While AQ says their cables are made in the USA it’s very easy to figure out that their facility is not a foundry with the smelters and other gigantic industrial machinery needed to produce wire product. I don’t even thing they can make anything like that with the harsh EPA rules that moved almost every wire production plant overseas. With that said there is plenty of evidence that they are made in Asia and ASSEMBLED in the USA. It’s not uncommon for stuff to make it’s way out the back door inChina and get grey marketed. I have seen knockoff cables from most manufacturers and they are generally easy to spot but the AQ stuff I have seen that is of dubious origin is impossible to tell from the genuine article. They look like they are back door specials to me. Cardas knockoffs are obviously fake when seen as well as the Siltech knockoffs.
I will say this, the knockoffs (Cardas, Siltech etc) usually sound great, just not the same as the real deal. The AQ knockoffs sound like AQ. AQ will probably deny everything but I have personally seen them from a fellow audio club member.
This is the problem with China. They make most everything sold and they have no scruples.
Actually Audioquest speaker cables are not made in the US, they are made in their factories in China and the Netherlands.
Also many of the pseudo fake AQ cables, are actually real and where stolen from their shipping departments, reason why AQ want to always destroy them, which they do not have the legal right to do so without paying you for what you paid for as they are not their property, fake or not!
I stopped buying their cables a long time ago. The reality is that they over sale their quality and ask an astronomical amount of money for them. Is no cable in the world that its worth 20K, I buy gold with that money. I own 450K in hardware, and now I look for custom made cables like Stevens custom made at a portion of the price. I do still own many AQ cables, including original K2's, Vodka, etc.
I have tested many cables, including, Mogami, Audioquest, Van Dam Silver, Gobel, I was a freak of Audio, but at the end, very little difference if any when you buy well made high quality cables.
Equipment
Mcintosh MX180
Sonus Faber Aida's / Studio Arendal 1723
Cables Steven's Premium custom 9AWG
Turntable AET Forte / #5 cartdrige,
Power conditioners, Panamax / Furman.
etc