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Author Topic: Dominix LE V4 w/Premium Sound  (Read 3904 times)
28Shadow
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« on: January 04, 2018, 05:36:03 PM »

Here we go, round 2 of writing this review.  First go around I timed out my sign in right before hitting post.  This is a fully text based review, no pictures at this time.  I'm currently at work building a stand for my collection, and once that's done I'll update this and future reviews with pictures.  Also, as this is my first review on this forum please be gentle  Cheesy

Introduction

I ordered this lightsaber around early 2017.  I wanted to use it for my own personal use at a fight choreography workshop I was assisting at.  I ordered it express two day shipping and the saber was at my house exactly two days later.  Now THAT is what I call a positive start.

Disclosure

I am not being paid in any way for this review by Ultrasabers or any other party.  The opinions and thoughts be they positive or negative are mine and mine alone, no others.

With that said, let's get to the actual review.

Hilt

The first thing you see when ordering this saber is the picture of the hilt.  The picture on the website really does not do this one justice: it's big.  Not bulky, mind you, but rather long.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, in fact for some it is a good or even great thing.  Personally my preference is towards smaller hilts that aren't as long, or those that promote my hands being closer together.  Around three finger widths apart is a good space for me.

The Dominix hilt is one piece of aluminum.  The emitter is not removable.  I ordered my emitter to have cut out windows so that light from the LED can shine through, which is very aesthetically pleasing.

The hilt features several choke points and areas that promote various grips, enough that just about everyone can be satisfied.  It is comfortable in just about any grip at any of those positions.

LED

I'll admit I'm not very good with electronics.  I'm fairly competent with a computer but when it comes to soldering and electronics I'm a neanderthal.  With that said my saber's LED functions fine and does it's job.  I chose Blazing Red as my blade color with orange flash on clash.  If I were to order a new one today I would probably choose Green or Silver for the flash so it shows up better.  The orange does look nice however.

Sound Board

Again, I'm not a technical wizard.  From my experience the soundboard and speaker have functioned fine for almost a year, and have stood up to use during that period.  During this timeframe I actually haven't sat down to truly learn what I can do with my soundboard, and have yet to load a custom font onto my saber.  My favorite soundfont that comes loaded on it however is the Blackstar soundfont.

Now, I do have a slight personal issue with how the board, batteries, and speaker are housed in the hilt.  It is rather unceremonious and even silly to sit there and shake the hilt in order for the speaker to come out enough that I can reach in and carefully pull the guts out to access things.  If they could be attached to something solid or even housed in something like a chassis I would not mind paying extra for such a thing.  Having a little fabric tab beside the speaker to pull down so I could access the internals would be amazing.  With that said the current set up works fine.

Blade

Here's a part that I'm not too happy about.  It's in no way Ultrasaber's fault or doing, it's my own inexperience.  I do not care for the 36" heavy grade blade at all.  It over powers the hilt and brings the balance too far forward for my liking.  It makes the whole saber very choppy, very sword like in it's handling, and I would prefer it not handle that way.  Because the hilt is so long and the blade is so long I do have trouble handling it sometimes.  The first and second stage parries are downright difficult to do as it is, let alone with the saber fighting me to get to those positions, especially at a performance speed.

I'll update this portion of the review when I have a 32" midgrade and heavy grade blade to compare it with.  I'm predicting I will be significantly happier with those.

Now, why did I never order a replacement you say?  Well because it's not as massive an issue as my text here may make it to seem.  Functionally it's fine, it's just my preference for how I would like things.  Besides, at the time I did not have a dedicated place to store these lightsabers, and so ordering extra parts or pieces for them seemed counter intuitive.  Now things are different, and I will not only be expanding my collection but I will actively make those I have fit within my personal preferences.

Closing Comments

In closing I like this saber.  Very much so in fact.  I try not to make my written reviews sound like a raving lunatic or someone who only points out the good.  Trust me, there's far more good with this saber than the few minor things I've pointed out here in my review, and best of all every single one of my criticisms is a personal thing and highly subjective, so you may not feel that way about certain things such as the blade length or balance!

Ultrasabers did a very nice job on this saber.  If it weren't for me holding it back it would be very nice indeed.  Ultrasabers has earned themselves a customer for sure.

