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Help Do I have fake van den Hul Mainsstreams?

I just checked the van den Hul site. They have posted a warning there about fakes on the market. It seems to mostly describe the ones I have. (One's that were purchased through Audiogon, I believe.)
But then it gets weird. The site says the US fakes don't have ground pins. Mine do. Alright, so, maybe, they were reterminated. But it gets more confusing. The site says the fakes' writing doesn't capitalize the "V" in van den Hul. Mine have the "V"s in lower case, so, case closed, right? They're fakes. Not necessarily. THE PICTURES OF THE CORD ON THE VAN DEN HUL WEBSITE SHOW THE LOWER CASE "V" THAT THE SITE SAYS ONLY THE FAKES HAVE. What does that mean?
Also, van den Hul's own site says the Mainsstreams have a "catalog number" (or, whatever it is) after the phrase "Halogen free". But, again, the ones they show don't seem to have that. In fact, I haven't found a picture, yet, of the "real ones" they describe.
I was once a van den Hul dealer, by the way, and am familiar with their "house sound". And these cords sound like van den Huls. In fact, they have even beaten out some high quality competitors during comparisons.
But, I can't just adopt a, "Well, heck, they sound good. What's it matter?" attitude because van den Hul goes on to say that use of the fake will "likely" destroy my equipment and, possibly, ELECTROCUTE me. This is due in part, they say, to their very shoddy construction. Mine seem to be built like tanks, though, have been used successfully for years, and still sound and work great.
So, what do I do, now? Throw mine away? But, still, what confuses me the most is that van den Hul seems to have the fakes they describe pictured on their own site! What gives? Help!
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Showing 8 responses by nietzschelover

nietzschelover's avatar
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nietzschelover OP
93 posts
 
No, Rwwear, they do sound like they're supposed to. I've tracked down some reviews of them and the reviewers describe the sound of the ones I have. I read these reviews only after I bought the cords, by the way, so I'm not just hearing what I was told to hear (which would be a reasonable hypothesis).
Hey, maybe I have fake fakes and that's why they sound real.
Is a fake fake real?
nietzschelover's avatar
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nietzschelover OP
93 posts
 
To everybody else: if you look at the pictures of the Mainsstream Hybrid on the van den Hul website--the ones on the left--of their actual cable, you'll see that it has the lower case "v" that they say only the fake has. That's what's confusing. Yes, they do have a picture of a small section of the fake, too, on the right, laid next to their real one. Unfortunately, neither one pictured shows the part labeled "Van (van?) den Hul, or the number VDE-Reg.-Nr. 7824 CE, which, they say, is, also, only on the real one.
nietzschelover's avatar
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nietzschelover OP
93 posts
 
I was a van den Hul dealer twenty years ago. Why would I know what their latest models look like, today? Intuition?
You seem to have a small problem with your reading comprehension skills, Btstrg. (For instance, I never sold these cables, or, said I did. From where did you get that?)
Unfortunately, since your response is so confused, and you made no attempt to clarify the issues, anyway (or, even check the van den Hul website, yourself, to try to understand), I don't see the point of trying to get you to understand what I said. Perhaps, I will get a response from someone who actually knows something, later.
nietzschelover's avatar
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nietzschelover OP
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I'm talking about the picture on the left. THAT is NOT a picture of the fake cable. Yet, it has the lower case "v".
Why do people not want to look at that picture?
By the way, I, also, am familiar with Jadis' "house sound". That doesn't mean I can know, in advance, the details of how one of their products sounds. That's not inconsistent at all.
It seems, folks, that unless you go to van den Hul's website and look at the picture ON THE LEFT, which is NOT the fake, ACCORDING TO THEM (and, yet, has the lower case "v"), you will remain as determinedly confused as Btstrg.
Again, the fake is pictured on the right, not the left.
Yeah, you're right, Coffee-nudge, the picture of the real one on the right does have the large "V" when you click on and enlarge it. I hadn't noticed that. But, the question remains, what's up with the one on the left? If it's real, too, why does it have that lower case "v"?
I'm with you Muzikat. It sounds good, so it's good.
I did pull both cords out of my system, checked them out, and put them both through some "torture tests". I confirmed that they're in great working order and built more ruggedly than many other cords I have used (e.g., by Nordost, XLO, and Acoustic Zen).
If anyone out there actually owns a Mainsstream Hybrid, I would be curious to know what yours looks like.
Thanks.
nietzschelover's avatar
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nietzschelover OP
93 posts
 
Thanks for clearing things up regarding my cables, Kevziek.
nietzschelover's avatar
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nietzschelover OP
93 posts
 
Thanks for making me laugh, Groovey. It's nice to know there's at least one person out there crazier than I am.
By the way, are you suggesting that Jack Nietzsche and Fred Nietzsche aren't the same person?
nietzschelover's avatar
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nietzschelover OP
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I never said I was going to sell my fakes to anybody, nor did I imply it. I'd NEVER do that. What makes you guys think that? Where'd that come from? Those things are dangerous! Nobody should ever use them. I take great offense at that accusation.
What I AM going to do is start a "fake thread" (a real fake thread). I'm going to start it off by telling people about the fake Mainsstream Hybrid and what to look for. Then, I want to encourage everyone to report any fakes on the market they know about. But, I'm not sure which forum to put it in, if it's going to be about ALL kinds of fakes.
What do you guys think?
nietzschelover's avatar
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nietzschelover OP
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That's cool. It occurred to me, later, that you might have mistaken the ad.
And, don't worry, I have the original box, literature, and, even, the plastic "blister pack" (or, whatever that clear plastic thing is that fits around the box is called) for the Integrated Hybrid ic I have for sale, so it, probably, is genuine--unless they can fake of all of that, too!
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