I've been using D'Addario strings regularly for a couple of decades, so I can't pretend now to be familiar with the competition. But I've stuck with them for the following reasons:• They're extremely reliable — I can't remember the last time I had a dud string.• Their sound is excellent and they last a long time.• They settle in extremely quickly (this is a biggie for a professional musician).• They have eco-friendly packaging.I use J16s on my folk guitar, which is a Taylor 510. In standard tuning they're fine; but when I drop the bass string to D (which I do a lot), it tends to go sharp when fretted. So I replace this set's .053 with a .056. Were I playing in DADGAD all the time (which I feel more and more inclined to do), I would use Pierre Bensusan's stringing, which is (according to hisfirst video) .056, .042, .032, .023, .017 & .013.