Greetings!
I can't tell you all how excited I was to receive my saber today! Best of all, it has the all NEW Obsidian v4!!!!
Ok, so calming down a bit. . . I ordered a v4 initiate with a main blade of blazing red with violent amethyst FoC - a great combination that I had never tried before - an a red AV switch. I had already watched the video that Deep had posted on the V4 launcher and operation so I knew what to expect. The launcher and operation of the saber worked flawlessly just as they did in the video. The saber was boxed like usual (always done fantastically to protect your saber), but there was an addition. In the packet where you generally find US business cards, there are also clear instructions on how to operate the v4. Of course, I didn't read the instructions before pressing the AV switch - I just had to try it out! I have a picture of the instruction page I'll post down below.
The operation of the new V4 is easy enough. You turn on the saber and keep your thumb on the switch and then the saber boots up in configuration mode where you can select different fonts by pressing the switch again. My saber had 8 (that's right eight!) fonts pre-installed. The fonts included are:
1. Default Obsidian
2. Blackstar
3. Sith
4. Ancient Saber
5. Episode 1
6. Episode 2
7. Episode 6
8. Silent (muted) font
To confirm your sound font (after you have cycled through and picked the one you want) you simply hold the activation switch and you'll hear a voice saying "Confirmed."
When you release the switch, your saber will be up and running the font you selected. Multiple fonts on one saber is a feature I've been dying for US to include. For sure my next purchase will be a v4 Obsidian saber with emerald as you'll be able to have several fonts and also be able to load any color that you want!
Some things I noticed:*When I first turned on the v4 Obsidian saber, it seemed to me that the sound volume was a tad bit louder than the v3. I happened to have another v4 initiate with the v3 Obsidian installed so I did some comparisons. The v4 version of Obsidian is louder. I had both versions of the sound boards up on max volume to be sure that the comparison was legit. I also used the standard default sound font on both.
* Boot sounds!!!! This may be a little thing to some, but boot sounds now do have an impact on your saber experience. Unlike the v3 Obsidian, where you would only hear a boot sound if you had a recharge port or you were inserting your batteries, you can now have multiple boot fonts on the v4. This allows you to easily identify which font you have selected. What's more, this is a great way to personalize your saber. For example, you can have a boot sound with Yoda's voice from our own forum's Clone Wars font on any of your font banks. That means you can have multiple voices, scenes, music, etc. on one saber.
* With the sound effects (boots, clashes, swings, etc.), I believe that the v4 Obsidian is more clear. On a few of my v3 Obsidian sabers the sounds would distort sometimes especially if a boot sound was playing. This might just be my ears, but I do hear a difference.
* If you have used a v3 Obsidian card, you will be able to access the v4 just as easily through the pummel. When connecting a USB cable to the v4, the connections were tight and showed no signs of being accidently disconnected. The card itself appears to be anchored to the battery hold just the same as the previous set up.
Pic of the v4 Obsidian board:
* As I have posted previously, the new launcher is amazingly user friendly. On my Windows 8 PC, I did need to use a 2.0 USB hub for the saber to connect, but I believe this is a hardware issue on my end, as at times, my USB ports are a bit finicky.
* Multiple sound fonts are included; however, US did not add an additional button/switch. Some might say that this is not an upgrade as they might have wished for an Aux switch. I find the one-button operation of the v4 to be simple and practical. There is no aux switch to interfere with your grip or be accidently pressed when you are using the saber. I do not see the need for an aux switch for blaster sounds as necessary as the sound banks are robust enough without additions.
So, to summarize: The new v4 Obsidian soundboard is a huge leap forward when compared to the previous version. The inclusion of multiple sound fonts on one board allows the user to have different options. This in turn, provides several different experiences with one saber. For instance you could have a silver hilt saber that can have serve as a jedi's weapon, a sith saber, or a grey jedi with just a press of a button. If you have the emerald option, you could augment this feature additionally by changing the colors as well. I believe that the sound quality has been improved (i.e. the louder volume and clarity). The new launcher is also a welcomed change. It is much easier to navigate and allows firmware upgrades as needed.
And now, a few quick pics of my new initiate!
FoC:
Oh, almost forgot the pic of the instructions!
I want to thank US for allowing me to review the new V4 Obsidian card. I for one am excited to play more with the features of the saber. I also enjoyed not having any concerns prior to purchasing my new saber even though the V4 is in the "beta" stage. This is because I have come to expect great quality products from US and they have again not disappointed me!
Darth Calico
