[Review] ShengShou FangYuan

[RennuR]

Hello Everyone, I will be doing a review on this puzzle as I definetly plan on getting it, but seeing as many people are probably going to be getting this soon, I just figured I'd make the review thread!

ShengShou FangYuan Review!​

 

[somerandomkidmike]

I bought this cube from Speedcubeshop during their labor day sale for $8.95. Out of the box box, the cube was very catchy, had poor corner cutting (30 degrees). It also had an awful spring noise on two or three sides. The other reviews I've seen also mention this spring noise.

I broke the cube in for a day, then I lubricated the springs and pieces with Traxxas 50k. After breaking the cube in more, I wiped out some of the excess lube and I currently have it on Medium Tensions.

Pros
-doesn't pop or corner twist (at my tensions)
-Fast, but controllable
-High quality stickers with nice shades
-Smaller corner cutting happens with ease
Cons
-Small catches (I think it's between the corner and the center)
-Lock ups with greater than 45 degree corner cutting
-takes a lot of time to break it in
Feel
The Fangyuan has a very crunchy and satisfying feel to it while turning fast, but it's crisp and smooth while turning more slowly. To me, the turning has a slight resemblance to other shengshou puzzles because of the hard plastic. However, the mechanism is different enough that the feel is unique. When I first saw the mechanism of this puzzle, I thought it looked like the child of a yuexiao and a gans 356, but I don't have either of those puzzles, so I'm not sure how it compares. Overall the cube feels very solid and it retains the high quality seen in other shengshou puzzles.

Conclusion
The cube is definitely worth $9. There are a couple of issues with small catches, and you're not going to get 60 degree corner cutting, but the catching gets better with time, and in the context of a solve, I've never had an issue. I haven't tried every cube on the market, but I've tried quite a few, and this is one of my favourites.

Objectively, the cube probably deserves an 8/10, but I get good times with it, and I like the feel. I wouldn't be upset if I had to use this cube as my main.

 

[MarcelP]

I have bought it at cubezz.com for $7. It is my current main as I do get very good averages with it. Out of the box it did not corner cut more then 30 degrees or so. But after lubing and tensioning it came up to almost 45 degrees. It never popped on me, and I never had a corner twist in about 2000 solves. The size is the same as Tanglong/ Gan356 which makes it my main over the Valk3 which is too small for my hands. The cube is very forgiving and the last layer goes very smooth for me. The sticker are 100% ok after 2000 solves. The shades are like standard MoYu shades. I would recommend this cube to anyone. Especially for that price. ShengShou did a good job releasing this cube.

 

[Nosae Semaj]

I don't live in the US, so I bought it from maru.tw for NT$280 or $9.3333.... USD. It's definitely my new main, and it can cut near 45 degrees. I love super-loose tension, and I did it. It never pops on me, and taking it apart is really difficult for me. Because of the tension, I can get corner twist once in 1000+ solves. It's very fast before lubing it, so I put a little heavy lube in it to slow it down. Although I have a bit catches, it doesn't stop me from getting my PBs. I recommend this cube to anyone especially if you don't have that much pocket money to buy a gans air , valk 3 or those expensive cubes.
BTW, will you guys recommend putting magnets into the center pieces and the edge pieces? I can't find a good place to place one in the corner pieces.
ps. I don't care about stickers. They don't bother my solves.