3x3 The eternal search for the perfect 3x3 to cube in public

[siwoo]

Cubing is awesome, but not so much when we are in public such as libraries or school classrooms, since we have to be mindful of others. (or just say f**k it and reverse corner cut with a gan 14 but i'm not THAT confident)

So, over the last year or so, I have tried many different 3x3's in public and school to see which one was the best in terms of quietness and feel.

Now, the decision to rank them was a bit tough. Some of these turn quieter at low TPS, but some are more consistent and less in high TPS.
So I have forth 3 criteria:
1) Sub 2 TPS (wrist turn speed)
2) Sub 6 TPS (normal/competition turning speed)
3) Overall (a mix of both)

SUB 2 TPS:
Dayan Tengyun V1
- It's pretty much dead silent. This was my go-to travel cube for a long time. If you're turning really slowly, its almost completely silent. While it gets snappy at higher TPS, if you are doing one turn at a time, this is the one for you. Dampen the hell out of it with Lubicle Silk or Strefa Kostek's XMT-10 and you're good to go.
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- This cube was recommended to me by @Bingus Ringus McDingus and it did not disappoint. It's very good at low TPS. It took a while to figure out the most quiet setup, but I landed on using the weakest edge magnet settings with a low tension.
GAN 356 Maglev
- This one was shocking. I got this not because it was quiet but because I liked the feel of older GAN cubes, and this was similar. However, once setup with 4-2 settings and used silk, XMT-10, fz-calm, and DNM-37, I ended up liking this a lot for doing really slow turns. Like the tengyun, it's very snappy at high TPS but I think this one is really good for slow turning, as it barely makes noise when <2 TPS.


SUB 6 TPS:
X-Man Tornado V2
- This one was the winner of Basilio Noris's quietest cube study and it did not disappoint. Even though its a smidge louder than the GAN 356 Maglev at sub 2 tps, you can interchange the two. Additionally, unlike the Tengy V1 and the GAN 356 Maglev, it stays eerily consistent at higher TPS. This was setup at lowest magnet settings and with FZ-Calm and XMT-10. Corner cutting also doesn't make a sound, putting this one at the top.This one is my favorite right now, but it might just be due to recency bias as I got this cube last week (It's out of stock everywhere, so I had to get it from mastercubestore in Denmark)
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- Its second silver medal thus far and well deserved. It stays consistent, although less consistent than the TV2. Also, corner cutting is a little loud.
Dayan Tengyun V1
- This was my go-to cube for over 2 years when traveling or going to public. As it goes higher in TPS, the cube makes more noise and gets a LOT more snappy. Also, if you reverse corner cut by accident at this TPS, you may as well jump off a cliff. The reverse corner cutting is LOUD on this thing. If you reverse corner cut, good luck to you lmao. You will be judged forever by everybody.

Overall:
X-Man Tornado V2
- The consistency is unmatched. In Basilio Noris's own words when I asked him for advice, "I'd still say that the Tornado v2 is noticeably less noisy. It still has a winning combo of not too noisy and low pitch, which feel more silent than other cubes that might be just a low in dB, but due to higher pitch feel noisier." In addition, you can get close to your actual 3x3 times with this!
Dayan Tengyun V1
- Except for the reverse corner cutting and snappiness at high TPS, this one's a winner.
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- Consistent at high TPS and quiet, although far less enjoyable than its alternatives.

Other honorable mentions: Haitun Waverider, WRM 2021, Tornado V3

What are your thoughts? Are there any cubes I slept on?

 

[Bingus Ringus McDingus]

Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- This cube was recommended to me by @Bingus Ringus McDingus and it did not disappoint. It's very good at low TPS. It took a while to figure out the most quiet setup, but I landed on using the weakest edge magnet settings with a low tension.

I WAS FINALLY HELPFUL IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bingus Ringus McDingus]

Cubing is awesome, but not so much when we are in public such as libraries or school classrooms, since we have to be mindful of others. (or just say f**k it and reverse corner cut with a gan 14 but i'm not THAT confident)

So, over the last year or so, I have tried many different 3x3's in public and school to see which one was the best in terms of quietness and feel.

