MIDI Thru 5 : The "plug & forget about" type

For this kind of equipment, the fact that you completely forget about it after installing it the first time is a good indicator of its reliability.

Attached to my M-Audio MIDISport 2x2, it provides MIDI data feed (4 of the 5 ports are in constant use) to the numerous synths of my setup without any trouble whatsoever so far (I've been using it on a daily basis for more than 6 months at the time of this review).

This probably makes the difference with a passive thru box, I can't say for sure because I've never had one. But I can tell you that if you have an extra socket to spare, it might be worth it and you can buy this product with the confidence that MIDI chokes are a thing of the past.