Just a quick review of the Cyclop TV-colors set I received as part of the AZB/Diamond Billiards group-buy deal recently:
I've played around 300 games of 9-ball (mostly) with them, on my
Diamond 9-foot Pro with newish Simonis 860HR (3 weeks of play on it, the rails have lost most of their new slippery condition).
Since I got a set of new Brunswick Centennials with the table, this was an ideal test bed to compare the two ball sets. I had played about the same amount with the Centennials as I have now with the Cyclops.
COLOR - Personal preference, but I like the "skittles" colors – somehow they look more "modern" – and my goal in getting the set was to become accustomed to the same balls I'll be playing with in Vegas this July. My only suggestion would be for more contrast between the 6 and 7 balls (and 14 and 15), as the light green and light blue are so close I'm looking for the number and double-checking which is which almost every game.
CUE BALL - I like the semi-translucent cue ball, and haven't felt like thin cut shots are tougher with it like some report. The big red logo is a little distracting at times, however. I don't perceive any difference in drawing or force-following as compared to the Centennial CB (blue circle) or Aramith measles CB.
PERFORMANCE - I've seen no difference in the number of skids/bad contact. The skids I've been getting on my table are typically with a soft follow shot at little to no angle, and I've had maybe one per 100 shots or so with both the Centennials and the Cyclops. I was also curious whether the Cyclop balls had the same "bounciness" (coefficient of restitution), so I set up a ramp on the table and rolled the CB down into an OB on the spot then marked how far it traveled. In both sets, the OB rolled the same distance on average (about 6 feet +/- 1" or so) after impact (there was more variability between balls of the same set than between the averages of the two sets). I've seen no difference in the amount of english I can apply or english effects off the rail, nor any difference in the amount of collision-induced throw or cut aimpoint.
BOX - Another poster said his Cyclop box was damaged and low-quality. Mine was perfect, and appeared to be stronger and had a better liner than my new Centennial box.
STAYING CLEAN - Here I found the biggest difference between the two sets, and the reason why the Cyclop balls are still on my table while the Centennials are warming their box: the Cyclops are staying significantly cleaner, with both fewer black marks from the Diamond leather pockets, and much less chalk stuck to their surface. Every time I rack, I marvel at how clean the object balls are compared to the Centennials in the same circumstance. It's especially noticeable on the CB, which keeps itself fairly clean just from rolling on the cloth. I usually wipe off one or two chalk smudges before breaking, but they come off easily, they're "lighter" than on the Aramith CB, and I don't usually notice as many smudges getting picked up during the game. (I'm using Blue Diamond chalk for reference.)
Hope this helps someone, and I'll update if there are changes in the future, especially after polishing the balls.
:smash::bash::banghead: