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XIOM Amadeus Review |
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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Posted: 06/09/2008 at 1:34pm |
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The Amadeus is one of three of the Xiom's Novus Swedish series. They said that the wood construction of this blade is designed by the same person who designed Clipper Wood. The 7 ply blade is made of Kiso Hinoki � Limba - Ayous - Ayous - Ayous � Limba - Kiso Hinoki at 6.2-6.3mm thickness. The made and finishing of the blade is superb and very smooth. The only flaw I see is the cut on the logo on the handle is not very straight, but it's a very minuscule overlook. If I were to rate it on the finishing/make of the blade, I would rate it at 99% (-1% for the finishing of the logo area). The head is of compact size, the size according to Xiom's specification are: 152.5x148.5 while the handle are 100x34x24 for the FL (which I have). First thing I noticed when holding it was how nice and comfortable it is on my hand. The handle is wide and thick enough, about as good as my Hurricane blades FL handles. It's certainly wider and thicker than the Korbel FL & Wavestone FL handles which I also have. The head is about the same as my Wavestone blade. The weight quoted for me is 89.5g but when I weighed it using my dad's weight for his medicines, it weighed at 90.2g. Close enough to the quoted weight. The Amadues is rough on the sides of the head. I think partly because it's manufactured in Sweden. It's rough like Stiga blades, but unlike Stiga blades, there are no visible out of place wood grain or what-you-call-it small pieces of wood that aren't being fully sanded down. The Amadeus's roughness is visible but not like because of poor production steps but seems like it's done/left that way. You'll see the difference when you look at the close-up pictures of the side of the blades comparing the Amadeus with the Ignito. I've been playing with this blade for about two weeks. Took me longer because the time spent wasn't quality times. When I was good stamina wise, only lower levels players were available to play with. And when there were same and higher level players around, I was too tired and stressed out because of works and the likes. The rubbers I put on the blade are: Hurricane 3 Provincial 39 degree and Sriver EL Maximum (like the Korbel setup). The H3P felt medium hard on the blade while the EL felt soft (too soft for my liking). I then switched the EL to Prasidha Tokyo 2, so they are the same rubbers as I have on the Hurricane King setup. I think the blade is better matched with medium to hard rubbers. EL is too soft for me, Tokyo 2 and Hurricane 3 Provincial 39 degree feels fine for me. But this is a matter of preference and habits I guess... Okay, here's the very concise summary: I feel that the Amadeus is just about better than the Ignito I reviewed before on all aspects. If I were to choose one between the two, I would choose Amadeus right away. The Ignito is faster, and the fast loop kill I enjoyed doing with it, while it really impressed me, on all other factors, I think the Amadeus is better overall.(Read: better for my playing style.) Now, here are the preliminary/first impressions I have on the blade: First times I hit with it, I'm impressed with the good feel and the power of the blade. I feel that it's more powerful than the Ignito. I could go back farther away from the table and am not afraid of not getting the ball over the net. I don't even have to hit as hard as I could with it to land the ball on the other side. The blade feels sharp/crisp (Ignito felt milder) while providing good amount of dwell time for me to impart good amount of spin on the ball. I feel the blade has higher throw than Ignito, lower throw than HK. It's faster than my HK and somehow I feel that it generates less spin due to fastness and lightness feel of the blade overall. I used it once while training with my coach and when I told him that I feel I was generating less spin on the FH loops, my coach said that it's very spinny already. Maybe just my feeling that I could generate more spin on the HK. I feel more spin on the HK because of the longer dwell time on the HK and also the heft/substance feel I'm getting on the HK instead of the Amadeus. Also, I have to close the blade more while doing heavy/fast loops so that the ball doesn't go over the table. Same while blocking. The Amadeus is actually heavier than my HK by a few grams despite of its smaller head size. This because of it's 7 plies blade compare to 5 plies of HK. But in play, it feels lighter and I could move faster with it than the HK. I still can't do fast loops with the HK. I mean, compared to Ignito and Amadeus, my fast loop kills using the HK is behind on speed (but I still feel more spin on the HK). Amadeus vibrates less than HK and Korbel. After playing with Ignito, Amadeus, and HK, I feel that my Korbel vibration to be a bit too much and I'm disliking it a little bit more now. Blocks are effortless, just a good amount of bounce. Bouncier than Ignito, but not hard to make short plays with it. I don't have problem on the shortplay with it. Shorter dwell time means less spin on the the chops on the table, but nothing to write home about. Chops away from the table is better on getting the spin due to the bigger and more powerful strokes. I usually don't smash on FH, so I don't know how it does altering between loops and smashes. The few smashes on FH I did were good. Not blazing fast of course with the Hurricane