I have used several in my band, and with care they hold up very well. There is no such thing as COLD soldering lol. A cold solder joint is a term for a bad solder connection. The bare wire is shielding which is wrapped around the other wires to "shield" them.

American-made Horizon mic cables are fine cables for normal sound system work. You can buy cheaper Chinese cables that you will throw out in about a month unless they are plugged in and forgotten, or you can spend more for boutique cabling, but you won't likely get more bang for the buck. Like all cables, they develop flaws with use and need to be repaired. It happens; Buy a soldering iron and quit whining. (Incidentally, one of the three conductors in the connector is not supposed to have insulation. It's called the shield.)

These are great cables. We've been using them for about 4 months now and haven't had any problems yet. Treat them with care and try not to step on them and they will save you a lot of money over Monster Cables. Plus, if they ever do break, you have a lifetime warranty!

I use these (got them for free) and Mogami (not for free) cables on the road. Huge difference, obviously. Guess that's why the Mogamis are so much more expensive. Sound's a bit clearer with the Mogami's - not too noticeable, though. Main difference is the connectors. The Horizon cables don't snap securely into anything that I have, whereas the Mogamis always do. That said, somehow the signal always gets through, even with a loose connection, so I guess I can't complain too much about it. Probably wouldn't recommend these, since there are much better cables out there. You pay for it, though.

It was a pleasant surpeise to see "Made in U.S.A." on this cable...an increasingly rare sight. Happy so far!