I bought a demo pair of 1 meter AQ King Cobras interconnects from a reputable dealer a few years back. One of the pair looked like it was an early or first generation King Cobra and the other one was an obvious counterfeit because the jacket weave was incorrect. I suspect people who had bought counterfeits online were then buying authentic cables from the dealer and sending the counterfeits to the dealer as returns.
I have a pair of XLO Reference 3 interconnects that I like rather well. A while back I thought I'd look for some used Reference 3 or Signature 3. I was perplexed by how authentic the XLO interconnects from China look in pictures. Maybe they are pictures of authentic interconnects; but they would send you something else. The wires, connectors and the hologram sticker on the bead all looked authentic in the pictures. I think they even listed them as new instead of used and of course they were priced at about 80% lower than the usual retail price. I received my XLO's direct from the company. I'm afraid to buy XLO's used if they have been copied so well.
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