rubber, but enough to win the point. I smash on the BH and even with soft sponge rubber like EL/Tokyo 2 (I feel the rubbers much softer on this blade than when I use the rubbers on Korbel), when I smash, it generates good speed and power. More than enough to make the kill. Control is very good. I could make all kind of FH loops with ease and great placement all over the table. I'm now learning to do loops on the BH as well and when I used it on one of my training sessions I did better on my BH loops than with my HK. I mean, I have more percentage of IN balls while using it compared to my HK. The light feel helps because doing multi-balls training with the HK, my arm gets tired sooner and the stability of BH loops is effected. Partly because my muscle for the BH loops are not strong/trained enough just yet. I'm having a hard time believing that the Amadeus is an All+ blade as specified by XIOM. I feel that it's faster and more powerful to be in the All+ category. I think Amadeus is faster and more powerful than the HK and the HK is not in any of the Allround categories. I switched sides and used the Tokyo 2 on the FH and it felt great. Things are going faster, much faster, but still with great amount of control. I think for those playing with both Japanese/Eropean rubbers will be satisfied with the amount of speed and control of this blade. This is even without gluing. For those who haven't played with Tokyo 2 rubber, I think it's somewhat similar with Bryce Speed FX on speed and spin ( I feel spinier for Tokyo 2). Less bouncy on the short play and better control over all. Now, before you start accusing me of giving glowing reviews on XIOM blades, please bear in mind that the Ignito was my first XIOM blades to try and also my first expanded review so I might be a bit overzealous. Playing with the Amadeus I'm getting a slightly different feel. With Ignito I feel it's too light and I have to be on the aggressive and very light on my feet. I'm working on my footworks to be more agile and active, but I'm not there yet. Thus I like the stability of my HK the best for now. I don't feel like I have to rush, and I don't have to exert more energy on shots. Also, I play a bit away from the table while the Ignito excels closer to the table. Amadeus is between the two so I feel better playing with it than the Ignito. Overall I'm more at ease and comfortable playing with this compared to the Ignito. Well, that's it for now. Comments and questions are welcome. I'm holding the blade a few more days for questions and answers. Meanwhile, I'm sending Aria, Fuga, and Jazz to Peter tomorrow morning so he can get started with them. I'll be sending the Ignito & Amadeus at the end of the week to him. |
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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P.S.
I played with it again tonight. I would like to say again that it's a powerful blade. I was playing with a smasher and I was receiving his smashes about 4-5m back of the table. I just hit it back toward the table with moderate power, not too hard, and the ball lands on his side of the table just fine. No lacking or shortage there. I also fast loop his smashes back about 3m off the table and it lands about the middle of of his table and curved to his right beautifully. This was using about 85-90% of hitting power, I didn't even hit it full power. But I was doing these while using the Tokyo 2 on the FH. I might need to add more power if I use the H3P due to its tackiness. Was playing with a hybrid (inverted with long pips) as well. I could do fast loop with the H3P and about 80% of the loops he blocked ended up off the table on my side of the table. So I guess, the spin I generated really is heavier than I feel I made (see my comment above somewhere in the middle about feeling less spin). Also tried with Tokyo 2 on the FH and had similar result. Tokyo 2 being faster also made it more difficult for him to block. I was playing with reversed rubbers for half of the night, using Tokyo 2 on FH and H3P on BH. I could say that control for both sides were just as good. This would give me added variety in varying amount of spin on serves and chops and also varying speed on the FH hits and loops. Good stuff!! |
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GraemeW
Super Member Joined: 01/08/2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 228 |
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Rokphish,
Thanks for the review. I'm waiting for delivery of my ST Amadeus and will post my thoughts once I've had a few training sessions. |
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Butterfly Korbel ST
Red FH: BTY Tenergy T80 1.9mm Black BH: TSP Curl P4 1.5mm |
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Ginko Tai Kim
Gold Member Joined: 03/23/2007 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 1758 |
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Thanks you for the wonderful pics and review Rokpsish.
Ginko
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varghesep
Premier Member Joined: 09/28/2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3111 |
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rokphish, the review is very good. You mentioned that there is a vibration. Is it in the handle or the face of the blade? Is it helping you while looping.
Thanks.
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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@Graeme, thanks. I'm looking forward to hear your thoughts on the blade. Cross reviews will be good for me as I'm new at this.... Cheers!
