Centennials or aramith or cyclops? What's the best pool ball sets?

Centennials are made by Aramith

skankhammer said:

Just curious to hear your opinions.

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Centennials and Aramith (higher end sets) are equal, Cyclops I'd rate a B with a D for the cueball. A Cyclops set used with the Aramith measles ball seems to be pretty standard in tournament.

I do have to add that I personally only played with the Cyclops cueball for maybe 2-3 hours, but the odd surface and how it reacted was very odd and took too much attention from the game. The rest is going by what others have said about how they played. That thing is pretty much universally though of as a bad cue ball.

Colonel said:

Centennials are made by Aramith

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Not quite - They are both made by Saluc, the parent company. My understanding is the Centennials are made under license as the design belongs to Brunswick and sold under the Brunswick name.

As for differences, I was told that Brunswick Centennials are supposed to be matched more accurately in a single set (in terms of weight) including the blue circle cue ball that comes with it.

Aramith Super Pros come with either an Aramith circle cue ball or the Pro-Cup "Measles" cue ball depending on which set you get.

With the exception of the cue ball and the design both the Centennials and Super Pros seem in my experience to be equal in materials, surface finish and durability. (I've owned both sets on my home table and used them on and off for 10 years) I'm frankly disappointed in how poorly they hold up in normal use, requiring regular polishing to maintain their finish. They have acquired far more chips and dings than I would like given their cost.

The other current option is the newer Aramith Tournament setup, which is made from a newer resin forumla called "Duramith". This design was originally created for the failed IPT with a custom logo cure and then rebranded by Aramith. I have not used one of these sets yet so I can't comment on whether or not this wears better than the other sets.

Below these sets are the Aramith Premiums and Crowns. The Crowns are very basic and I would not recommend them beyond recreational environments as they have lower-end materials and surface finish. The Premiums are quite good if kept well polished, very close to the Super Pros.

I've played with the Cylop balls too, including using their cue ball, and don't object to them as much as some others. Generally if I'm playing well the balls I'm playing with make no difference, I just tune it out. The main issue I have is visual, it seems weird for the surface finish of the cue ball to be so different from the object balls.

If you are on a tight budget I'd recommend the Aramith Premiums or the Cylop balls as both are currently cheaper than the Super Pros. Also make sure to figure out how to keep them clean and polished as even the cheapest set will play better this way. (There's plenty of posts on the forum about this.)

AuntyDan said:

Not quite - They are both made by Saluc, the parent company. My understanding is the Centennials are made under license as the design belongs to Brunswick and sold under the Brunswick name.



As for differences, I was told that Brunswick Centennials are supposed to be matched more accurately in a single set (in terms of weight) including the blue circle cue ball that comes with it.)

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Kinda splitting hairs here. You're correct in that they are made for Brunswick under license but the only difference between them and Super Pro's is the design & cueball. I know very few that utilize the Blue Circle that comes with them anyway. Otherwise there's relatively no difference as they're made by the same company with the same material.

Colonel said:

I know very few that utilize the Blue Circle that comes with them anyway.

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I have the Centennials, because I like them as far as look and consistency. I use a red circle cueball however. Again, I feel it plays differently, in a way I prefer. The blue circle also seems to hold chalk marks worse.
Its all personal preference.

I think most balls play somewhat the same. I am not of such caliber that the chemical formula used for the resin would spell doom for my game or not. For me, its about how they look (much the same for the cues I use.... I have a handsome broomstick made by McDermott) - That said, I like the Centennials, they just look better and play as well as any others. I don't care for the Cyclops balls for the simple fact that I don't have the time or energy to adjust for their overly sticky cue ball that they screwed up and decided to just give everyone "cat-face" while saying "Why no.... we didn't mess anything up at all, and HOW DARE YOU suggest that there might be even the mere hint of ass-hattery going on!"

So yeah... Balls. Gotta love em.

Lesh

I agree that Cyclop balls feel and play a bit differently. The apparent stickiness reminds me of snooker balls. I played with Cyclop for a few days at a recent tournament and did not have problems adjusting.

My local pool room uses Centennial and I own Aramith which play similarly to me. The familiarity is more important to me than the absolute play of the equipment. All three sets are good quality, IMO.

Just my 0.02

I think people get hung up on "best". I worry about what balls I will be using when playing in a tournament or for cash. The DCC and a major local room here (St. Louis) uses mostly Cyclops, so I got a set of those. I think I prefer aramith, but I don't really want to put myself at a disadvantage when I get in the grease.

kollegedave

I play mainly with well-used centennial balls in the pool hall, which I have no major complaints about as far as the way they play. I dont know how well they hold up in a home environment but the ones at the pool hall have a lot of dings and marks, even after cleaning. I played with the cyclops skittle balls for the first time at a TAP nationals tournament about a year ago and they were very hard to get used to. My whole team felt the cueball played like it was lighter (although Im sure it was probably the same weight) and the transluscent color of the cueball was also odd and hard to get used to. I have also played a good amount at a friends home with the aramith duramith tournament balls and like them a lot. They are probably my favorite set.

It seems there was a lot of complaints and/or issues with the Cyclop cue ball.
They have changed it. The new cue ball is with a red dot.
For buyers of the newer sets, opinions based on the latest formulation is needed.

