Update, May 2016: All 17 cables purchased are still in working condition. I do not treat these cables nicely, either. When setting up for gigs, I throw the wrapped cables across the stage to the general location of whatever mic it’s meant to connect to. I let fans/friends help wrap up the cables at the end, some of whom have no stage experience. I’m amazed that these have held up so well.

The cable is thinner than what you find on most XLR cables. I didn’t say they were thinner gauge than other cables, because it looks and feels to me as though the jacket is actually thinner than most, and that the conductors may possibly be similar gauge. I don’t know if that’s actually the case, but it’s just a guess on my part.

The connectors have a bit more play when plugged in on either end, and they just feel kind of cheap. The biggest issue, to me, is the strain relief. The strain relief appears as though it is made for cables of a standard thickness, while the actual cable is thinner, as mentioned earlier. The fit between the strain relief and the cable is not tight enough, and I wouldn’t be surprised to have cables fail because they get pulled out of the connector if used in a standard application. If that happened, I’d probably end up throwing the cable away, instead of trying to repair them like I do with other cables. The actual cable would be too thin to use with other connectors, and I don’t think the connectors are of high enough quality to be used to repair other cables. Essentially, they are disposable, which is reflected in the price.

Even with these issues, they earned a four-star rating from me. That is because they actually deserve it in MY application, given the reasonable pricing. I compared these to several other more expensive cables to see how quiet they were. I turned up the volume on our system and hooked the cables up, one by one, to an empty channel on the board with all the other channels muted. The noise from these cables was surprisingly average, with them louder than some, and quieter than others.

I can recommend these for low-stress applications like mine, or maybe for people who take very good care of their gear. There will be no wrapping these around your arm to pack them up, unless you feel like replacing them. Take the time to coil them.

If these sound like they will match your needs, give them a shot. The price is right.