I'm fairly pleased with this little retractable cable. Fortunately, I had read the other reviews, so I was not surprised by the short length and it works for me. Some things you should know:* As other reviewers mention, this is not a 6' cable. The technical details have the correct 2.5' length, but the description is incorrect.* The retractor mechanism is a little cheap and I've gotten it tangled a couple of times. That being said, I've always been able to untangle it and it has recovered.* The rubber around the plug ends is a good size for iPods and most stereo inputs, but it is too wide for the audio jack in an iPhone. I took a sharp knife to one end of the cable and shaved down the sides, then it worked fine even for the recessed iPhone jack. This wasn't too hard to do, though that cable end doesn't look too pretty now.In spite of these reservations, the cable works well, the audio quality seems fine, and it is small, convenient, and nicely functional.