Bought these so I don't annoy my neighbors too much. While hitting the drums comfortably, the volume is about what I'd like it to be. After testing for a few minutes, I see no sign of wear so far. I found rimshots to be incredibly easy with these; on the other hand, cross-sticking is impossible. A few complaints: They sound really "pingy" on the toms, which makes it so you can hardly hear a pitch difference between different toms. And when crashing cymbals, they are significantly louder than the drums (this will just take some getting used to). Overall, they're great so far.