I use Aurifil 50wt on my HQ16 just becuase "Harriet" like it and she does not give my any trouble. I use the thread on a cone and also small spools. Sometimes I need an specialty color and I'd rather buy a small spool of that particular color. Never used Connecting Threads, I would buy a few and try it out and if it works for you then go for it because at that price you can't go wrong...Aurifil is $11. for a small spool, $35-47 for a cone.