Better XLR's

Audio Jewelry.
It may be a little better.
It may not. Even the most expensive Kimber XLRs still use plain old XLRs.
I trust Kimber.
All I cansay.

I agree...I think that the Neutrik's with the gold plated pins are very good while the Xhadows provide the cool looks and do sound slightly better. How much better is really an open question.

yes, i have spoken with Gryphon and their view was the metal alloy mix used in Neutriks is very high quality and provides good conductance...which is what counts. For some reason, the neutrik adaptors (i also had them replaced) wiggled in the back of the Gryphon Amp i own...and Xhadows did seem to be a more solid fit. who knows?

AQ puts a a really nice XLR on Diamondbacks. I've been using XLRs on recording and live sound gear for years and Neutriks have always been great, although the build quality of the AQs seems extremely high, and it's CHINESE! I personally don't think they SOUND any different.