These cables are great for permanent installation or occasional use. I use them in church between DI and snake and they never turn off and almost never move. For this application they work perfectly. I don't know if I'll be relying on it for very long under higher load conditions. The cable is thinner than most XLR cables. I didn't say they were thinner than other cables because it seems to me that the jacket is actually thinner than most and the conductors can be the same size. I don't know if that's true, but it's just a guess on my part. The plugs have a bit more play when plugged in at both ends, and they just feel cheap. The biggest problem in my opinion is the surge protector. The strain relief looks like it's made for standard gauge cables, while the actual cable, as mentioned, is thinner. The connection between the strain relief and the cable is not tight enough and I wouldn't be surprised if the cables fail because they pull out of the connector in a standard application. In that case I would probably throw the cable away instead of trying to fix it like I do with other cables. The actual cable would be too flimsy for use with other connectors and I don't think the connectors are of good enough quality to be used to repair other cables. In fact, they are disposable, which is reflected in the price. Even with these issues, they deserve four stars from me. This is because they really deserve it in MY app considering the reasonable price. I've compared them to some other more expensive cables to see how quiet they are. I turned up the volume on our system and connected the wires to an empty channel on the board one at a time while all other channels were muted. The noise from these cables was surprisingly average, louder than some and quieter than others. I can recommend them for low stress applications like mine, or maybe for people who take very good care of their hardware. No need to wrap them around your hand to pack unless you plan to replace them. Take the time to wind them up. If they sound like they fit your needs, give them a try. The price is right.