It is very rare a complete amp is faked. Cheap copys (which copy the circuit but are distinguishable), yes, faked chips, yes. A close to 1:1 fake? Unlikely since the manufacturer would very quickly notice it and intervene. Impossible? No, ofcourse not.
To check if that's a fake, look for similar offers or use price check websites. If there are no other offers near that price, it's probably too good to be true. For the Alpine PDX-V9, I've found instantly a lot offers from 619€ down to 385€, 5 between 390 and 460€. So a price of 420$ seems to be really reasonable, a fake is quite unlikely. To be more certain of it, check if the ratings were given from verified buyers.
E: You could pay with PayPal, that gives you buyer protection. Amazon pay got something similar but that does not apply to all sellers, I'm not sure how to recognize that though.
To check if that's a fake, look for similar offers or use price check websites. If there are no other offers near that price, it's probably too good to be true. For the Alpine PDX-V9, I've found instantly a lot offers from 619€ down to 385€, 5 between 390 and 460€. So a price of 420$ seems to be really reasonable, a fake is quite unlikely. To be more certain of it, check if the ratings were given from verified buyers.
E: You could pay with PayPal, that gives you buyer protection. Amazon pay got something similar but that does not apply to all sellers, I'm not sure how to recognize that though.
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You pay your money and take your chances.
I tend to buy from reputable dealers now after buying lots of junk on ebay.
I have a long list of duff stuff I bought off ebay.
Transistors that lasted 10 minutes until first mains glitch.
Four power supplies that lasted about half an hour.
Four flash drives that took 3 months to arrive then none worked.
Disco lights that half of the bulbs didnt work.
etc etc
I tend to buy from reputable dealers now after buying lots of junk on ebay.
I have a long list of duff stuff I bought off ebay.
Transistors that lasted 10 minutes until first mains glitch.
Four power supplies that lasted about half an hour.
Four flash drives that took 3 months to arrive then none worked.
Disco lights that half of the bulbs didnt work.
etc etc
I've bought a lot, in fact, tons of stuff of ebay. The US, China, Germany and all over Europe. Yes, I had fakes, 2 times out of several hundreds orders. One of it were fake capacitors the other were amp boards with the TDA7294 instead of the TDA7293. The amp boards worked fine with my planned use nonetheless, both orders were covered by PayPal. Both times it was my own fault, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Take these precautions to order (and probably some more):
Take these precautions to order (and probably some more):
- Check if there are other sellers with similar prices. If there are just very few that cheap and the rest are much more expenxive or just one offer for that price, don't buy it.
- Don't buy without buyer protection payment
- Don't buy 'rare' semiconductors from China, check them for hints of a fake. Buy rather comparison types, replacements.
- Buy only parts from etablished sellers.
- Look very closely at the pictures. If the pictures are bad and/or hiding important parts, hands off. Try to identify problems (i.e. at drivers), analyze the pictures.
- Search for the distinguished features of the item on print and contacts or housing. Compare to the datasheet of the manufacturer.
- If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- Don't be too greedy. Use common sense.
- Remember the buyer payment protection? If it doesn't arrive in time, open a case. If it comes late, you can still close the case.
- If you are unsure about an item, ask i.e. here in the forum.
- Use common sense!
I think the amp should be real honestly, there are a lot of good reviews on amazon and I spoke with an alpine rep and he said those amps arent really fake, its just that those people get a hold of them some how and they sell them when they aren't supposed to, and a lot of the prices on amazons from different sellers were similar, anyway ill post back once I receive the amp and show you guys whats comes in the box, if it comes in a brand new box with a birth sheet it should be fine. I dont think amazon sells a lot of fake stuff anyway.
CCA (Copper Clad Aluminium) isn't bad, depending on the use. Yes, it's a lot cheaper and it's not adequate for cables that are moved often (mobile PA i.e.). Copper is much better in flexibility and how often it may be bent, but much more expensive. The conductivity is also better but that does not actually matter for speaker wiring, the contact resistance is much, much worse. It should always be checked what kind of wire is actually used, most cables use CCA.