Now, the decision to rank them was a bit tough. Some of these turn quieter at low TPS, but some are more consistent and less in high TPS.
So I have forth 3 criteria:
1) Sub 2 TPS (wrist turn speed)
2) Sub 6 TPS (normal/competition turning speed)
3) Overall (a mix of both)

SUB 2 TPS:
Dayan Tengyun V1
- It's pretty much dead silent. This was my go-to travel cube for a long time. If you're turning really slowly, its almost completely silent. While it gets snappy at higher TPS, if you are doing one turn at a time, this is the one for you. Dampen the hell out of it with Lubicle Silk or Strefa Kostek's XMT-10 and you're good to go.
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- This cube was recommended to me by @Bingus Ringus McDingus and it did not disappoint. It's very good at low TPS. It took a while to figure out the most quiet setup, but I landed on using the weakest edge magnet settings with a low tension.
GAN 356 Maglev
- This one was shocking. I got this not because it was quiet but because I liked the feel of older GAN cubes, and this was similar. However, once setup with 4-2 settings and used silk, XMT-10, fz-calm, and DNM-37, I ended up liking this a lot for doing really slow turns. Like the tengyun, it's very snappy at high TPS but I think this one is really good for slow turning, as it barely makes noise when <2 TPS.


SUB 6 TPS:
X-Man Tornado V2
- This one was the winner of Basilio Noris's quietest cube study and it did not disappoint. Even though its a smidge louder than the GAN 356 Maglev at sub 2 tps, you can interchange the two. Additionally, unlike the Tengy V1 and the GAN 356 Maglev, it stays eerily consistent at higher TPS. This was setup at lowest magnet settings and with FZ-Calm and XMT-10. Corner cutting also doesn't make a sound, putting this one at the top.This one is my favorite right now, but it might just be due to recency bias as I got this cube last week (It's out of stock everywhere, so I had to get it from mastercubestore in Denmark)
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- Its second silver medal thus far and well deserved. It stays consistent, although less consistent than the TV2. Also, corner cutting is a little loud.
Dayan Tengyun V1
- This was my go-to cube for over 2 years when traveling or going to public. As it goes higher in TPS, the cube makes more noise and gets a LOT more snappy. Also, if you reverse corner cut by accident at this TPS, you may as well jump off a cliff. The reverse corner cutting is LOUD on this thing. If you reverse corner cut, good luck to you lmao. You will be judged forever by everybody.

Overall:
X-Man Tornado V2
- The consistency is unmatched. In Basilio Noris's own words when I asked him for advice, "I'd still say that the Tornado v2 is noticeably less noisy. It still has a winning combo of not too noisy and low pitch, which feel more silent than other cubes that might be just a low in dB, but due to higher pitch feel noisier." In addition, you can get close to your actual 3x3 times with this!
Dayan Tengyun V1
- Except for the reverse corner cutting and snappiness at high TPS, this one's a winner.
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- Consistent at high TPS and quiet, although far less enjoyable than its alternatives.

Other honorable mentions: Haitun Waverider, WRM 2021, Tornado V3

What are your thoughts? Are there any cubes I slept on?

Actually, this is super useful for people who want to buy a Teng1 for high tps hush-hush. Many people make that mistake.

 

[Curunír]

Cubing is awesome, but not so much when we are in public such as libraries or school classrooms, since we have to be mindful of others. (or just say f**k it and reverse corner cut with a gan 14 but i'm not THAT confident)

So, over the last year or so, I have tried many different 3x3's in public and school to see which one was the best in terms of quietness and feel.

