There's no question that straight guage spokes make for a less durable (and heavier!) wheel. For the money, I think OPs are way overrated and wouldn't use them on anything other than a lugged steel build for cosmetic reasons. In this day and age, I don't see any good reason for building a road wheelset with a box section rim. Add to that, the persistent questions about Mavic's recent quality are not reassuring either.