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.
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!
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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- 31 posts total
- 31 posts total