Spot the fake?
Caleb did a great job of spotting these fake Neutrik connectors today and this leads me on to this discussion around the increase of stark copies of equipment in our industry. In this case, it is a pretty good copy. We regularly work with hundreds of legitimate Neutrik connectors and these ones just didn’t feel quite right. The assembly wasn’t as smooth, the interconnection a bit janky and this caused us to look a little closer…
On closer inspection, the Neutrik font used on the connector barrel and the XX series band is not quite right. Genuine Neutrik XX series bands also have a slight holographic effect which wasn’t reproduced here.
Even the release button was looking pretty good.
Genuine Neutrik XLR Connectors are made in Liechtenstein, and there is an inscription inside the barrel shown here on both connectors “Liechtenstein“. It’s a bit hard to see here, but the insert of the copy was a bit of a sloppy fit compared with the original.
Even the packets are interesting! Shown below is a genuine NC3MXX (left) and the copy (right). Many things here are very similar, but notice the omission of Made in Liechtenstein next to the barcode, and no ® next to the logo of the right hand packet 👇🏻
Why do we choose to use good quality connectors in the first place?
Reliability & longevity
The positive ‘click‘ of a secure termination is satisfying. If you know, you know. These ones didn’t quite have it…
Repeated connect and disconnect in a rugged professional environment puts a lot of demand on the humble cable. Quality cables and connectors ensure interconnecting cables last a very long time.
Slight variation in the diameter of the conducting pins can cause deterioration over time resulting in unreliable or intermittent operation.
Ease of termination
Good quality connectors tend to have better heat stabilisation in the plastics surrounding the conducting pins. This means they remain secure during soldering without damaging the electrical contacts
The various components of a quality connector tend to have fine tolerances and fit together exceptionally well. This is not the case in cheaper connectors and was one of the factors which brought these connectors to our attention
These things can impact the time required to assemble a cable, and can often add significant time to the job in order to rework issues caused by cheap connectors
So why should you care?
Credit where credit is due - in the same way musicians should be acknowledged and rewarded for their work, so too the process to design, develop and produce a reliable interconnection system which can be relied on for critical events
With good quality cable and connectors, you can have trouble-free cables that will last you years to come
Supporting organisations who continually work to develop creative solutions
When these options are available, it might be a tempting choice when balancing budgets etc. but should we compromise? I’m interested to hear what you think about genuine or knock-offs? Does the quality of the knock-off play into your decision?