Counterfeit Audioquest cables?

[microstrip]

At what freq does it use for measuring?

Auto and manual: DC, 1kHz, 15kHz, 200kHz.

https://www.peakelec.co.uk/acatalog/lcr45-lcr-impedance-meter.html

 

[microstrip]

Many items are fake.
PS audio years ago had massive fake power cords
Paul went nuts trying to help owners or customers looking to buy them
capacitors are a big problem too fake names
Even cans having not even close to spec caps inside the cans
imagine that.
there was a cable show called bullshit
we audio folk would need a multiple season to get close to the level of fake or just plain impossible
we get cheated on many levels
maybe jays lab can narrate a few episodes for us

The more terrible problem is vintage transistors - they must be tested before being used in repairs. For some power transistors the best way is asking your dentist to take an X-ray of them!

 

[Republicoftexas69]

I am a firm beliver in well constructed cables at fairor reasonable price. What is reasonable to me may be expensive or even cheap to others. I think it boils down to what works and sounds good to you.

 

[mulveling]

The more terrible problem is vintage transistors - they must be tested before being used in repairs. For some power transistors the best way is asking your dentist to take an X-ray of them!

That's a big problem in the very small but enthusiastic electrostatic headphone community (Stax). The DIY community has produced some very high-end direct drive (no step-up transformers) amplifier designs which all rely on high voltage transistors. By the time a design had been implemented by builders, the specific transistors used would often be out of production. Then a new version comes out with currently available transistors, but soon THOSE go OOP, rinse and repeat. Sonically, the specific transistors used makes as much difference as rolling tubes, maybe more. Even the tube based amp designs still used LOTS of these transistors for CCS (hybrid amps). So the best amps out there for this application now use obsolete silicon. Because it was all (very) small DIY builders, nobody had a large enough stockpile to go around. When you go to source these transistors, there is a VERY high chance you will encounter counterfeits. And at such high voltages (these amps all run +/-400 to +/-500 Volt rails), the stakes are high!

 

[Corinthian]

I've recently been scammed by the fake AQ cables and wanted to post my experience here to try and protect fellow forum members from one specific dodgy eBay seller. Whilst a UK source, it may be of interest to others in different geographical locations as well - even just to see what the specific fakes I received look like.

I hope that this post doesn’t break any of the forum rules and isn’t seen as unreasonable or unfair. If it does, then please would the mods amend as necessary and accept my apologies.

I wanted to post the following to warn other members of a current batch of fake AudioQuest cables doing the rounds on eBay, and probably elsewhere.

The fakes are unsurprisingly those higher up in the product hierarchy – Specifically AQ Fire, WEL, and Mythical creatures XLR cables, but there may well be others. The seller in question has good feedback and has been on the platform for a good while, and this could help make a buyer feel more comfortable.

I placed a bid on a pair of AQ Fire 1m XLR cables, and ‘won’ the auction at a little over £200 (consider that the RRP is around £3200). When they arrived, the cables present quite well I thought, with what is quite possibly a genuine outer box, and they also have DBS modules with a light that illuminates on pressing the button. So far, so good. They also work, although I didn’t have a pair of genuine Fire cables to compare to (that would certainly have been a very interesting experiment!). Here is what they look like:









I happened to mention to my wife that I’d bought these, and she, being far more sensible than I am, immediately raised a quizzical eyebrow and suggested that all was probably not as it appeared. I asked a friend who is a HiFi dealer, and he was adamant that they were fakes, I mean who sells such expensive goods so cheap unless they are either fakes or stolen? He examined some photos and pointed out why they were fakes, and I thought that I’d share these with you for interest and as a warning just in case you might be tempted by what appears to be a bargain!





For reference, here is the blurb on the AQ website stating how the cables are constructed: Fire · Rivers & Elements Series · Analog Interconnects · Cables

Unscrewing the covers on the XLR reveals that I have indeed been ripped off! Cold-Welded plugs? See the solder, hmm...







Also, note the type and quality of wire, absence of shielding and FEP air tubes, and that the DBS system isn't attached to anything.

I suspect that the quality of the plugs is also far below that of the genuine article, and IME the fit wasn't perfect.

In retrospect, I was lucky, thanks to common sense (not mine) shown by wife and the advice of my dealer friend. I contacted the seller, who initially refused to take them back and insisted that they were genuine. When confronted with why they just weren't the real deal the seller admitted the deception and I got my money back. The cables were immediately relisted on eBay and so I contacted them to report the fakes. Despite all of the stuff on eBay's website saying that they have a zero tolerance policy to fakes etc and my report of the listing, they just let the auction run, and others like it. Further evidence that should have set Spidey senses tingling includes an apparent item location in Edinburgh, but shipped from an address in Plymouth, and a return address in Cobalt Close London.