Well that's a contraversial statement.
CCA is a reliability problem, it may come loose over time from screw terminals due to thermal cycling, it will fail much sooner in a high vibration environment due to its relative brittleness, and it may start fires if someone is led to believe its copper and uses inadequately rated cable for high currents.
But my main objection is being defrauded when I've bought something ostensibly 4mm copper for high current wiring (for motors, not speakers in fact), and get this CCA crap instead.
Aluminium cabling is used a lot in industry as its cheaper, but they use the proper fittings for reliable connection, don't use it as flex, and don't pretend its something its not.
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If your terminals reach over 150°C, you're doing something wrong. Seriously.
Aluminium is not aluminium.
The mixture of the alloy determines if it's brittle or softer. CCA cables can take a lot more than you think, the vibrations between the speaker and the amp are not problematic. The problems for its durability come from tight wound spools from transport, unwinding and re-winding firmly to small spools with hard pull and wrong winding technique, sharp bends or folds. Copper wire is less susceptible for it but does not like it either, it takes it just a bit longer.Your first two points are valid for network cables though because they are limited on the diameter and the self-cutting contacts of the plugs harm the cable more than the copper ones.
Sorry, but that's ridiculous. The contact resistances will cause a fire way before unless you use a way too small cable, because the votage drop over the contacts is much higher, they will heat up a lot more. For reasonable thick speaker wires there is simply no such risk of fire because of CCA. Don't forget, CCA contains at least 10-15% copper. The contact resistance is typically 0,5 Ohm, that's 50-100x (or more) over the resistance of your 5-10m speaker cable (2,5mm diameter). Your terminals will burn off before the cable does. If you want to be sure-sure safe-safe, just take one diameter above.
Here I'm completely with you. That is nothing but fraud, that could easily be extended to sheer sabotage. I absolutely hate it if I buy a 'copper' cable and it turns out it's not.
Meanwhile I always take a short wire piece and scrap on it with a knife. If it becomes silver-y, it's clear it isn't copper but CCA instead. I will always fight the seller to get my money back if something like that happens.What I hate even more: To recycle it, it takes a lot more energy to separate the copper from the aluminium than to recycle the copper cables.
Flexing copper cables got a limited lifetime too, that's a stress point that will fail. The question is not 'if', it's 'when'. For your speakers at home, it's not an issue though, if you know it. Just don't let the seller f*** you over.
OFC is the best quality. With the short length of the cables it's not making a difference if it's OFC or not though. Its name is KnuKonceptz Kolossus 4 AWG OFC btw.
OFC is a waste of money, just get regular electrical copper. Unless you are worried about hydrogen embrittlement in reducing atmospheres OFC has no benefit (or disadvantage come to that, other than financial). The oxygen in regular copper is there to scavenge hydrogen and sulfur. Yet you don't see any hoo-hah about hydrogen-free or sulfur-free copper!!
Coppers, for electrical and electronic applications
Coppers, for electrical and electronic applications
Not true if wire is long enough. Having contact resistances high enough to cause a fire will belong to pure copper as well. The point Mark Tillotson is referring to is the pure conductors resistance. When using the same diameter for CCA as for Copper, the wire will heat up way more due to higher conductors resistance.
Source: J. Aronstein, "Fire Due to Overheating Aluminum Wired Branch Circuit Connections," Electrical Safety Conference, Univ. of Wisconsin-Extension, Madison, WI, April 7, 1981
As well as:
Reducing The Fire Hazard in Aluminum-Wired Homes, AMP TYOCO COPALUM Pigtailing & Alternative Electrical Wiring Repair Procedures
Well, that's not true for reasonable think (solid) wires, but for thin/stranded.
See:
Source:
Thomas Horton, Directeur du Marketing Global chez Fushi Copperweld
[CC BY-SA 3.0 (]Creative Commons
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