@Ginko, thanks, glad you like 'em.... =) @Varghese, slight vibration on the handle. I'm playing again with it tonight to verify. |
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fattchoi
Silver Member Joined: 05/08/2008 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 521 |
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rok: I might be able to play as well as you but I very much doubt I can write a review as well you did. Good work
Cheers.
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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Thanks Fattchoi, you'll never know until you try...
You seem to play much better than I am and who knows, maybe could write even better when you do write... Hehehe... Thing is, I'm new at this and I'm covering blades that are not common/popular so I have no points of verification whether I'm doing this right or not. That's why I'm looking forward to Graeme's review and also Peter79's... Cheers! |
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varghesep
Premier Member Joined: 09/28/2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3111 |
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Please check the vibration with certain rubbers only?
What kind of glue are you using? |
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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Will do. I will pay closer attention to the vibration when trying both H3P & Tokyo 2 tonight.
Glue: rubber cement glued a week or so ago. |
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peter79
Premier Member Joined: 07/05/2006 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 3393 |
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well I don't think I can give such a detail review as you did, rokphish
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Andro Wanokiwami AO Offensive 83 gr
H3 National Orange 40 deg 2.2 Baracuda Max 182 Gr |
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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C'mon now... Don't be modest.... You have more than twice the amount of blades I do and have more experience with blades... How come you didn't go to work today? Too tired because of activities at home? hahahaha..... |
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instagram: rokphishtt
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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Varghese, I didn't notice any noticeable difference between the Hurricane 3 Provincial 39 (med hard) and the Tokyo 2 (med soft). Wait for a few more days for reviews from Graeme and Peter to get more info on this particular attribute... I will play with it for one more time on friday night then I'll ship it off to Peter. |
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peter79
Premier Member Joined: 07/05/2006 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 3393 |
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Well I go to work yesterday, but there's black out in my office
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Andro Wanokiwami AO Offensive 83 gr
H3 National Orange 40 deg 2.2 Baracuda Max 182 Gr |
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fattchoi
Silver Member Joined: 05/08/2008 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 521 |
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Hooray for blackouts so long lights on when TT is in progress
Cheers.
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Quant
Beginner Joined: 05/30/2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 96 |
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Will this blade go well with Bryce or Bryce Speed FX? I don't know much about equipments
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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I have one bryce speed fx. I could give it a try tomorrow night. I don't like b.s.fx as much though. I tried it on a couple of blades and not particularly like it. Peter has both b.s. & b.s.fx, he could give you more info on them playing with this blade next week.
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instagram: rokphishtt
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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Due to recent increase of oil price, some parts of the country are taking turns of blackouts... Once every few days for several hours... |
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instagram: rokphishtt
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fattchoi
Silver Member Joined: 05/08/2008 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 521 |
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At least there is a valid reason for the blackouts, I suppose. Every one should do their bit to bring the price of oil down. OK, no more orders from iruiru for a month!
Cheers.
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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Actually, even before oil price increase, some parts of the country already have this periodic blackouts. At my parents hometown they even post the schedules a few months ahead of time. Not a week goes by without blackout however short it is (an hour or two). The actual problem in this town is the high level of corruption. They get money from purchasing bad equipments and the "periodic maintenance" going on because the breakdowns on the equipment. Good sales for my dad's business though (selling emergencies lights/lamps)... Bad thing with the frequent blackout is that it coincide with high level of fire (houses getting burnt) due to careless burning of torches and such. Not a single month goes by without fire incidents. Maybe once every other week...
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peter79
Premier Member Joined: 07/05/2006 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 3393 |
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As long as it doesn't black out when I'm going to play TT
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Andro Wanokiwami AO Offensive 83 gr
H3 National Orange 40 deg 2.2 Baracuda Max 182 Gr |
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fattchoi
Silver Member Joined: 05/08/2008 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 521 |
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Yeah, this reminds me of where I come from. Frequent water rationing even though it has been flooding and frequent power failure. And then there is muddy tap water especially during the Chinese New Year period. Glad I migrated here. Better TT here too which is a big bonus
Cheers.
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peter79
Premier Member Joined: 07/05/2006 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 3393 |
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Oh yah? May I know where's your mother land?
Cheers
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Andro Wanokiwami AO Offensive 83 gr
H3 National Orange 40 deg 2.2 Baracuda Max 182 Gr |
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fattchoi
Silver Member Joined: 05/08/2008 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 521 |
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Malaysia
Cheers.
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peter79
Premier Member Joined: 07/05/2006 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 3393 |
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Oh, Malaysia, "Malaysia Truly Asia" I like that slogan.
