Where is your cable manufactured

[rsa17]

Something I found interesting while doing some research on audio cables is the secrecy of the place of manufacture of their products.

 

Case in particular is Audioquest. I'm looking for a suite of cables to upgrade my system and I found Audioquest covered that need precisely, both with specification and price.

 

But when I started to dig into the origins of manufacture of their cable it became a little opaque. The best search revealed that Audioquest factory in Roosendaal in the Netherlands receives reels of cables that are then cut and assembled, but nowhere does it say where those reels of cable are manufactured. 

 

So I dropped them an email, gave them a list of the cable models I was interested in and asked where the cables were manufactured. 

 

No response. Just curious to get anybody's thoughts on if this is deceptive marketing? Letting me believe they are an American company with their products assembled in Europe but won't reveal place of manufacture. 

[Superfuzzbigmuff]

I can confidently say my cables are assembled to the highest quality and to my requirements in Brisbane by Geoff at Aurealis. I don't know where he sources the actual cable from but I'm sure he would respond to an email if asked (I'm not that bothered about where he gets the cable from - so I won't be asking him). IMO his cables better the brand you're referring to by quite some margin - and his cables are cheaper. But that is just my opinion.

[rsa17]

7 minutes ago, Superfuzzbigmuff said:

I don't know where he sources the actual cable from

 

Thanks for the tip, I will definitely look him up. I'm in Brisbane too. The only concern in have with place of manufacturing is an ethical one. I know it's inevitable that as hard as we might try to source stuff ethically we will ultimately end up having to purchase a product made in a country where ethics is questionable.

 

Will look Geoff up now. Thanks again.

[075Congo]

Not sure if I quite get this? My current speaker cables were assembled by hand in Melbourne. The actual cable wire was built to a specification by another manufacturer who I believe is not based in Australia. So is that deceptive ? Not in my mind.......no ....not at all. Where do Shunyata Research get their basic copper wire from......certainly not in the factory on the NE Coast of the USA.

[Superfuzzbigmuff]

Just now, 075Congo said:

Not sure if I quite get this? My current speaker cables were assembled by hand in Melbourne. The actual cable wire was built to a specification by another manufacturer who I believe is not based in Australia. So is that deceptive ? Not in my mind.......no ....not at all. Where do Shunyata Research get their basic copper wire from......certainly not in the factory on the NE Coast of the USA.

 

I guess the point is not so much where the components come from, but the folk doing the assembling at least telling you where they come from - and then you can make your own decision from there. Another good reason to use local suppliers perhaps?

 

[rantan]

Agree 100% with the above.

Geoff is the most approachable and honest person I have ever dealt with.

I am sure that if buyers contacted him he would willingly inform them of the provenance of his wires.

I compared the Dragon Litz cables to others three to four times more expensive and found them to be superior 

 

[Superfuzzbigmuff]

5 minutes ago, rantan said:

I compared the Dragon Litz cables to others three to four times more expensive and found them to be superior 

 

Yep - just admiring the beauty and sound quality of mine ATM.... Is it wrong to get emotional about a cable?

[Full Range]

24 minutes ago, Superfuzzbigmuff said:

I can confidently say my cables are assembled to the highest quality and to my requirements in Brisbane by Geoff at Aurealis. I don't know where he sources the actual cable from but I'm sure he would respond to an email if asked (I'm not that bothered about where he gets the cable from - so I won't be asking him). IMO his cables better the brand you're referring to by quite some margin - and his cables are cheaper. But that is just my opinion.

And Geoff also makes custom cables to suit your needs

As an example I had a need for feather weight cables for the phono stage and he made them for me 

 

Also custom speaker cables to suit low watts A class power amp 

 

 

[075Congo]

I'm sure a shrink would have a "label" for it............

[rantan]

2 hours ago, 075Congo said:

I'm sure a shrink would have a "label" for it............

 

No shrink required. People are eminently capable of labelling others for various reasons of their choosing.

[rsa17]

.

Edited May 7, 2023 by rsa17
Controversial comment

[SonicArt]

My website is quite clear on where my cable materials and assembly of is done. All my Sonic Silver cable is made in the USA in a Milspec factory, all made to my designs & specs.

I assemble all cabling here, I use Cardas plugs on all the Reference series cables (made in USA) and the SilverLine series are plugged with my own specced plug I had made in Taiwan years ago, same factory that makes a lot of big name brand plugs.

My spades are made by the same Taiwan factory, and the banana plug I use is made in Switzerland.

 

Oh and my Vinyl Link cable is made in Japan, DIN plug housings made here by me, with USA made cardas pin assemblies.

Edited May 2, 2023 by SonicArt

[andyr]

16 hours ago, Full Range said:

As an example I had a need for feather weight cables for the phono stage and he made them for me 

 

Also custom speaker cables to suit low watts A class power amp 

 

I'm curious to know why 'featherweight' cables are needed for a phono stage.

 

Also, what is different about a spkr cable for use with a 'low watts class A power amp'?

 

[Full Range]

48 minutes ago, andyr said:

 

I'm curious to know why 'featherweight' cables are needed for a phono stage.

 

 

48 minutes ago, andyr said:

 

Also, what is different about a spkr cable for use with a 'low watts class A power amp'?

