Don't be fooled by those chunky looking metal plugs - that's just a thin metal cover that screws loosely over the "real" molded-on plastic plugs made from the same material as the covering of the wire. The cable itself is relatively thin - I suspect there's no more copper in there than in the phono leads that come free with some HiFi kit. At this price, neither is unreasonable (and the sound quality loss, I'm sure, is nothing compared to MP3ing your CDs - I suspect most people will buy this to connect an MP3 to an HiFi amp) - just don't be fooled that you're getting the same construction as more expensive cables.