong, using mostly stock pics. I think the AQ's would be harder to counterfeit than others due to the braiding, but that doesn't stop anyone.

Zitro

Ric5811 wrote: »

There are a lot of of overseas sellers right now selling AQ's. Most have high feedback, and high transactions, but then none are for the AQ's. Gavin (MIT) there is a lot of counterfeiting going on in Hong Kong right now. Almost all of the AQ's are from Hong Kong, using mostly stock pics. I think the AQ's would be harder to counterfeit than others due to the braiding, but that doesn't stop anyone.

There is a lot of counterfeit Kimber coming from China, too. If the price looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Jetmaker737

Personally, if the seller is in Hong Kong I'm not taking the chance.

FTGV

Jetmaker737 wrote: »

Personally, if the seller is in Hong Kong I'm not taking the chance.

Yep,be suspicious of anything from that region.Those little **** are counterfitting everything.The amount of fake semiconductor and other electronics parts they are producing is mind boggling.They are getting so good that with some parts even a trained eye can't spot the fakes from the real.

cstmar01

FTGV wrote: »

Yep,be suspicious of anything from that region.Those little **** are counterfitting everything.The amount of fake semiconductor and other electronics parts they are producing is mind boggling.They are getting so good that with some parts even a trained eye can't spot the fakes from the real.

some of the AQ stuff that is fake is really really hard to spot when looking at just the cables from what I've seen that people have gotten. Mostly its in the packaging, or saying the "don't have the original box but its brand new" so its new out of the box yet in wrapping? never understood that one unless it was like somehow magically destroyed...

Conradicles

Buy SignalCable...made in the USA baby!

erniejade

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pair-2-5M-AUDIOQUEST-CV6-Audio-Bi-wire-Speaker-Cable-/360280595139?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e2659ac3#ht_500wt_928


http://cgi.ebay.com/audioquest-Gibraltar-Speaker-Cable-2-5M-Pair-Bi-wire-/370408422143?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item563e0ffaff#ht_3655wt_911


http://cgi.ebay.com/Audioquest-Gibraltar-Bi-Wire-72V-DBS-speaker-cable-2-5m-/140410559236?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b11f1b04#ht_3275wt_1137

hell that is a 1500+ cable....

Outfitter03

Makes buying items on the used market a lot scarier. Having original packaging would be about the only way a seller could pass off as new. I just bought some interconnects from HCM audio and they came in HCM plastic bags. This was a retailer recommended on this site. Do I keep those for resale if I decide to in the future?

If all these items are actually counterfeit, why not just counterfeit the packaging also? I used to work as a manufacturing engineer and it is definitely more difficult printing cleanly and legibly on wire and connectors than thermal forming a plastic container or printing on packaging and labeling.

Could these items be real products diverted or purchased from outsourced OEM manufacturers?

acmf74

Jetmaker737 wrote: »

Personally, if the seller is in Hong Kong I'm not taking the chance.

very true!


If I'm going to slap down some serious cash I would only buy new from a official dealer. I would even be suspicious on Audiogon.

OWiseOne

I heard that Audioquest manufactors their cables in china and sells it's seconds (slightly damaged) for real cheap. That's why the prices are so low. I bought some king cobra xlr's from and ebay seller and when I received them, I opened up the connectors to see if they looked legit and they do. They also sound pretty darn good to be fakes. I compared the sound to a pair my friend bought here, his were rca's but the sound was pretty much the same. If they are fakes, they're good fakes. I also bought a pair of kimber PBJ's and they sound really good. I didn't have another set of kimbers to compare to though.

digitalvideo

Where do you purchase official authentic AQ's from? From their official website?

HB27

I was buying my AQ Sidewinders from Ovation right around the corner from me. They were a little pricey as the price on them went up to over $60 for 1M from my initial price a few years ago of $40.
Figuring I'd save a few bucks on the entry level Sidewinders I bought some off Ebay for $38 shipped to my door.
Within seconds I could tell something was wrong. Even with a new cable not burnt in the "flavor" was completely different.
I've broken the wiring inside my Sidewinders before and took them apart and resoldered them. I opened up the NEW cables and they were totally different in material and construction.
This was my first adventure into counterfeits. I'd never "thunk it" that a cheap cable would be replicated.
I contacted the "ebay seller" and he never contacted me back. After a couple of weeks I noticed he was no longer on Ebay at least by that name.
Buyer beware.

newbie308

May be a dumb question, but does anyone build their own cables? I wouldn't attempt to build a HDMI cable, but RCA patch cords and speaker cables are not difficult to put together. If you build your own, you can avoid these snake oil tricksters.

HB27

newbie308 wrote: »

May be a dumb question, but does anyone build their own cables? I wouldn't attempt to build a HDMI cable, but RCA patch cords and speaker cables are not difficult to put together. If you build your own, you can avoid these snake oil tricksters.

Lots of companies sell just the components seperately and you can fit them to your system.
I don't have a lot of spare time and usually pick mine up preassembled.
Building your own out of quality NAME components doesn't assure you of safe purchasing unless from a respected dealer of direct from the manufacturer.

jinjuku

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

A friend of mine told me to be concerned about buying fake AQ Cables off ebay anybody heard anything like this? and how would you know?

I thought you would be able the hear the difference, that's odd.

