Review on 🔌 Hosa MID 505 5-Pin Cable - Enhanced for Optimal Performance and Serviceability by Paul Martindale

This thing is built like a tank. Constructed of a thick metal shell, the connectors are smooth and bright. The rear ends are slightly outwardly tapered with shallow "steps" for easier gripping. Oh, the plugs are heavy. On tiered rigs, you want to avoid accidentally dropping any of these onto your gear below. It doesn't take much height to dent thin metal or crack a screen. Soft flex cable bends easily and looks great. The shield wire is soldered to the center pin of the connector - as it should be. However, the shield is not bonded to the metal shell around the connector. This can be used to prevent ground loops between metal body tools. The rubber mounts at each end are not designed to prevent the cable from being pulled out. This is so you don't bend the wire too close to the connector. Although the internal strain relief is part of the connector assembly, don't worry. A simple metal crimp holds the cable in place. The individual wires inside have some slack before they enter the contacts. Even if the strain relief gives a little, the wires don't break. While smaller MIDI cables may only have three conductors, this one has five. Two additional wires carry 5 volts from one device to the other. Some devices use this to detect when other devices are connected. The phone jacks work well with MIDI jacks. This is a strong and durable connection with very little wobble. The shiny metal makes them easier to spot behind a dark counter or synth. I bought six of these connectors in two purchases; all work perfectly. Actually, I connect two synthesizers + three modules in series (SQ-80 --> SQ-80 --> ESQm --> ESQm --> FB-01). There are never skipped/stuck notes or noticeable delays from the first to the last instrument. The "floating" metal shell mentioned above does not degrade the quality of the MIDI signal. Little quiche. The screw on one plug turned out to be a little crooked. At first I thought it was loose or cross-threaded, neither. The screw hole was not beveled cleanly all around. It didn't affect anything electrically or mechanically, so I just screwed it back in. The screws on my five other Hosa MIDI cables were straight and tight. Four stars for performance and quality and another for value. They are pretty cheap for what you get. I've spent many hours happily hammering MIDI streams through them. Stop reading and buy some so you can too :-)