Purchasing Dilemma

[Dark Lord Proscidior, Titus Solvan]

After much contemplation, I've decided to gift two of my babies to friends of mine who are getting married soon. It's a custom pair made from a Dominix and an Aeon (v2s) that I've repainted. (I'll post some pics after the wedding just in case the bride or groom lurk here). The Aeon has a great metallic red paintjob with black accents and an adegan silver blade, I've polished the accents on the Dominix and painted them a similar red, it has a blazing red blade. They look VERY nice together. Having spent so many hours working on them, I'm quite attached, but these are two good friends who /adore/ Star Wars and have nary a proper fighting saber between them, so they'll be going to a good home.

Once these two are gone, I'll have a Dark Standard Issue (v2) AB and a Dark Initiate (v2) VA.

To help with the loss, the missus has implied that Christmas could well be UltraSabery this year.

So here's my dilemma, and I realize that most of the things I am asking are very subjective, but I'd still appreciate any input folks might have to offer:

I could either replace this pair with a pair of stunts to customize again (two of the more basic hilts) and make myself another pair (re-paint at a minimum, maybe some other tricks I've seen folks pull off) -OR- I could get a saber with sound (one of the fancier hilts). Both ideas appeal to me very much, and about equally. In a perfect world, I'd just get a pair with sound, but I don't think that's financially doable right now. I don't have a saber with sound, and I've been coveting one since the day the first Obsidian video went up, but I also know I'll miss my matched pair.

If I were to go with a saber with sound, I /think/ I'm leaning toward a Bellicose or a Dark Monarch. Probably in Blazing Red. I keep going back and forth on FoC, but I suspect if I don't get it, I'll just regret that decision pretty quickly. That said, if I went WITHOUT FoC, but got Quick Disconnects, is it a correct assumption that I could later buy a new MLS Unit WITH FoC, pop it in, and be good to go?

Any opinions on which way I should go? Other hilts to consider instead of the Bellicose or Dark Monarch? Other input or opinions?

Many thanks!

[reiperx]

I'd go with sound personally.

The quality of the sound and how loud of it, to me, makes Ultrasabers the best in the business.

And the fancier hilts too beautiful. I have an overlord (SRD), Nickel Monarch (GB), and Graflex (BO) and I love all three of them to death.

The Monarchs are a bit on the heavy side, and at least for me, aren't overly comfortable but others find them very comfortable, so that is dependant on each individual. The Bellicross looks to be one of the best hilts they designed (I don't have one, but just judging people's love with them) and I'd probably reccomend that. But in the end it is up to personal taste.

You're an awesome friend for gifting the sabers to your friends, I hope karma treats your well.

[Lord Cooler]

I say go with sound as well. It is my opinion everyone here should have at least one saber with sound, the Obsidian experience is just amazing.

I don't have a Dark Monarch, but I've heard good things about it. The Bellicose is a very balanced saber, very detailed but at the same time very comfortable and easy to handle. I'd also recommend the Overlord and the Dark Arbiter, for their full MHS capabilities.

For the FoC, I say do get it, either in Fire Orange or Adegan Silver(those colors work best with BR). Sure, it's not a MUST HAVE feature, but it does make a difference when you compare one that has it and one that doesn't. I still regret not getting it on my first saber, have been getting it on all sabers ever since.

I think if you get QDs in a non-FoC saber, you'd need an extra wire if you get a FoC MLS unit later, but I'm not sure on that.

[Dark Lord Proscidior, Titus Solvan]

Thanks to both of you for the in put. I think I probably will go the sound route I can always get stunts to muck with later . Now it's just the fun / headache of picking which one, hehe.

[Vex]

You can always get a Dominix or Aeon V3 with sound now without FoC , and then get a stunt Dominix / Aeon V3 and coupler later to create a staff with sound. Just a thought.