OK, so. The real meat of this review is a ways down, and I've sectioned it off so you can skip straight to it if you like. First, however, I'm going to include a bit of an introduction.
This is my first saber. My first from Ultrasabers and my first lightsaber in general, excluding plastic ones I had as a kid. I've messed around with a friend's FX saber, so I have some small basis for comparison, but when it comes right down to it, my impressions are going to be largely uneducated.
On a related note, there were a number of things that I didn't fully understand, even after reading the FAQ, stalking the forums for several weeks, and searching through old threads for information relevant to my wonderings. Most of you here are pretty expert in the subject matter, here, and it makes for a noteworthy barrier to entry. If I seem to dwell on something that seems incredibly basic to you, that's the reason.
In any case. When I first came to this site roughtly two months ago, I was immediately taken with the Shock LE, but only the RGB variant remained in stock. I chewed on the idea of getting it for a long time, but was never able to get up the will to drop the money on it. After the Halloween sale started, I checked back in and saw that, suddenly, they had the single-color version back in stock. While I still wasn't absolutely confident that I should be getting a saber at all, I decided that I would be better off getting it than kicking myself for having let the second chance slip through my fingers.
When I bought it, I did so with the belief that there was no point in spending much on a saber if it didn't do what I wanted. That is why I sprung for the Obsidian Sound. The availability of Quick Disconnect was an important factor, too, without which I might not have been able to convince myself to get it. having the flexibility of MLS available to me as I went forward was an important consideration.
THE ACTUAL REVIEWOK, so first things first. The hilt is absolutely gorgeous. I knew that from the pictures, but it's a very different thing to actually have it in front of you or hold it in your hand.
It was thicker than I expected. That isn't a bad thing or a good thing for me, but it might matter to other people. So, for those of you like me that don't get much out of the numerical measurements, it's just a little bit thicker than a heavy duty flashlight.
Next on the docket? Yeah, it's bright. Not as bright as I'd expected after reading a bunch of other reviews, but it's still extremely bright.
The Obsidian sound is beautiful. I haven't gone in to mess with sound fonts yet, but that's only because I haven't felt terribly much cause to do so.
It does bear noting that having the sound come from the bottom of the hilt can feel a little weird when you really pay attention to it, but that's not a serious concern. It would be nice to be able to turn the sound on or off independently of the blade, too. Still, those are minor quibbles. The sound system is lovely.
I found the default level of motion sensitivity to be right on the mark. I was actually a little confused at first, because I couldn't seem to get it to make clashing noises, no matter how hard I swung it. That turned out to be because the sensor is sophisticated enough that it knows a forceful swing from an impact. After playing with it for a little while, I'd worked out what would and wouldn't set off a clashing noise, and I am extremely satisfied with it.
I got a basic mid-grade blade because I'd read on the forums that the Adegan Silver comes out a bit more silvery that way. Ultimately, it still isn't as silver as I'd like -- it's still very white-feeling -- so I think I might have been better off with a heavy ultraedge blade like I would have bought for any other color.
Also, when the saber's on, you can see the thin, flexible bit inside the blade, whatever it is. I don't know if that's true for other blade types, but I'd certainly rather it not be that way.
The Adegan Silver, like I just said, is more white than silver. I knew that was a risk, though, as the reviews I'd read had gone back and forth on how it looked. On the plus side, they sent along a set of colored filters. I hadn't made any special request on the matter, so I guess that's standard with Adegan Silver. Most of you probably knew that, but I wasn't sure, so maybe someone reading this will find it useful.
I don't have a normal colored saber to compare against the Adegan Silver with the filters, but I can still tell that it's less bright than without a filter. What's more, the color with a filter is pretty thin unless you use more than one. Combining filters is actually pretty fun, and you can make some really nice colors by doing it, but every filter you use makes it a little less bright.
The Quick Disconnect is perfectly simple to use, if anyone was wondering.
When I have the blade off, the MLS emitter is loose inside the saber and can rattle back and forth, but having a blade inserted keeps it nice and stable.
The biggest complaint I have -- and the only complaint of real concern to me -- is that the sound-system-slash-battery-pack is loose enough that it rattles around a bit in the hilt, and I can't seem to stop it from doing so. It's distracting and bothersome, and while I can deal with it, your mileage may vary.
On the whole, I'm satisfied. It's a lovely piece, and I have plenty of room for customization with MLS and MHS.
