Millennium King Performance first impressions

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fdimeglio
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Posts: 806
Joined: Sun May 15, 2011 5:31 am
Location: California

Millennium King Performance first impressions

Post by fdimeglio »

Hello all,

So I just received my King Performance.

See first photos here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p297lgfkg4pu ... mVdha?dl=0

The machine is quite heavy compared to the Exclusive board, which is normal I guess because it contains all the electronics now.

The board (only the squares) is the same size as the Exclusive and the machine is thicker too. The squares are recessed compared to the bezel of the machine which is a bit strange to me.

The squares are made of a nice and good plastic with nice colors. I had to tap on them to understand it was real plastic instead of wood. They are pressure sensitive. Yes, you will NEED to apply some force to register a move like on a SC9 and others in the past.

The Chessmen are quite heavy and nicely done but I would have expected a darker color for the Black side. I guess they will get some patine over time.

The LCD screen is smaller compared to a King module but it is still very readable, nice and with a backlight. The gold panel around the screen is made of plastic and is a bit (too) shiny for my taste. This will be an issue under the sun probably. They could have made it mate I guess.

The software is a very well know entity and it is the same as The King Chess 960. The menus, operation are exactly the same. Good to see the name of the opening line.

All in all, a great little machine that will satisfy a LOT of people and which is in direct competition with the DGT Centaur (who is much stronger indeed). You will need to trade engine strength with "look and feel" I guess.

I would have preferred to have the same "no press" squares IHMO. This is the only real nitpick on my side. I understand this is for lowering down the cost of the machine.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Very great little machine Regards,

Fabrice
Looking for a nice Fidelity EAG or A/S and a Odin Encore. Please send me a private message.
fdimeglio
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Location: California

Post by fdimeglio »

Sorry for the typo: IMHO of course ...

Fabrice
Looking for a nice Fidelity EAG or A/S and a Odin Encore. Please send me a private message.
fdimeglio
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Posts: 806
Joined: Sun May 15, 2011 5:31 am
Location: California

Post by fdimeglio »

Also something I have noticed is the packaging box being made of less premium material than for the Exclusive and King Lasker.

They have obviously saved some money on this.

Costs cutting regards,

Fabrice
Looking for a nice Fidelity EAG or A/S and a Odin Encore. Please send me a private message.
fdimeglio
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Posts: 806
Joined: Sun May 15, 2011 5:31 am
Location: California

Post by fdimeglio »

Also the board has 81 LEDs if you were wondering.

Lightning Regards,

Fabrice
Looking for a nice Fidelity EAG or A/S and a Odin Encore. Please send me a private message.
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Yarc
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Location: United Kingdom

Post by Yarc »

Hi Fabrice,

Thanks for the review. I think for the money the Performance is probably very good value and offers another way of getting the excellent King engine.

I wont be getting one myself because I really like the Exclusive Lasker, and having recently updated the software, now have all the nice new features including chess960 which I have still to try.

Enjoy your new machine Regards
Ray
"I'm not so sure you're on the right track now."..."Oh! I see what you mean."
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fourthirty
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Post by fourthirty »

Thanks Fabrice. A very nice overview, as you always provide.

How much pressure is required to register a move? Comparable to the MCG or MCG Pro?

Under Pressure Regards,
Greg
fdimeglio
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Posts: 806
Joined: Sun May 15, 2011 5:31 am
Location: California

Post by fdimeglio »

Hello Greg and Ray,

Thank you. I don't have any of the MCG so I cannot compare.

Yes this is a very good machine fo the price and feel sort of premium.

I would say that for my unit (don't forget it is part of the first production batch so it maybe tuned at the factory for later batches), the pressure to be applied for registering a move is a bit more than I was expecting ... but that feeling is maybe due to the fact that I have not used a pressure sensitive board since a very very long time.

I will do more tests today and report back if any new findings. it definitively gives the machine a bit of a "retro feeling" from back in the days.

I still think Millennium could have provided the machine as another "SKU / option" with the board like the one in the Exclusive for a higher price.

As people may have understood, such a pressure sensitive board is a big NO NO for Blitz playing.

We will see what Millennium will do over time Regards.

Fabrice
Looking for a nice Fidelity EAG or A/S and a Odin Encore. Please send me a private message.
Kasparov111
Senior Member
Posts: 1322
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2019 10:02 am

Re: Millennium King Performance first impressions

Post by Kasparov111 »

fdimeglio wrote:Hello all,

So I just received my King Performance.

See first photos here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p297lgfkg4pu ... mVdha?dl=0

The machine is quite heavy compared to the Exclusive board, which is normal I guess because it contains all the electronics now.

The board (only the squares) is the same size as the Exclusive and the machine is thicker too. The squares are recessed compared to the bezel of the machine which is a bit strange to me.

The squares are made of a nice and good plastic with nice colors. I had to tap on them to understand it was real plastic instead of wood. They are pressure sensitive. Yes, you will NEED to apply some force to register a move like on a SC9 and others in the past.

The Chessmen are quite heavy and nicely done but I would have expected a darker color for the Black side. I guess they will get some patine over time.

The LCD screen is smaller compared to a King module but it is still very readable, nice and with a backlight. The gold panel around the screen is made of plastic and is a bit (too) shiny for my taste. This will be an issue under the sun probably. They could have made it mate I guess.

The software is a very well know entity and it is the same as The King Chess 960. The menus, operation are exactly the same. Good to see the name of the opening line.

All in all, a great little machine that will satisfy a LOT of people and which is in direct competition with the DGT Centaur (who is much stronger indeed). You will need to trade engine strength with "look and feel" I guess.

I would have preferred to have the same "no press" squares IHMO. This is the only real nitpick on my side. I understand this is for lowering down the cost of the machine.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Very great little machine Regards,

Fabrice

Beautiful board congrats!
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