 

 

My phono cables plug in directly onto the tone arm and the puffin phono stage is light in weight and has the connections facing up 

Heavy cables tend to lift the tone arm up 

 

The white cable is Geoff’s 

 

 

Re - Speaker cables 

I did some comparisons with other cables and Geoffs tend to covey more audio information in the mid range.
Don’t ask me how that happens 

 

The difference is slight but with speakers at a min of 106db one can hear slight differences 

 

 

[vinilink]

On 02/05/2023 at 11:58 AM, rsa17 said:

Something I found interesting while doing some research on audio cables is the secrecy of the place of manufacture of their products.

 

Case in particular is Audioquest. I'm looking for a suite of cables to upgrade my system and I found Audioquest covered that need precisely, both with specification and price.

 

But when I started to dig into the origins of manufacture of their cable it became a little opaque. The best search revealed that Audioquest factory in Roosendaal in the Netherlands receives reels of cables that are then cut and assembled, but nowhere does it say where those reels of cable are manufactured. 

 

So I dropped them an email, gave them a list of the cable models I was interested in and asked where the cables were manufactured. 

 

No response. Just curious to get anybody's thoughts on if this is deceptive marketing? Letting me believe they are an American company with their products assembled in Europe but won't reveal place of manufacture. 

From what I was told (a very reliable source) that one of very well-known audio cable brand, among the audiophiles, is made in China from Shenzen. My source got me a pair of speaker cables at a fraction of what shops are selling them for. Who knows, maybe they are fake too.

[rantan]

1 minute ago, vinilink said:

From what I was told (a very reliable source) that one of very well-known audio cable brand, among the audiophiles, is made in China from Shenzen.

100%

These large and famous companies know that people will buy their overpriced cables no matter what.

 

Just give thanks that we have some superb cable makers right here in Oz and they are only to happy to reveal the provenance of their cables and the construction thereof so you know exactly  what you are buying. The fact that they are superb and in many cases, superior to the big name brands at five times the price, is the icing and strawberries on a very nice cake.

[muon*]

Gold Coast QLD for speaker cables

 

My bedroom for analogue interconnects and digital cable.

[Guest]

Reminds me of this from a few years ago: https://www.stereonet.com/au/news/counterfeight-tchernov-audio-cable-warning

I could only speculate that there were counterfeit cables being made, but my gut says someone was telling porkies about the country of origin ... 

[wasabijim]

NB Cables

not as boutique as Geoff's, but straight up with what you're getting with a pinch of local Aussie swagger 

 

from the site:

https://www.nbspeakercables.com.au/pages/faq

 

Where are your materials made and sourced?

The speaker wire we use it manufactured in Australia by Tycab and purchased from local electrical wholesalers. Our banana plugs are sourced locally by Australian owned and run businesses. We proudly use Space Hi-Fi for our standard banana plugs and spade plugs when available.

As of April 2020, we now offer a range of cables called the 'Krix Edition' utilising Krix BFA Banana Plugs. 

We do use various heatshrinks purchased from a local retailers. While some of these are not Australian made, they are RoHS certified (free from hazardous substances).

 

[075Congo]

Just did some research on ANSUZ ACOUSTICS in Denmark looking at "where are their cables manufactured?" Very easy to establish that ANSUZ is a local "Made in Denmark" business. Multiple videos available showing where and how their cables are assembled and who are the people involved. Reassuring.

[075Congo]

Recently I bought a pair of Kimber Kable speaker cable on the Stereonet Classifieds. Thanks to another SNA member who sent photos of the cables to the USA....I had bought Counterfeit cables.All of the major cable manufacturers (Nordost, Audioquest and Kimber Kable) have put up with counterfeiting for years. They offer an assessment service to help establish whether or not you have been affected. Audioquest in the USA offer this service.....you send in your cables for assessment.......if they are fakes.....well AQ destroys them.....no compensation either.

I notice in the rules governing Selling on SNA....that selling counterfeit cables is a no-no. If you breach that rule on Stereonet........go somewhere else.

[ray4410]

there is a lesson to be learnt here  do your homework check the photos out if not clear enough ask for more or even proof of purchase from a reputable dealer also a lot of the well known cable manufacturers show pics of the little differences between the real deal or the fake cables on their websites, you can also Google well known fake cables and compare  failing that buy Australian made like Aurealis
a few years back i bought some fake Van den hul Magnum speaker cable from a member on SNA the pics were not that good but i did not have any reason to be suspect about them until i recieved them and put them next to the genuine cables,contacted the seller who apologised saying he did not know they were fake ,i returned the cables and was fully reimbursed as they say buyer beware. 

[075Congo]

Yes Buyer Beware! I should mention the help offered during my dilemma by Jonathan Davies who has been involved with Kimber Kable at JD Audio for 40Years. Counterfeit cables are very front of mind to "JD". He has been assembling the cables for all that time so he definitely knows a fake cable.

And yes do support local cable guys!

[Guest]

I've lost count of how many times you've posted this up in various threads now Mick. The point you keep omitting however is that originally the cables were bought from a seller not on StereoNET (most likely AliExpress), and then onsold to another member here in the past. That member then innocently sold them to you - he was genuinely mortified to discover they were not authentic, and you were promptly refunded. How JD Audio handled this was disgusting however, abusing the Trader Feedback system, harassing the member directly etc. Then posting messages about StereoNET itself in multiple places on their own website (since removed) - all despite our immediate intervention and happily working with Kimber directly on this. There are right way and wrong ways to go about things ...

[075Congo]

We all have different ways of looking at things I suppose.