String Breakdown

Okay folks, this is what I've come up with. Having 2 Douglas viola bass guitars already strung with D'Addario chromes, I obviously know what sound they give.

(Quick sidebar question) I was reading in a post in one of the forums online that there was a website one could go and hear the sound of the different strings. Is that true? If so does anyone know the site?

Okay, back to where I was, I have concluded that the flatwound strings I would consider to put on the Hofner B Icon I have on deck, waiting for my Ibanez to sell, are as follows: (prices are from Bass Guitar Strings US)

Pyramids - $69.95
Thomastik - $49.99
Labellas - $36.99
Rotosound - $29.99

Obviously, the consensus is Pyramids are top of the line. My question: What exactly is one getting with the Pyramids that you would not get with the Labellas at nearly twice the price? Hopefully your answer will be that they last forever and they sound as close to an upright bass as you can possibly get. Thanks again.
Jack
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I play bass in a Beatles tribute band and used Pyramids on my (German)Hofner for years, they sounded good and I knew Hofner used them so they were OK tension-wise. But, a few years back they became hard/impossible to get so I had to find an alternative. I now use the LaBella Hofner set, the heavier guage set of the two they make for Hofner bass. I love 'em and will never go back to Pyramids.
I also have a Brice "Beatle" bass that I use for shows we fly to(I dont trust the baggage-handlers with the Hofner), and I use GHS Precision Flatwounds on it.

The La Bellas work for me. I can't imagine spending $70. for a set of strings.