Both are high quality commercial tables, but most regular players do seem to prefer one over the other. Most poolrooms that have newer tables generally have Diamond Smart tables as opposed to newer Brunswick Gold Crown tables, which is a pretty clear sign the Diamond's are considered a better value.
I'm unaware of whether Brunswick currently offers a lease program to poolrooms to use their tables like Diamond does, but that could have something to do with it as well. I'm curious how much $/month that lease is on either a Diamond Smart barbox or 9-foot Smart table? I'm assuming it's at least $250 / month, making the payback for the cost of the table roughly 2 years.
Don't know the economics of it on a bulk or commercial level. But for home owners, Brunswick is a massive rip off. $9,500 for a Chinese made GC with inferior cushions? LOL.
I own a GC.
So no one can accuse me of being a Brunswick hater or a Diamond fanboy. I speak from experience.
It is different to shoot on a table in a pool room, and different to own one in your home.
In your home, you "hear" and "feel" the table a lot more. Pool rooms are large, noisy places. You get a much better idea of which table is more solid in a home.
For a Pool Room as a non-owner of a pool room....assuming prices are equal (I'd still take Diamond if they were a little more than the Brunswick), Diamond is better. Here's why:
(I'm going to sound like a salesman)
Dymondwood rails. Damn near indestructible. While GC hold up well commercially relative to most tables, Diamonds still look new after more than a decade. Amazing rails. They are on a whole other level of longevity.
Artemis rubber. They claim 30 years. I doubt that. But...SuperSpeed is trash. I know Diamond tables in pool rooms whose rubber made it to about 18-20 years. Not bad. That's a cost savings.
Better than the cost savings is the fact that the LESS you change the cushions, the less messed up the table will become.
Not every mechanic is top-notch. Most are awful. Not every mechanic removes cushions and replaces them in the same way. Meaning cushions might be high or low a tiny bit. They might be inconsistent. How well was previous adhesive cleaned or removed from the rails? How was it removed? This makes a big difference.
Rubber that lasts that long justifies paying a top-notch nationally respected mechanic to come in and update them. Garbage rubber that needs replacement every 5-6 years is more expensive even using a cheaper, lower skilled mechanic. Plus, they will gaff up the table. Which is what happens 90% of the time in most rooms.
Cloth changes (yearly) can be done without having to manipulate the ball return system. This is huge. Constant assembly and disassembly of the ball return on GC's mangles them over time. Plus, Diamond's ball return is quieter, faster and more reliable.
One piece slate eliminates tons of headaches when it comes to seams.
ProAM is more solid frame and body. The slate is leveled relative to the frame, and the frame leveled to the floor. That said, in a pool room it is much easier to move a ProAM than a Gold Crown. Why would you move a table? New carpet? Renovations? Maybe changing layouts....that need arises.
People think because it is 1 piece slate it is harder. It's not. It's better to deal with the massive weight of the whole table in 1 piece, than it is to deal with complete disassembly and rebuild of the table to move it. With 3 people, you can tip the Diamond onto its side and onto the cart to move it. This does nothing to harm the table.
Yes, I have seen rooms jack up a GC and lay it on dolly to move them. This totally messed up the table. This puts stress on the frame and legs where not intended. It ruins the level of the table.....which brings us to this --
Diamond can be leveled without breaking down the table. Huge factor there.
Diamond is built to be handled and moved as a whole table, GC is not.
In the end, if I were to open a pool room and had to choose between GC or Diamond, unless the GC came at a significant discount over the Diamond, I would not go with the GC. The GC will cost more in the long run too. That is, if the room owner cares about good playing tables.
Bottom line, Diamond with th Proam/smarttable engineered the ultimate commercial pro level table that has virtually all advantages and practically no downsides.
Have a great day everyone!
