Elliot, I don't know what brand it is but the black phono IC in one of your photos bears a male DIN connector, rather than the more typical female version. Female is more typical because nearly all tonearms that accept DIN provide a male receptacle up inside the vertical shaft of the tonearm. So that particular cable would be usable only in the special case where the tonearm presents a female connector, and I have never seen that but my experience is limited to about a dozen tonearms. I don't know why that is a convention, but my guess is you don't want the relatively vulnerable pins of a male connector to be subject to damage when the IC is not in use or is being installed.
Also, the increase in girth about an inch back from the business end may or may not be a good thing. It's a convenience, if the DIN receptacle in the tonearm is reachable within the length of the narrow collar on the IC, but if the DIN receptacle is farther up in the arm shaft than the collar permits (because of the widening), you won't get a max connection.
I am a big proponent of direct connection between cartridge and phono stage when practical, but if I do need a DIN connection, I prefer and recommend Cardas. Of course, if you are buying a prefabricated phono cable with a DIN plug on one end, you take what you get.
