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[Review] DaYan TengYun 2x2M - Thoughts and Opinions

What cube should I review next?

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    15

Zain_A24

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Aug 14, 2019
Messages
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DaYan TengYun 2x2M Review - Cubezz

Written By @Mo_A2244.
Sections:
  • Review of Service
  • Review of Cube – DaYan TengYun 2x2M
  • Unboxing
  • OOTB
  • Completely Dry
  • Lube + Tension
  • Break-in
  • Performance Analysis
  • Final Thoughts

Review of Cube
General Info
Name
– DaYan TengYun 2x2M
Price – $14.99
Availability – Black and Stickerless
Link - https://cubezz.com/Buy-6085-DaYan+TengYun+M+2x2x2+Magnetic+Speed+Cube+Stickerless.html
Size – 50mm
Weight – 62g
Store - Cubezz.com

Brief Overview
DaYan has continued to be the leader of 2x2 hardware, with their original 2x2 breaking countless single and average records, most notably the first sub-2 2x2 World Record Average as well as the most current World Record single of 0.49 – a very lucky scramble but still highlights my point.

The current TengYun series to date include:

2x2 - DaYan TengYun 2x2M
3x3 - DaYan TengYun 3x3M V1 (EDIT - a more recent addition to the TengYun line being the V2)

All of these cubes boast their much quieter and softer feel compared to competitors and has been a main selling point for the series up to date. A lot of cubers opt for the feel of the 3x3 over other flagships from the likes of GAN and other leading brands due to the distinct feel that the series offers.

Unboxing
In the box, it features the cube in plastic wrap as well as packets of extra springs, which I believe have varying elasticities. It would be interesting to hear if anyone did swap the springs out with any of the additional ones.

Out of the Box
First Impressions – Before Turning
Appearance
This cube features a matte plastic, which I only realised once placing it next to another 2x2. It features darker, more vivid shades, most notably a darker blue and green as well as a much richer and vivid red, which provides excellent contrast, perfect for recognition especially in the dark or with limited visibility.

Pieces
The pieces feature shallow grooves on the inside, minimising surface area whilst allowing the cube to hold lubricant on the pieces. I have also noticed how the pieces of modern 2x2s do not actually make contact with each other and it a lot depends on the inner pieces.

Feel
At 50mm, this cube is slightly smaller than some 2x2s in the market and has a very compact feel. The plastic has a more slippery feel than what I am used to, but I am sure that I can adjust as well as any other user of this cube.

First Turns
I then proceeded to first turns. Immediately I realised how quiet the cube was. The cube adopts a quiet sandiness which is great to turn. The plastic does not affect my turning at all in terms of grip, and the dark shades assist with recognition very well. The speed of this puzzle is very controllable at this stage: fast enough for me to put little effort into turning and slow enough to prevent overshooting the turns. TPS can be comfortably spammed on this cube, with very high reliability, an important characteristic a 2x2 must have. Tensions are on the looser side, with a large piece separation when larger corner cuts are applied, but this can be corrected during setup.

Magnets
The magnets in this cube are stronger than those in its competitors. In my opinion, DaYan have made an excellent choice with these magnets, allowing the cube to be suitable to a variety of turning styles, making this cube great for both aggressive and lighter turners. The cube is excellent at retaining it’s original stable shape, even when subjected to large cuts at these looser tensions

Cornercutting
The cornercutting on this cube out of the box is as follows:

Forward – 45 Degrees
Reverse – 2/3 Piece

Cornercutting – at this stage – requires a bit more effort to complete, which is due to the looser tensions, so this is not much of an issue. There is little to no catching on this cube and I am sure that performance will improve further with setup, which I am very much looking forward to.

Solves
Before setup, I completed a few solves to confirm my previous points made. The magnets are a perfect strength for me and doing a variety of solves with varying turning styles, I could tell that this product would appeal to a large audience. I personally had no issue with the plastic in terms of grip, but some may take longer than others to adjust, but not a huge issue. This cube is very good at resisting corner twists, and I do not experience any lockups, catching, corner twisting or pops during solves.

Thus far I am very impressed with this cube, and I am eager to know how the performance could get any better once it is set up.

Setup
Completely Dry
As always, I would disassemble the cube and wipe the pieces down, before reassembling. The assembly process was very straightforward compared to other 2x2’s that I have disassembled in the past. The cube has a small ridge on three of the centre pieces, allowing the internals to lock themselves and a corner in place.

As expected, the performance completely dry was very similar since it required lubricant to begin with, and with the “quiet sandiness”, the cube was a pleasure to turn.

Lubrication + Tensioning
I immediately proceeded to tightening the cube ½ a turn to help provide better and more effortless cornercutting, as well as a further increase in stability. I added 50K under the screws and a slight amount on the internals, as well as a very small amount of DNM to provide it with a slight increase in speed.