I got a set of standard Cyclop balls with my Diamond, been shooting with them for over a week now. I really like them. The CB I got is the same as the one that comes with the TV set, kind of translucent with a red eye logo. They don't gather chalk marks like Aramith balls and I've yet to experience a skid. CB is pretty lively, about like a red circle.

I've played with them all...if I had to pick a set regardless of price, I probably go with Tournament Pro Aramith and a measle ball; but I'm not seeing anything to hate about the Cyclop balls yet, so for the money they're great. I'll probably get a measle ball soon, since a lot of tournaments I play in use them and the CB would be the biggest difference in noticeable playability...

AuntyDan said:

The other current option is the newer Aramith Tournament setup, which is made from a newer resin forumla called "Duramith"

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I have this set and like it. I have had them for a year and have played many many many hours with them and they still look pretty good (no cleaning or shining needed yet). My table was brand new when I bought it though and I keep it pretty clean so this may affect that. They are also match by weight for the set.

I know one of the places here that switched to diamonds made them take the cyclops balls back after about a month of use and replace them with Aramith.

I am pretty sure Teachers did not go with the Cyclops balls when they swapped out their tables as well. There is probably a reason for that but I can let them speak to that.

I've played about all the different sets... the Skittles balls are my least favorite... I know they're TV balls, but they're fugly.

My set at home are Centennials with a red circle CB, same exact size and weight. I personally think they're THE classic balls.. love the 'darted' design.
At the halls I play at, they run Centennials, but the CB's vary a lot... one place bought after-market measles CB's, and they're all over the place on size and weight... I keep a RC cue ball in my case for One Pocket.

Colonel said:

Kinda splitting hairs here. You're correct in that they are made for Brunswick under license but the only difference between them and Super Pro's is the design & cueball. I know very few that utilize the Blue Circle that comes with them anyway. Otherwise there's relatively no difference as they're made by the same company with the same material.

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I think you missed all the important information in Aunty Dan's post.

The manufacturer is Saluc. To say that Centennials are made by Aramith would be the same as saying Ford parts are made by Nissan, just because the contract manufacturer makes some of both. In this case, Saluc contract manufacturers the Centennials. Unless Saluc or Simonis buys the Centennial brand from Brunswick, then the specifications and requirements for the Centennials are owned by Brunswick Centennial. Whether the Super Pro and Centennials do or don't abide by the same specifications is not really related to "Saluc makes both." The obvious proof are the different Aramith balls with their individual wide range of quality and performance specs. Same company, same manufacturing, vastly different t specs.

The question from the Op said "Aramith" so it ends up being a detailed answer and isn't splitting hairs.

Freddie <~~~ manufacturingly speaking

The new 'Duramith' set with the measles cue ball is the best one I've played with. I also have the 'aramith' set with the TV colors and they're excellent as well. As far as what makes the duramith better than the aramith, it's pretty hard to say except for feel.

If I had to rate them all I'd rank them as Duramith - 10, Aramith TV - 9, Centennial - 7 and Cyclops - 6. Cyclops would be higher but their cue ball is pretty substandard.

Isn't The Choice Obvious?

It's been written and said....." A picture is worth a thousand words.".....no one eyed ball pool ball set in my repertoire........and the certificate clearly states that Aramith resin is used but the pool balls are manufactured by Saluc....not Aramith.

Matt B.

p.s. Early 2016, the Centennial set in my travel case will be 4 sale & the new set put into play & then I'll get a new set of Centennials as a back-up which is what I've done since 2002.....a brand new set every 18 months.

I have 3 sets of balls, oldest set is almost 3 years old and the newest set is 3 months old.
Centennials =almost 3 years old
Aramith Tournaments (Duramith) =2 years old
Cyclops with standard Cyclop cue ball=3 months old
I think all are equally good sets. I have the cue balls that came with each set and usually but not always use them. I also have a few Red Cicles and a Measle Ball. The only thing that I can say makes 1 better than the others is the Aramith Tournament set because of the Duramith they stay shiny longer without marks but that is not really an issue for me because I have a polisher. I would rate all equal as far as play-ability.

Although I respect the opinions posted here thus far, I think the primary issue here are aesthetics. I've been witness to weight, roundness and diameter measurements for several ball sets and I'm pretty sure others have done the same and posted results here. All of the brands mentioned are more accurate than anyone's game could notice. Although they all will wear, if this is for home use, you probably won't use them as much as a poolroom so they should have the same measurements for years and years.

That said, I found no technical differences between brands in my own personal experiences. I do think the colors for the Cyclops balls (specifically, the 7 and 15) are a little confusing. If your game isn't rotation, this isn't a problem. If it is, you'll have to learn to adjust to seeing a blue 7-ball. As well, the cue-ball appears to be slightly translucent which is not something I enjoy but again, I didn't miss because of it. It seemed to react normally.

If I owned my own table, I'd probably have multiple sets of balls. I like the idea of practicing with Cyclops if I know I'm going to be competing with them. The poolroom I go to has a set upon request, usually used for the exact same purpose. But, I don't think it would be my ball of choice. My first pick would be Aramith Tournament Edition. I think they're nice to look at and they're arguably the best balls on the market but I'm also certain I play enough that longevity would be an issue. I also think any poolroom looking to buy new balls should strongly consider Aramith Tournament Edition over everything else.