Gold Crown V or Diamond Pro-Am
- Thread starter rdplyr
- Start date
0ur pool hall has the Gold Crown 5. I have a Diamond Pro. Hands down the Diamond is Better. Not to mention the Pool Hall has 4 Diamond Pro AM'S and people are always waiting to play on those.
I agree. At Iron Willies in Yorktown Heights, NY, they have Gold Crown Vs, a Diamond Pro-Am (with the One Pocket option, that diverts balls pocketed in the bottom two pockets into separate bins), and a Diamond 7' barbox (that the APA plays on).
By far, the Diamond Pro-Am is the most popular table.
One thing to keep in mind, is that Brunswick has off-shored manufacturing to China, so Gold Crown Vs are NOT American-made. Good tables, but not the same quality as the Diamonds by far.
-Sean
Yeah, made in China and the Gold Crown cost a couple of grand more!! Go figure....looks like it is a Diamond!
Diamond Pro Am vs any GC any day. But for my home I would forget neither and go Diamond Professional ALL THE WAY! The design is so minimalist so simple yet plays solid. You cant go wrong in any color. A true timeless piece, the best table ever! Have RKC put it together and you'll have the best playing table in the world!
Glen puts them together to play better than Diamond themselves! Finding a used one is the best way to go. You save a ton of money and if it needs re-finish no problem as it is All Wood with leather pockets. Or just get a new one from diamond if you have the cash.
A very good friend of mine has a GCV it was the Finals table at the Riviera 2 years ago. Very nice immaculate condition. He is looking for a buyer and he is willing to move it within 3 states that's how bad he wants to get rid of it after he played on a Diamond. Anyone interested PM me and I'll get you his info and pics if needed.
Glen puts them together to play better than Diamond themselves! Finding a used one is the best way to go. You save a ton of money and if it needs re-finish no problem as it is All Wood with leather pockets. Or just get a new one from diamond if you have the cash.
A very good friend of mine has a GCV it was the Finals table at the Riviera 2 years ago. Very nice immaculate condition. He is looking for a buyer and he is willing to move it within 3 states that's how bad he wants to get rid of it after he played on a Diamond. Anyone interested PM me and I'll get you his info and pics if needed.
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I didn't know there was a "one pocket ball separator option". That sounds like a great idea. Diamond really needs to redo their entire website so consumers can see what options are available in a well organized way.
Also agree with CanonShooter. The diamond Professional model looks much better than the ProAM model. But even with the professional, there are lots of options that make it look different, that are not apparent on the website.
My favorite Professional look is the separate legs (4 legs instead of 2 wide bases), and the 45 degree corner pocket wood design instead of the rounded wood design. However, if you look at the picture on the website, I believe they show only the rounded corner design and the 2 wide base design. In my opinion, these options drastically change the aesthetic appeal of the table.
You can also order the Professional in a 1 piece slate, so its playability is the same as the ProAm model.
I personally also think Oak is one of the ugliest woods around (and I'm a lifelong woodworker as a hobby). Most pictures you see of diamond tables are in the oak wood. You can order the table in any wood you like, for just a few hundred dollars more (except exotic woods which would be significantly more).
Good luck on your purchase.
My favorite Professional look is the separate legs (4 legs instead of 2 wide bases), and the 45 degree corner pocket wood design instead of the rounded wood design. However, if you look at the picture on the website, I believe they show only the rounded corner design and the 2 wide base design. In my opinion, these options drastically change the aesthetic appeal of the table.
You can also order the Professional in a 1 piece slate, so its playability is the same as the ProAm model.
I personally also think Oak is one of the ugliest woods around (and I'm a lifelong woodworker as a hobby). Most pictures you see of diamond tables are in the oak wood. You can order the table in any wood you like, for just a few hundred dollars more (except exotic woods which would be significantly more).
Good luck on your purchase.
Actually, you're right -- the table at Iron Willies *IS* a Diamond Professional, not a Pro-Am. For some reason, I keep calling the Professionals a "Pro-Am" and that's a mistake on my part. You're also right in that if given the choice, I'd choose the Professional over the Pro-Am, not only because is the mechanics of the table simpler (ball return, specifically), but also because the Professional series have more options.
Yep, the Professional have more options than the Pro-Am. The One Pocket ball separator option is a good example. I agree that Diamond should revamp their website to show all these options.
-Sean
I don't understand this "One Pocket Separator" for a Diamond Pro. It made sense when you said Pro Am because it has a ball return.
Diamond Pro's do not have a ball return; therefore, how could it have a One Pocket Separator? Unless you are talking about adding it to the exterior of the table, which would seem possible.
Please elaborate if you would because it is not very clear at this point.
Thanks.
JDB:
Going from memory, the Diamond at Iron Willies looks more like a Professional than a Pro-Am, because it has the pedestal feet, and, well the Iron Willie's website says so (see link in a previous post). However, this table does indeed have a ball return, and it has a very obvious cocobolo look that the Pro-Am has. It could be that this table was modified, and honestly, I don't know the history. However, when I first started playing on this table years ago, I inquired to the owner as to this One Pocket option, because I thought it was really neat -- I thought it was an ingenious modification. The owner assured me the table came to him this way, and was an option from the factory at the time. This table has been there for at least the four years I've been playing there, so I don't know if this option was later removed from offering by Diamond or what.