Toolfan66

jinjuku wrote: »

I thought you would be able the hear the difference, that's odd.

xcapri79 wrote: »

Welcome to Club Polk.



The difference between the real cables and fakes should be very obvious shouldn't it?

deleted!!!! Now why don't you do the same???

I never bought a set of fake cables to compare..

jinjuku

xcapri79 wrote: »

I noted the difference, but he still wasn't sure. They could be good fakes as he says. You believe they are real. Ok. No problem with that, but that is your opinion not a certainty.

What you actually get in Chinese manufacturing is a second production line going where they are making an exact knock off.

I have an Ethernet enabled low voltage relay that I have produced in the U.S. because I know if I farm it out to China they will simply purchase raw components and produce a copy.

cnoat

I have a pair of sidewinders coming in about another week.Bought them just to compare.Let you guys know as soon as they are here.

cnoat

Yes.Right out of Hong Kong.I run Diamondbacks and sidewinders from my local av shop.Got these just to see.

jinjuku

xcapri79 wrote: »

So that explains the knockoffs. Are copyright laws are not enforcable or hard to enforce?

I know of a product called Webrelay that sounds similar to yours.
http://www.controlbyweb.com/webrelay/

In China Copyright is basically non-existent. Go to Hong Kong and pick up DVD's, BR's, CD's all professionally done for pennies on the dollar as en example. All from street vendors.

There is even knock off Cisco gear that was being imported by some rather unscrupulous vendors that finally got busted. This is gear was going into Military installations :eek:

Our product if similar except we produce it to be private labeled by other vendors. Primarily security and access control. We will have features that the product you linked to doesn't.

jinjuku

cnoat wrote: »

Yes.Right out of Hong Kong.I run Diamondbacks and sidewinders from my local av shop.Got these just to see.

If they came off the same line they will be the same cable.

cnoat

jinjuku wrote: »

If they came off the same line they will be the same cable.

That would be sweet considering I got them for 27.00 total.

DarqueKnight

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

A friend of mine told me to be concerned about buying fake AQ Cables off ebay anybody heard anything like this? and how would you know?

Audioquest discusses this on their website. I just take it for granted that small, easy to copy luxury items are going to be counterfeited.

Outfitter03 wrote: »

Makes buying items on the used market a lot scarier. Having original packaging would be about the only way a seller could pass off as new. I just bought some interconnects from HCM audio and they came in HCM plastic bags. This was a retailer recommended on this site. Do I keep those for resale if I decide to in the future?

Outfitter03 wrote: »

If all these items are actually counterfeit, why not just counterfeit the packaging also? I used to work as a manufacturing engineer and it is definitely more difficult printing cleanly and legibly on wire and connectors than thermal forming a plastic container or printing on packaging and labeling.

Exact duplication of packaging is not that easy and would make it easier to spot fakes, therefore the counterfeiters or second production line runners avoid this altogether. PS Audio and Audioquest's products are manufactured in China, but the packaging is made in the USA.

Outfitter03 wrote: »

Could these items be real products diverted or purchased from outsourced OEM manufacturers?

Yes. Absolutely.

jinjuku wrote: »

What you actually get in Chinese manufacturing is a second production line going where they are making an exact knock off.

Yes. Absolutely.

Last year I found some discontinued PS Audio Statement SC power cords on eBay at 60% off retail. The seller was in Hong Kong and had good feedback and offered free shipping and a 7 day 100% refund policy. The seller's ad also indicated that he was taking offers. If the cables turned out to be fakes all I would be out was return shipping. I offered 43% of the seller's asking price and he accepted.

The seller's ad mentioned that the cables were brand new but did not come with manufacturer's packaging. When I asked the seller why new cables did not come with original packaging, he replied that the cables were audio show demos and the packaging had been discarded. Ummmm...ok.

The Statement SC power cords I received from the Hong Kong dealer were identical to the Statement SC cords I purchased directly from PS Audio...even down the the "chalky" smell of the cable jackets...even down to the grayish oxidation on the connector blades...even down to the noise spectrum signatures shown on an oscilloscope.

I sent an email to PS Audio inquiring about these "demo" cables and I received no response. I posted a question on PS Audio's forum (Link: PS Audio Fake Cable Inquiry) and I received this response from their Custom Products Vice President, Ryan Conway:

"While it is difficult to make a definitive statement on the authenticity of all cables being sold from one location or another, we have found every cable that we have purchased from Ebay sellers located in Asian countries to be significantly inferior to authentic PS manufactured cables. The cables look and feel identical to PS cables, but the interior lacks all of our technology and high quality materials.

Since these cables are not authentic PS cables we cannot ensure the quality or more importantly the safety of the cables. Poor workmanship in the cables may cause inferior performance, shorts, or even fire.

PS Audio does not authorize any dealers to sell through Ebay. Period! Cables purchased through Ebay (or other auction sites) should be approached with great caution.

The only way to ensure you are buying authentic PS Audio products is to work directly with an authorized dealer. If you have any question as to the legitimacy of any dealer please call us at 866-406-8946."

F1nut

jinjuku wrote: »

I thought you would be able the hear the difference, that's odd.

Whomever deleted the half the posts in this thread missed this first trolling post in which the comment/question have absolutely nothing to do with the post he quoted.

Why juju and xpinto are still allowed to post here is beyond me. You wonder why older members don't post like they use, look at those two trolls for the reason.

jinjuku

Reported ^^