Need a set of balls, lots of choices....

D

dtunget

Registered
I got my table installed yesterday. I went today and bought a cuetec cue (the cheapest one, $99) and a Super Aramith Pro cue ball.

Now I need a set of balls (I have the Chinese ones that came with the table).

I can get the Aramith white box balls with the stripe balls that have the numbers on the white part of the ball for $52 locally in Dallas.

I like the number-in-stripe look better and can get that for $80 or so online (Aramith Premier).

I really like the way the Brunswick Centennials look, as well as the Aramith Tourn.

The question for me is if there is any real difference in the way the balls play or if I'm paying extra 100% for aesthetics?
 
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dtunget said:
I got my table installed yesterday. I went today and bought a cuetec cue (the cheapest one, $99) and a Super Aramith Pro cue ball.

Now I need a set of balls (I have the Chinese ones that came with the table).

I can get the Aramith white box balls with the stripe balls that have the numbers on the white part of the ball for $52 locally in Dallas.

I like the number-in-stripe look better and can get that for $80 or so online (Aramith Premier).

I really like the way the Brunswick Centennials look, as well as the Aramith Tourn.

The question for me is if there is any real difference in the way the balls play or if I'm paying extra 100% for aesthetics?
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Just in case you haven't seen this:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=201657

rack'em zach'em is selling some used Aramith Premier Ball Sets for only $60 shipped. Great price! :thumbup:
 
Not only in the way they play, but also in the amount of wear they impart on the cloth and the length of time they last.
 
I'm betting that if you bought some Centennials you would not kick yourself for it. It seems that with pool balls, the more you pay, the higher the quality. Although, I think you pay a little more for the Centennials aesthetics.
 
Centennials currently are made under contract by Saluc, makers of Aramith. Previously, they were made in the United States by Hyatt and Albany Ball Company, until those companies went defunct.

Alot of people believe that other than design, Centennials and Super Pro Aramiths are cast from the same 'premium' phenolic resin formula, and play the same.
 
I was curious about this as well so I had a little experiment. I have a set of Cents for my home table and went and bought a set of plain jane $20 balls. I had some friends over multiple times (late night so they wouldn't notice) and banged the heck out of the cheap balls. I then ran some drills with the Cents and the slightly used cheapo balls. I gotta say, even after only a few hours use, I HATED the cheap set when running my drills. Either my confidence in them was shot or they just didn't play worth a damn. There was no consistant quality to them, from shot to shot they didn't react the same, in my opinion. I know it's a minor test, but it convinced me to only use the high quality set in any game that mattered.
 
9bizzle said:
I'm betting that if you bought some Centennials you would not kick yourself for it. It seems that with pool balls, the more you pay, the higher the quality. Although, I think you pay a little more for the Centennials aesthetics.
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you pay not so much for the aesthetics but the brunswick name on the cent set. when you research aramith/saluc balls you find that as the price goes up your getting a better grade of resin, tighter tolerances and better finishes. im sure the debate between super pros and cents will go on forever but both are top shelf sets so imo it comes down to how they look.
joe
 
Thanks everyone.

I'm going to shop around for some centennials or some aramith tournaments. I expect that they play about like the aramith premium or super pro, and I just like the look of them a alot more.

After last night I can tell you that there is no comparison between the aramith super pro cue ball and the cheapo that came in my set....that was $20 well spent.

Once again, thanks for the educating responses :)
 
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