Friday, October 21, Irvine, CA-based high-end audio manufacturer AudioQuest issued a warning about what appears to be low-priced, inferior-sounding counterfeits of its discontinued AudioQuest DragonFly v1.2 . The matter was brought to AudioQuest's attention by a consumer who saw a thread on Reddit about a product that resembled the discontinued DragonFly 1.2's proprietary technical features. The real DragonFly is pictured above right with the subject of the Reddit thread on the left.

In AudioQuest's words, "multiple companies are promoting and selling unauthorized copies of Streamlength®-enabled "DragonFly" version 1.2. (Streamlength is a registered trademark of Wavelength Audio, Ltd.) . . . The counterfeits use inferior sounding, lower-quality components, and a sub-standard (possibly unintended) inferior re-layout of AudioQuest's original, proprietary circuit design."

The announcement includes links to images of the genuine DragonFly 1.2's circuit, reproduced above, which is manufactured in Ohio, and the counterfeit (below), which comes from China. It ends thusly: "AudioQuest and its affiliates will protect our highly valuable intellectual property, and the trust our customers have put in us and our products, to the fullest legal means available. In the meantime, please feel free to contact us with any questions regarding these issues, and please continue to enjoy authentic, high quality, AudioQuest products."

If there is anything more that AudioQuest feels free to tell consumers who do contact them is uncertain. A spokesperson for the company said that due to ongoing investigation and pending litigation, the company was unable to share additional information with the press at this time.