More worryingly, based on the eBay feedback, there are plenty of people who appear to have bought these counterfeits for substantial sums of money well in excess of what I paid (several at around or above £1000), and they are seemingly unaware that what they have are worthless fakes.

In summary, I know everyone likes a good bargain and I'll state the obvious, which I failed to adhere to - if it's too good to be true then it almost certainly is. I would strongly caution against buying from eBay seller liibs2012 (Pablo Reinoso) unless you know and accept that you are buying counterfeit goods. You're probably all far too sensible to fall for such things, but just in case you're not, please be careful and don't get scammed! If any members on here have bought goods from this seller then you should know what you have and take action to obtain a refund ASAP.

Lesson hopefully learnt, and I'm only going to buy cables from reputable main dealers now!

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...Pablo Reinoso is a famous artist. Perhaps another red flag.

 

[John T]

...Pablo Reinoso is a famous artist. Perhaps another red flag.

Good catch there Mark!

 

[Corinthian]

...Pablo Reinoso is a famous artist. Perhaps another red flag.

Everyday is a school day as they say, I didn't know that!

 

[audiopro92]

There ARE genuine great deals on used cables out there - I love the older series silver speaker cables. And even the ancient Sky is still a solid IC.

But those Chinese "copies" selling new for less that 10% or 5% of genuine MSRP - what on earth do people think they're getting? I really don't get why people buy those, with who knows what metals and insulators. I'd be real curious to cut some of those open - no way they ever use solid silver like many of these high-end models are supposed to feature (maybe silver plate at the most, or steel/aluminum/nickel alloys to look silver). But there's NO way I'm giving those guys cash to find out.

right, those Chinese copies use low-quality/low purity copper and the sheath is made to look like the real thing; in some cases, like silver. I've bought a lot of these copies just to test. I cut those cables open and found out. They are selling rubbish - costs much less = great margin for them $$$! Always best to buy genuine.

 

[Corinthian]

Always best to buy genuine.

That's the bottom line right there!

 

[Geoffkait]

Of course on real AudioQuest cables the arrows would indeed indicate the correct orientation of the cables, whereas for fake Audioquest cables the arrows would only indicate correct orientation 50% of the time, or maybe none of the time. Since AudioQuest is one of very few companies that controls directionality during manufacture.

 

[Another Johnson]

Of course on real AudioQuest cables the arrows would indeed indicate the correct orientation of the cables, whereas for fake Audioquest cables the arrows would only indicate correct orientation 50% of the time, or maybe none of the time. Since AudioQuest is one of very few companies that controls directionality during manufacture.

Even AudioQuest can make mistakes. I ordered three balanced pair from the mythical creatures line from my authorized AQ dealer. One pair came with the arrows on both connectors pointing in.

I asked AQ to send me a correct connector, but they required I return the interconnect directly to them. They fixed it for free and paid the return shipping, so they did not identify it as counterfeit. It was their own work. On the bright side, the turnaround was about 8 or 9 calendar days. My experience (I’ve had them do other repairs and work on their interconnects several times) is that the time from arrival at their facility to the time of departure for the return has never been more than two days. Their assignment of a return authorization is generally within one day.

 

[mulveling]

Even AudioQuest can make mistakes. I ordered three balanced pair from the mythical creatures line from my authorized AQ dealer. One pair came with the arrows on both connectors pointing in.

I asked AQ to send me a correct connector, but they required I return the interconnect directly to them. They fixed it for free and paid the return shipping, so they did not identify it as counterfeit. It was their own work. On the bright side, the turnaround was about 8 or 9 calendar days. My experience (I’ve had them do other repairs and work on their interconnects several times) is that the time from arrival at their facility to the time of departure for the return has never been more than two days. Their assignment of a return authorization is generally within one day.

Same - in my history with their service (perhaps 20 times over 15 years), AQ has been exceptional. I've requested lots of re-terminations and even long run splits. And you're right, even the genuine articles can have variances or even mistakes. Which makes amateur guessing at authenticity - especially over bad photos - extremely difficult.

If buying used, you simply have to trust the seller and their purported cable provenance. Recently there's been one audiogon seller posting a number of AQ cables, some of which I thought looked highly suspicious. I even reported one of his WEL Signature PCs, to no effect. Every ad boasts a "15 day money back guarantee!". I'm guessing he knows some of these may not be legit and that's his gimmick for smoothing over buyer concerns.

 

[vert]

I placed a bid on a pair of AQ Fire 1m XLR cables, and ‘won’ the auction at a little over £200 (consider that the RRP is around £3200). When they arrived, the cables present quite well I thought, with what is quite possibly a genuine outer box, and they also have DBS modules with a light that illuminates on pressing the button. So far, so good. They also work, although I didn’t have a pair of genuine Fire cables to compare to (that would certainly have been a very interesting experiment!).

If you won some thing on eBay that was originally £3200 for £200, then it’s fake.

They went to great lengths to present these cables as authentic though.