If I get a chance, I'll snap a couple pics and post them here, if you think it'd be a good idea? (This would have to wait until Monday night, which are the nights I have my weekly one pocket and bank pool battles with my cue-maker friend.)
-Sean
Thanks for elaborating. I have recently been researching Diamonds because I was thinking of purchasing one and actually did.
Diamond told me that they could not put a ball return on a Pro model and that I would need to order a Pro Am if I wanted a ball return.
Now in saying that, I am sure that they can do anything to any model if they wanted to but based on my research it wasn't a standard option that you could request.
I actually ordered the Pro-Am model because I like the look better and I wanted a ball retun since I am lazy and hate walking around the table...lol.
Table
The pro am is set up at the factory and shipped out as a whole table or installed by someone from the diamond factory...The gold crown is shipped out in pieces and has to be assembled on the spot.... Thats where the gold crowns get out of whack.. The local blind guy installer,mechanic,table guy' or what ever you want to call him,shows up drunk and slaps the table together and leaves it playing like crap...a gold crown v and a pro am should play the same except for in the pockets, when set up correctly of course....The diamond has a deeper pocket shelf on the slate that requires a different cut to the pocket opening angles..
If they was passing out gold crowns and diamonds I would be in the gold crown line...I do like to buy products made in America, but I prefer the GC IV or the GC V.
The pro am is set up at the factory and shipped out as a whole table or installed by someone from the diamond factory...The gold crown is shipped out in pieces and has to be assembled on the spot.... Thats where the gold crowns get out of whack.. The local blind guy installer,mechanic,table guy' or what ever you want to call him,shows up drunk and slaps the table together and leaves it playing like crap...a gold crown v and a pro am should play the same except for in the pockets, when set up correctly of course....The diamond has a deeper pocket shelf on the slate that requires a different cut to the pocket opening angles..
If they was passing out gold crowns and diamonds I would be in the gold crown line...I do like to buy products made in America, but I prefer the GC IV or the GC V.
It'd be pretty easy to add a ball separator to a GC since the ball return runs the length the rails and comes in from both sides.
Of course, I have no idea how the ball return works in the pro-am
Give it another 15-20 years
Come live around me. I am in Lexington, KY, about 65 miles from Louisville where the Diamond factory is. It's been so long since I have seen a Gold Crown, I don't even remember what they look like. I can think of 5 pool rooms within an hours driving distance that are all Diamonds (and another may be coming in the near future). Myself and 5 of my friends have Diamonds in their house. It's all I play on.
For the OP, Diamond is the consensus choice. I think they play far and away better overall than a GC. The only problem I have with Diamond is the marks on the balls from the pockets. If they could fix it, they would be the absolute perfect table.
-Brandon
Personally, I prefer the way Gold Crowns play. I've nothing bad to say about Diamonds or how well they are built, just that they play a little different and I like GCs better. Keeping in mind I come from a straight pool background I'm just not yet sold on the deep shelf for that game. As far as One Hole goes, I'm just learning the game so maybe the experts can chime in on how these two tables relate to that game. I always thought, though maybe wrongly, that One Pocket players don't like a table that often doesn't allow for digging a ball out of the opponent's hole because it's in so deep. On the other hand, One Pocket players do prefer tighter tables and that would be the Diamond out of the box. But this pertains more to a new table.
All too often the comparison is a bit unfair because Diamonds are generally much newer in the marketplace and haven't been hacked on by unqualified "technicians" like so many of the GCs out there have been over decades. So if buying a used table and you will be paying a mechanic to set up anyway, you can have a GC that plays great. You will pay extra if you are having the sub-rails extended, but used GCs can generally be found much cheaper than a Diamond so the economics may likely still pencil out.
Having said all that, if I was buying new I'd be more inclined to buy a Diamond because I'd be confident the pockets will all be cut properly and at a challenging size of 4.5". I wouldn't be inclined to but a new GC5 and then have to pay a good mechanic extra to bring in the pockets correctly on my brand new table.
Both are great tables, take your pick.
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Maybe, if there are any pool halls in 20 years.
All too often the comparison is a bit unfair because Diamonds are generally much newer in the marketplace and haven't been hacked on by unqualified "technicians" like so many of the GCs out there have been over decades. So if buying a used table and you will be paying a mechanic to set up anyway, you can have a GC that plays great. You will pay extra if you are having the sub-rails extended, but used GCs can generally be found much cheaper than a Diamond so the economics may likely still pencil out.
Having said all that, if I was buying new I'd be more inclined to buy a Diamond because I'd be confident the pockets will all be cut properly and at a challenging size of 4.5". I wouldn't be inclined to but a new GC5 and then have to pay a good mechanic extra to bring in the pockets correctly on my brand new table.
Both are great tables, take your pick.
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Give it another 15-20 years
Maybe, if there are any pool halls in 20 years.
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