I've been soldering XLR connectors for 35 years. This is still the one I'm using all the time. It is compact, there are few parts to lose, the quality and fit is remarkably good, when soldering both leaded and ROHS wet good on it, and the strain relief is a legend. The pain of using copies (china or Amphenol) or alternatives (Switchcraft or old Amphenol) is not worth the price difference. If I was going to do extreme things with my cables I'd get NC3MX-HD or NC3MXX-EMC, but for everyday use, NC3MX is going to last a life-time.