Congratulation Fattchoi
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Andro Wanokiwami AO Offensive 83 gr
H3 National Orange 40 deg 2.2 Baracuda Max 182 Gr |
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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Quant, I played with Bryce Speed FX on it tonight. Hit and smashes are good. Loops are excellent. Fast and spinny. I could do all kind of loops with very good results. I love the sound this rubber makes. Short play is the weakness. BUT!!! I've played Bryce Speed FX on Korbel, Hurricane King, and now Amadeus, all those times I have problems with short plays using Bryce Speed FX, so I reckon it's my skill problem instead of blades problem. Of course, with time I could make changes and adjustments but I kind of not want to do that. I'm doing fine with other rubbers for the moment that's why my Bryce Speed FX is sitting in the box most of the time... |
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Quant
Beginner Joined: 05/30/2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 96 |
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Well, I just watched the video on butterflyonline, and Brian Pace said the Bryce Speed Fx is the type of rubber for mid distance or long distance attack shot. Maybe that explains the reason you had problem with short play.
I am using Bryce Speed FX with Photino now. Great control and like you said, "fast and spinny". However, I love to try Xiom Amadeus with Bryce Speed FX. The blade just looks too great to resist. |
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rokphish
Gold Member Joined: 11/27/2007 Location: Indonesia Status: Offline Points: 1924 |
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Wait few more days for more reviews on the blade by Graeme and Peter. Those would give you a better descriptions of the blade.
Cheers! |
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GraemeW
Super Member Joined: 01/08/2004 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 228 |
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As promised, here is my review of the XIOM Amadeus ST.
First thing to note is that despite it's price tag, i.e. at the top of the price range, the box for the Amadeus is nowhere near the quality of that provided with the Strad. I never use the box so it's not important, however I suspect that the flimsier packaging is to help retailers keep mailing costs down and for XIOM to keep their own costs down. As with every XIOM blade I've owned, the Amadeus is very well made, and it did not have the slight roughness around the edge as Rokphish's did. The blade weighs in at 88g and surprisingly for a blade with a compact head it felt a little head heavy, certainly compared to the Maximus or the Stradivarius. I used Energy Xtra, Mambo GP and Omega I, all in MAX during my initial 3 training sessions with the Amadeus and the slight head heaviness was not a very noticeable factor once in play. The ST handle is 29mm wide by 22mm deep, which is wider than the Strad (28mm) and the Maximus (27mm). I always felt that I wanted the Maximus handle to be a bit wider, and it would appear from the XIOM website that all the new ST blades are now 29mm wide. This is a good thing as far as I am concerned, however at 29mm it is, if anything, just a fraction too wide as I found on occasions the extra width prevented me from making the precise grip adjustments/changes I was looking for mid-rally. I will play with it for another week to see if this problem continues before deciding whether to gently sand it down a fraction. Now to playablity. The Amadeus is I think faster that its ALL+ rating, clearly OFF- but perhaps not fully OFF. A quick comparison with the Maximus confirmed that the Maximus is indeed quicker. With the Energy Xtra there was a clear sharp 'pop' on counter hits and loops, and a feeling of close connection with the ball without there being excessive vibration. The Amadeus has very good and precise touch over the table - good feeling on short pushes/touch shots and it seemed to excel at flipping. The real forte of this blade is over the table looping. Opening loops were consistent and spinny without being too slow, and again very precise. On 3rd ball attacks the blade was outstanding - providing enough pace and more importantly a high level of precision. This came home to me after a couple of sessions where I realized that I was making very few errors against weak/imprecise service returns and that my loops/loop drives were going where I wanted them to go - deep and into the corners. Away from the table at mid-distance the Amadeus still holds its own but is obviously not SC fast and so needs a bit of user input! If your game is based around mid to long distance bombing then there are more suitable blades out there, but closer in at the short to mid-distance it's hard to fault this blade. On the couple of occasions I got caught away from the table I was able to scramble some decent chops back but this is not what the blade was designed for! All in all, yet another high quality offering from XIOM. I will post further impressions in a couple of weeks once I have got some more solid training with it under my belt, and perhaps some serious 'multi-ball'. I think it probably will end up being a 'keeper' ahead of the Maximus - not something I thought I'd say lightly, and something the Strad (while a very good blade) failed to convince me of. |
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Butterfly Korbel ST
Red FH: BTY Tenergy T80 1.9mm Black BH: TSP Curl P4 1.5mm |
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varghesep
Premier Member Joined: 09/28/2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3111 |
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Good review.
Try Omega III with Amadeus if possible. You will love it.
Do you like the little square handle? I'm using Aigis and had little uneasyness when I tried first.
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