I own three Little Magics, and my experiences with them have been surprisingly varied.
My first was a stickered, stock LM from a Chinese eBay vendor, and truthfully, it's my least favorite cube -- even after tightening down the springs roughly three full revolutions per side each, the cube had stability issues in my hands, even as the tightening-down introduced occasional lockups, too. I'm a slow, steady, precise turner -- my times are in minutes, not seconds -- and I found the cube flexed and twisted a lot in my hands, but even slight twisting would introduce lockups. I was disappointed, and honestly, surprised to see such a well-praised cube perform so badly in my hands. I also found the stock stickers surprisingly uncomfortable, something I've never encountered before with a cube. My fingers kept catching their edges, and the stickers showed damage surprisingly quickly from this.
I have that one earmarked for a rebuild. A set of higher-quality stickers, an upgrade to Thunderclap springs, and strong magnets, I think, will breathe life back into this one. I'm a little nervous about positioning the magnets, given my shaky hands, but I've watched the videos a few times and I think this is probably within my capabilities. I strongly suspect that, with roughly $20 in upgrades, it'll be a cube I like much more.
Then, there was the stickerless Cuberspeed LM I ordered from eBay. Claimed it was a CH Little Magic M...wasn't actually, but I didn't mind...it was such a night-and-day change from my first LM! A little flex and twist, but not too bad at all, a pleasantly clacky but easy turning style, and a much more pleasant tactile experience under the fingertips. Was this really the same product as my first LM? This was utterly worth the roughly $8 I paid, and until my third LM arrived, it was one of my favorite cubes.
Then, my Cubicle Labs Little Magic M arrived. I am in love.
Smooth, easy, stability completely solved with magnets. It arrived along with an Angstrom Gan Air SM, and honestly, the LM impressed me more than the Angstrom has, so far! (I understand the Angstrom needs breaking in, and that's fine, it can take its time.) I can't get over just how different this cube feels, and how well the magnets and the combination of lubes (Traxxas 10k, Lubicle Speedy and DNM-37, I believe!) brings out a smoother, refined character, a subtlety and a gentle correction of balance that was, in my opinion, the stock LM's downfall.
So, three LMs...three very different experiences. Two I liked, one I loved, one I look forward to improving. The $20 Cubicle Labs version is beyond a doubt my favorite, and as for the stock stickered LM, I keep thinking I must just not have figured out what it needed. Out of curiosity, is yours a stickered or stickerless, and how's it set up? (I'm still pretty new to lubes, and if you're lubing yours yourself, I'd love to hear what you're using.)
