The Real Difference between Obsidian V3 and V4

[LordTargaryus]

I'm considering making my first saber purchase (been reading this forum and watching reviews for over 2 years now). I'm going with a TRI Blazing Red Bellicose. The only hang up right now is sound. I want a more violent sound than the default Sith font I've been hearing on reviews but I don't like the more eccentric stuff like the fonts EERock has been reviewing on his Youtube channel. I really really like the Sabercore Crimson font from another SaberSmith so that's kind of what I'm looking for. If I get the V4, will I get unique fonts that I wouldn't be able to get with the V3?

[Mod Edit]
Hey LordTargaryus- Definitely understand using another saberSmith as a point of reference for asking a question and that there was no intent to promote them.  I've removed their name since you also used the "Sabercore Crimson" font by name so people can investigate that if they are curious.  Our rules do state that we do NOT allow the posting or promotion of other Saber Smiths by name in our forums.  While SaberForum.com is a hub for Saber Enthusiasts of all kinds, it is still a page that is intended for discussion and sharing of our own (UltraSabers.com) products.  Hope this helps.  ~Admiral Snackbar

[Vyk]

Mostly no, slightly yes.  If you have a soundfont that needs more space than V3 has available, you would need V4 to use it.  On the other hand, for a typically-sized soundfont, the big gain of V4 over V3 is the ability to have multiples installed and switch between them readily; if you're only using a single soundfont, V4 isn't better in that regard.

[ithekro]

Other than more memory space and the ability to select from multiple sound fonts there isn't that much difference between the v3 and v4 (some say the sound is crisper on the v4, but that might just be newer speakers).

An advantage on the v4 over the v3 is the ability to switch fonts...like using the silent font to mute the lightsaber.  Useful if you are someplace were you need to have the lightsaber turned on, but don't want or should not have the sound on.  That alone I think is worth $10.

[Lord Sidious]

The base price of a Bellicose with Premium Sound is $239. To upgrade that to Obsidian V4 is an extra $10, which is an extra 4.2% in cost of the base price. Need I say more?

[LordTargaryus]

The base price of a Bellicose with Premium Sound is $239. To upgrade that to Obsidian V4 is an extra $10, which is an extra 4.2% in cost of the base price. Need I say more?

Haha nope. The extra $10 is negligible at best. I appreciate everyone's help in this matter.

[Vyk]

I think you hit the key issue there.  If saving $10 is important, you'll save far more by getting Obsidian Lite; if it's not, then get Obsidian V4.  Even if the only feature you ever use on V4 is muting (ie, font-switching to the silent font), that's worth $10 right there in my opinion.

[ithekro]

The v4 comes with 8 fonts:

The Default Obsidian sounds
"Blackstar"
Sith sounds
"Ancient Saber"
"Episode 1"
"Episode 2"
"Episode 6"
Silent = mute setting

[Songerdonger87]

So if I’m only gonna use the standard sound then the v4 isn’t something I need? Like is there a sound improvement from the v3 to v4?

[chalion]

So if I’m only gonna use the standard sound then the v4 isn’t something I need? Like is there a sound improvement from the v3 to v4?

From what I can find, since I only own Obsidian v4 or Diamond controlled lightsabers from ultraSabers:

Obsidian v3 only 1 active bank to use, unless you connect to the launcher program to manually change it, so if you're only going to use standard sound then v3 works for you. Obsidian v4 allows font bank change using the switch.

[Sakura No Kaze]

So if I’m only gonna use the standard sound then the v4 isn’t something I need? Like is there a sound improvement from the v3 to v4?

If you're asking if there is a sound quality improvement, the answer is not really. I have both Obsidian v3 and v4 sabers (the first saber I got had v3 because v4 didn't exist yet). They sound pretty much the same for the fonts I'm using. If you were having your saber talk to you, or play music, there might be a bigger difference, I don't know. But for just lightsaber noises, they're pretty much the same.

But as was said before, being able to mute the sound with just the push of a button alone is worth the extra $10 in my opinion.

[Cyclops942]

If you have a Mac, it’s important to know that the v3 will not work with it, but the v4 will.

[Tai Chi Chuan Wijchen]

I only have one saber with sound, a Obsidian v3. I thought I read somewhere that the v4 has the ability to change the volume or at least have a 'silent-font'. Might be something to consider. I like the sound, but it's loud, and personally I find that really distracting when training for a long time. 5 minutes is fun, but an hour of ful volume whoosing and rattling is a bit much for my ears. 

[Sakura No Kaze]

I only have one saber with sound, a Obsidian v3. I thought I read somewhere that the v4 has the ability to change the volume or at least have a 'silent-font'. Might be something to consider. I like the sound, but it's loud, and personally I find that really distracting when training for a long time. 5 minutes is fun, but an hour of ful volume whoosing and rattling is a bit much for my ears.  

Yes, the v4 has a Mute font and I think that alone makes it worth the upgrade price.

If you scroll up about 6 posts you'll see the full list of default fonts the v4 comes with.