Now, the decision to rank them was a bit tough. Some of these turn quieter at low TPS, but some are more consistent and less in high TPS.
So I have forth 3 criteria:
1) Sub 2 TPS (wrist turn speed)
2) Sub 6 TPS (normal/competition turning speed)
3) Overall (a mix of both)

SUB 2 TPS:
Dayan Tengyun V1
- It's pretty much dead silent. This was my go-to travel cube for a long time. If you're turning really slowly, its almost completely silent. While it gets snappy at higher TPS, if you are doing one turn at a time, this is the one for you. Dampen the hell out of it with Lubicle Silk or Strefa Kostek's XMT-10 and you're good to go.
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- This cube was recommended to me by @Bingus Ringus McDingus and it did not disappoint. It's very good at low TPS. It took a while to figure out the most quiet setup, but I landed on using the weakest edge magnet settings with a low tension.
GAN 356 Maglev
- This one was shocking. I got this not because it was quiet but because I liked the feel of older GAN cubes, and this was similar. However, once setup with 4-2 settings and used silk, XMT-10, fz-calm, and DNM-37, I ended up liking this a lot for doing really slow turns. Like the tengyun, it's very snappy at high TPS but I think this one is really good for slow turning, as it barely makes noise when <2 TPS.


SUB 6 TPS:
X-Man Tornado V2
- This one was the winner of Basilio Noris's quietest cube study and it did not disappoint. Even though its a smidge louder than the GAN 356 Maglev at sub 2 tps, you can interchange the two. Additionally, unlike the Tengy V1 and the GAN 356 Maglev, it stays eerily consistent at higher TPS. This was setup at lowest magnet settings and with FZ-Calm and XMT-10. Corner cutting also doesn't make a sound, putting this one at the top.This one is my favorite right now, but it might just be due to recency bias as I got this cube last week (It's out of stock everywhere, so I had to get it from mastercubestore in Denmark)
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- Its second silver medal thus far and well deserved. It stays consistent, although less consistent than the TV2. Also, corner cutting is a little loud.
Dayan Tengyun V1
- This was my go-to cube for over 2 years when traveling or going to public. As it goes higher in TPS, the cube makes more noise and gets a LOT more snappy. Also, if you reverse corner cut by accident at this TPS, you may as well jump off a cliff. The reverse corner cutting is LOUD on this thing. If you reverse corner cut, good luck to you lmao. You will be judged forever by everybody.

Overall:
X-Man Tornado V2
- The consistency is unmatched. In Basilio Noris's own words when I asked him for advice, "I'd still say that the Tornado v2 is noticeably less noisy. It still has a winning combo of not too noisy and low pitch, which feel more silent than other cubes that might be just a low in dB, but due to higher pitch feel noisier." In addition, you can get close to your actual 3x3 times with this!
Dayan Tengyun V1
- Except for the reverse corner cutting and snappiness at high TPS, this one's a winner.
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- Consistent at high TPS and quiet, although far less enjoyable than its alternatives.

Other honorable mentions: Haitun Waverider, WRM 2021, Tornado V3

What are your thoughts? Are there any cubes I slept on?

what I don't recommend is doing blind in public.
I had this one time I was doing 3bld in a park and there were a group of kids and while I was doing the last few targets every time I paused to do the next alg all these kids were like " OMG HE's SO CLOSE, HES SO CLOSE!!!!!!!! " as you can imagine this was VERY distracting

 

[artless1der]

Cyclone Boys Metallic 3M FTW

 

[SpeakCuba]

Cubing is awesome, but not so much when we are in public such as libraries or school classrooms, since we have to be mindful of others. (or just say f**k it and reverse corner cut with a gan 14 but i'm not THAT confident)

So, over the last year or so, I have tried many different 3x3's in public and school to see which one was the best in terms of quietness and feel.

