[moriez]

Folks, have a look at my issue please.
 
I bought an used King Cobra 1 meter that looks different from my 0.5 meter used pair. No box or original proof of purchase so no way of authenticating it. I'm a little concerned now. After some research I've come to know that AudioQuest does release new generations of their cables. That's the good news and may be all what's going on here. Note that the 0.5 meter pair is bought under the same circumstances. No way to authenticate so for all I know that one is counterfeit. 
I've emailed AQ about it but no reply so far.
 
A few pics to show the discrepancies between on the left side the 0.5m and right the 1m cable.
 

Thicker print on the left. Just worn off on the right side?
 
 

White inner part vs black
 
 

AudioQuest logo vs AQ
 
 

Missing print
 
 
Looking at those pictures now and at taking them I see a slight overall difference between the shape of the plugs.
For example the left one seems a little leaner in all dimensions. Also the colour is slightly different but could be from discolouration. The cable sleeves seem to perfectly match.
 
Ideally there's someone who has these sets of cables and is able to compare them with mine.
 
 
Update:
 
AudioQuest confirmed there's more than one generation of the King Cobra. I chose to have them investigated nevertheless. Before sending them in one has to agree to destruction of the cable in case it's a counterfeit. If they're the real deal they'll provide a written statement saying so in case you'd ever want to sell them. All this jazz at no cost except one way shipping.
 
To be continued..

 

[moriez]

Aaaaand mini drum roooll..
 
One of the two was found to be counterfeit! 
 
It's sour but more importantly I want it to serve other enthusiasts. My advice: think twice, ask a seller for proof of purchase. You are at certain risk of not buying an authentic cable if he can't show it. The seller I had it from seems unaware of it being a counterfeit so it's not always going to be a scam either. Even if it includes the box it's no guarantee as they could be a reproduction as well.
 
So which one is the authentic? The 0.5 meter pair on the left. The counterfeit pair is on the right which has some distinct, mostly internal differences.
I can't share what's exactly been identified without making the bad guys wiser. That plus creating awareness is more important here than anything anyway. 
 
So, to conclude, watch your step

 

[bflat]

I am selling an authentic pair and somebody posted a link to this thread. My ad is in my sig and I purchased directly from an authorized seller - Music Direct. Here is what my cables have:

- The markings on the connectors are different on the source end versus the input end.
- The source end has the arrows pointing away from the connector tip and labeled "AudioQuest"
- The input end has the arrows point toward the connector tip and has both "AQ" and "King Cobra"
- One cable is marked in white and the other is black
- Connectors are silver and white inside and there are 4 sections to grip the outer part of the RCA plug
- This is similar to my Columbia cables

The left side of the OP's cable looks most similar but the connectors look oxidized or corroded. Maybe it's a bad photos but authentic AQ cables do not oxidize to corrode.

 

[moriez]

To avoid confusion, what I wrote in the first post were nothing but my own observations. I described only the to me most distinct differences between the two cables.
This means that although those differences are there, these are not necessarily criteria for what makes a genuine or counterfeit cable. In fact, I stated in the second post that AudioQuest let me know the differences are mostly internal. Don't jump to conclusions by looking at and comparing to the posted pictures! Especially because it's confirmed there's more than one generation King Cobra.

 

[bflat]

  To avoid confusion, what I wrote in the first post were nothing but my own observations. I described only the to me most distinct differences between the two cables.
This means that although those differences are there, these are not necessarily criteria for what makes a genuine or counterfeit cable. In fact, I stated in the second post that AudioQuest let me know the differences are mostly internal. Don't jump to conclusions by looking at and comparing to the posted pictures! Especially because it's confirmed there's more than one generation King Cobra.

I've always suspected that AQ warns about counterfeits just to make their brand more valuable. However that cable to the right definitely looks off so maybe there are "real" counterfeits out there. According to AQ all of their pure metal connectors are made in the US, but cable assembly is in China. I can understand why the markings may change from version to version, but I don't see them changing the shape because that would require new tooling and very expensive. The right cable shape is definitely different then the left. The shape of the connectors on my cables match more to the one on the left and also has the white color inside. If that left cable shows "AQ" and "King Cobra" marks only on the input end, then it's just like my cable.

 

[Bobpaule]

Oh yeah, I am King Cobra-d to the hilt now. In addition to the 10 XLRs from my UD9004 to the processor and stereo preamplifier, another 10 long XLRs to the banks of amps (biamp), I now have them upstairs on the HD-DAC1.
 
In the early days I got a bunch on ebay, truly a mixed bag of real and counterfeits. I got so good at identification that I just kept buying and selling until I ended up with all genuines. Buy new? Hxxx no, it is a lot more fun to get alerts and study the offerings. As a rule on ebay avoid anything from China and HK, along with the US postings using 5th grade lingo or intentionally blurred or small pictures.
 
In addition to the above, the fabric sleeve pattern on the legit cables is different.
 
You will find high enders on Audiocircle and places trashing KCs, but when you dine at the Four Seasons weekly your tastes change

 

[T Bone]

I was considering buying an AudioQuest cable from FleaBay that was attractively priced.  ....then I noticed that the seller was in China.  The seller has over 100K positive feedback w/ 99% satisfaction rate.  Part of me wants to believe that you can't rack up those numbers selling counterfeit goods.  The other part of me is warning about something too good to be true.
 
Check it out --> link 

 

[Bobpaule]

Rule #1, never ever buy KCs from ebay HK or China. The factory has a roof throw off 
aka Apple/Foxconn style "suicide" policy for theft, so almost none occurs there, knockoff guaranteed.

 

[T Bone]

  knockoff guaranteed

Thanks for confirming my suspicions