The performance, as expected, was much better than out-of-the-box, with a better balance between speed and stability. My times began to drop significantly, and I was definitely sure at this point that I will be maining this cube. The cube can now corner cut at almost any angle, past 45 degrees forward and a slight increase in reverse cornercutting, which is excellent to see.

This cube has also provided me with the motivation to learn and practise 2x2 further, with the intention of learning more algorithms once the analysis was complete.

Break-in
After several solves, this cube is continuing to impress me with it’s outstanding performance. My times are continuing to drop with an increase in reliability and performance of this cube, which can be seen later in “Performance Analysis”.

Performance Analysis
Here I provide visual data to highlight my points.

My Times
A great way of monitoring the performance of a puzzle is looking at times. Since my times are limited to hardware, especially for 2x2, this is an excellent way of judging performance.
1576845757783.png
Of course, it took time to adjust to the new cube, hence the overlap between the reference and the cube out-of-the-box. After setup, times saw a significant decrease due to the increase in performance. As times began to drop, the variability began to increase due to the nature of the scrambles. Another important thing to note is the consistency of Ao12’s for the Setup cube. This highlights the cube’s reliability, which is a very important factor in not just 2x2.

Speed
1576845728388.png

The speed values were calculated by seeing the distance travelled with a given force of a flick. These values were then standardised out of 100 based on percentage difference. The speed out of the box of the TengYun was slower than what I was used to, but after setup, it easily became the best 2x2 I currently own in terms of the balance between speed and stability.

Cornercutting
1576845788096.png
As expected, cornercutting would improve as the cube “evolves”, from out-of-the-box to setup and break-in. Here you can see that the cornercutting out of the box is already better than my previous 2x2, with the same forward cutting and a much better reverse cutting – a characteristic of a premium cube. The cornercutting at the “Setup and Break-in” stage is almost perfect, reaching an overall score of 95 out of 100, that missing 5 being the small range it cannot cut on the tensions I am currently using.

Stability
1576845812066.png
The chart for this one speaks for itself. The controllability of the TengYun is very strong. Combine this with the speed of the TengYun after setup and that makes an excellent 2x2.

Final Thoughts

It could be immediately seen from the start of the analysis that this cube was going to be one of the best. DaYan, with their remarkable success in the past have brought out another 2x2 which could be challenging for records and, most definitely, Personal Bests, whilst continuing to compete at the forefront of the 2x2 market. A characteristic seen from the beginning was how quiet the cube is, which is one of the unique aspects of the TengYun line that sets it out from the competition

The magnets of this cube are very good at retaining the cube’s shape whilst providing the cube with the essential stability and controllability. I rarely over or undershoot with this cube since the magnets do a very good job at completing the turns and stopping the cube from overshooting, but during solves, the magnetic bump is not noticeable and does not hinder turning in any way, which makes these the perfect strength in my opinion.

2x2 has reached a point in which hardware is very well optimised. The difference between a cuber choosing one cube or the other comes down to personal preference. The matte plastic is not for everyone, and initially I had issues with grip out of the box, but as the graphs show, after setup and use, the cube soon became my main. The matte plastic is one of those aspects of a cube which can easily put people off from purchasing, and is something that takes further use to become accustomed with. A PVC-coated version of this cube would be very interesting, with many cubers - such as JPerm - regularly using coated cubes to aid with grip.

Another aspect to mention is that this cube is 50mm. Even the smallest of margins and differences in cubing hardware are distinctly noticeable on immediate turning. For those with larger hands, you may find this release difficult to adjust to initially and may like to opt for larger 2x2s including the Valk 2M. As previously mentioned, 2x2 hardware comes down to personal preference, with many cubers trying multiple cubes before settling with their main. The ideal scenario would be trying this cube out in addition to those of competitors. However, if budget is limited or 2x2 is not considered a serious event in terms of times, I would recommend the TengYun 2x2 for casual solves.

One final aspect worth mentioning if you were to buy this cube is the magnet strengths. The magnets are fairly strong, which provide the essential stability when turning, but also produce a noticeable bump between turns which can sometimes result in unpredictable turning. Personally, I like the feel of the stronger magnets, but for those that prefer a more subtle feel, I would recommend the Valk 2LM for a lighter feel.

In terms of price, this cube is very competitive, cheaper than its rivals.
1576845933333.png

Thanks for reading!
Mo
 

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Zain_A24

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Joined
Aug 14, 2019
Messages
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Great job on the review! I'm wondering though, do you have a Valk 2M? Also, what cube did you use for the "reference" stat?






Typos :)
Thanks for that, will get those sorted.
For the "reference" stat it is a broken in YuPo 2x2. I do not have another flagship 2x2 for comparison. This is where the discussions come in.
Glad to know people are reading it all the way through.
 
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