Now, the decision to rank them was a bit tough. Some of these turn quieter at low TPS, but some are more consistent and less in high TPS.
So I have forth 3 criteria:
1) Sub 2 TPS (wrist turn speed)
2) Sub 6 TPS (normal/competition turning speed)
3) Overall (a mix of both)

SUB 2 TPS:
Dayan Tengyun V1
- It's pretty much dead silent. This was my go-to travel cube for a long time. If you're turning really slowly, its almost completely silent. While it gets snappy at higher TPS, if you are doing one turn at a time, this is the one for you. Dampen the hell out of it with Lubicle Silk or Strefa Kostek's XMT-10 and you're good to go.
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- This cube was recommended to me by @Bingus Ringus McDingus and it did not disappoint. It's very good at low TPS. It took a while to figure out the most quiet setup, but I landed on using the weakest edge magnet settings with a low tension.
GAN 356 Maglev
- This one was shocking. I got this not because it was quiet but because I liked the feel of older GAN cubes, and this was similar. However, once setup with 4-2 settings and used silk, XMT-10, fz-calm, and DNM-37, I ended up liking this a lot for doing really slow turns. Like the tengyun, it's very snappy at high TPS but I think this one is really good for slow turning, as it barely makes noise when <2 TPS.


SUB 6 TPS:
X-Man Tornado V2
- This one was the winner of Basilio Noris's quietest cube study and it did not disappoint. Even though its a smidge louder than the GAN 356 Maglev at sub 2 tps, you can interchange the two. Additionally, unlike the Tengy V1 and the GAN 356 Maglev, it stays eerily consistent at higher TPS. This was setup at lowest magnet settings and with FZ-Calm and XMT-10. Corner cutting also doesn't make a sound, putting this one at the top.This one is my favorite right now, but it might just be due to recency bias as I got this cube last week (It's out of stock everywhere, so I had to get it from mastercubestore in Denmark)
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- Its second silver medal thus far and well deserved. It stays consistent, although less consistent than the TV2. Also, corner cutting is a little loud.
Dayan Tengyun V1
- This was my go-to cube for over 2 years when traveling or going to public. As it goes higher in TPS, the cube makes more noise and gets a LOT more snappy. Also, if you reverse corner cut by accident at this TPS, you may as well jump off a cliff. The reverse corner cutting is LOUD on this thing. If you reverse corner cut, good luck to you lmao. You will be judged forever by everybody.

Overall:
X-Man Tornado V2
- The consistency is unmatched. In Basilio Noris's own words when I asked him for advice, "I'd still say that the Tornado v2 is noticeably less noisy. It still has a winning combo of not too noisy and low pitch, which feel more silent than other cubes that might be just a low in dB, but due to higher pitch feel noisier." In addition, you can get close to your actual 3x3 times with this!
Dayan Tengyun V1
- Except for the reverse corner cutting and snappiness at high TPS, this one's a winner.
Dayan Zhanchi Pro M
- Consistent at high TPS and quiet, although far less enjoyable than its alternatives.

Other honorable mentions: Haitun Waverider, WRM 2021, Tornado V3

What are your thoughts? Are there any cubes I slept on?

I agree with the Tornado V2. It’s out of stock everywhere because it got discontinued a few months ago. It’s really quiet and it’s one of the main reasons while I still main it. It’s also buttery smooth, and I think it’s just a perfect cube, at least for me anyway. I don’t understand why you put “you can get close to your actual 3x3 times with this” though.

 

[siwoo]

I don’t understand why you put “you can get close to your actual 3x3 times with this” though.

Most quiet cubes I went through were old or had locky, slow and overall unenjoyable turning. TV2 is the closest thing to the best quiet cube that is still pretty good at turning aside from the tengyun.

 

[randomness...]

or just say f**k it and reverse corner cut with a gan 14 but i'm not THAT confident)

Hi! Im that guy in school (seriously, my teachers LOVE me :3)

 

[qwr]

Tornado v3?

 

[Bingus Ringus McDingus]

Tornado v3?

It's not exactly as quiet or easy to listen to as its competitors, being that it reverberates at a rather high pitch.

 

[NebraskanSpeedsolver]

Cubing is awesome, but not so much when we are in public such as libraries or school classrooms, since we have to be mindful of others. (or just say f**k it and reverse corner cut with a gan 14 but i'm not THAT confident)

Bro if you did that in a classroom like what I'm in currently it wouldn't be so bad (its a math class lol)