This has to be the coolest flashlight I've ever owned  Wink.
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DarthScrub
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« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2018, 05:44:31 PM »

Excellent review, can’t wait for the pics! Do you own the Prophecy?
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Jon Solo
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« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2018, 05:48:22 PM »

Great review! I have the same saber in stunt form and I did a video review recently and I said the exact same thing about the balance. It’s not exactly how I would want it, but it is pretty close. It’s a beautiful saber and is very comfy
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Current Sabers:
Dark Sentinel v4 - Adegan Silver
Dominix LE V4 - Arctic Blue
Consular (the professor) - emerald driver with obsidian sound v4

Wishlist:
Consular (achieved)
Guardian
Lost Gray
Fulcrum
Crimson Reaper

28Shadow
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« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2018, 05:51:00 PM »

Excellent review, can’t wait for the pics! Do you own the Prophecy?

I do not but I do like the design.  About how long is the hilt?
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DarthScrub
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« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2018, 05:55:11 PM »

Officially I think the US website says a little under 10 inches, I’d have to double check. It has a great choke point in my opinion, as well. So far my favorite hilt! I posted photos in this thread, you can see the size relation to my hand

http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=36999.msg602181#msg602181
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28Shadow
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Dark Side points please!


« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2018, 07:31:57 PM »

Officially I think the US website says a little under 10 inches, I’d have to double check. It has a great choke point in my opinion, as well. So far my favorite hilt! I posted photos in this thread, you can see the size relation to my hand

http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=36999.msg602181#msg602181


That looks quite nice!  I might order one of those as my next full saber purchase.  I currently am waiting on two mystery boxes to ship.
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Arazia
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« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2018, 07:34:56 PM »

Very nice review.
I love the level of detail and the fact that we're getting a good idea of how a saber performs over a longer period of time.
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tx_tuff
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« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2018, 08:42:16 PM »

Sounds like for we very happy with it, great indeed. Thanks for the review!

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

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28Shadow
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Dark Side points please!


« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2018, 08:49:50 PM »

Very nice review.
I love the level of detail and the fact that we're getting a good idea of how a saber performs over a longer period of time.


In anything I review that's something I try to do.  Many times with products people receive them and then "review" them the day of, without ever having a chance to use it or see if it holds up.  I never do that simply because A) how can I review something fairly if I've never used it? and B) what if my opinion changes because of something that happens to it?

Very glad you liked the review!
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28Shadow
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Dark Side points please!


« Reply #9 on: January 14, 2018, 10:35:18 PM »

UPDATE:  I received a different blade (32" Ultraedge Heavy grade) and it has changed my view of the handling for the better.  I can now move it through all the blocks and parries needed, spin and move it close to the ground without worrying about hitting it hard, and the saber overall moves much better now.  I am still very, very pleased.
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Landen Se-Sentien
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« Reply #10 on: January 15, 2018, 12:09:42 AM »

Thanks for the review. Very well written. -1

Do you mind if I ask how tall you are? I ask, because a lot of people ask, "I'm ____ tall, should o get 32 or 36 inch blades?"
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28Shadow
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Dark Side points please!


« Reply #11 on: January 15, 2018, 02:12:55 AM »

Thanks for the review. Very well written. -1

Do you mind if I ask how tall you are? I ask, because a lot of people ask, "I'm ____ tall, should o get 32 or 36 inch blades?"

I'm 5'9" give or take half an inch.  One of the rules I try to go by for blade length is by classic "sword length" measurements, such as the following:

One handed: Anything that you can hold in your hand and point straight down your pants line right at the ground and not touch or barely touch the ground is a good one handed length for you.

Two handed: Resting the tip on the ground and the pommel should reach the bottom-middle of your sternum.  Alternate: put your off-hand straight out as if stopping someone, then pull your sword/lightsaber all the way back with the dominante hand with the point forward and see if you can switch it to either side of your hand.  Anything that you can manipulate that way should be good.

I try to go by those two factors and get something kind of in the middle.

Hope this helps!
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Landen Se-Sentien
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« Reply #12 on: January 15, 2018, 02:19:08 AM »

Good tips. Thanks.
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Therion Jinn
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« Reply #13 on: January 15, 2018, 03:45:00 AM »

Excellent review here.
This is pretty much exactly the combo my son picked out for his birthday back in May.
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