also is it really as tacky as H3?

well to be fair their pro version tenergies are probably slightly harder than the commercial version(of course still softer than their forehands),

but much harder than the average euro/jap rubber, which i find inferior in terms of smashing, when compared to H2 or TG3 for example

Would you say Tau requires a full and fast swing like it´s needed with H3 Neo, or can I swing like using a Tenergy 05? How is the catapult effect of Xiom Tau compared to both rubbers?

I generally agree with the original poster.  I like the rubber quite a bit and it does have a rock hard sponge.  I did not find it unduly sensitive to incoming spin, but it is a spiny rubber, so the incoming spin grabs the topsheet if you play passively.  I tend to have fairly aggressive game and impart my own spin whenever possible.  If you do that, Tau is actually fairly forgiving.  More so than the DHS Neo rubbers I have tried.  It is not especially fast on flat shots, but blisteringly fast on loopdrives.

If you have the touch for thin contact, you can make really heavy short loops that kick all over the place after contacting the table.

As a disclaimer: I play with a thin blade that has hard outer plies and has good flex.  It seems to make good match with the rubber and helps with dwell time.

ILya

You wrote in other thread about Aurus on the bh. You can compare Aurus against Tau ? Thanks.

There are some similarities between the Whale 2 and Tau.  They generally encourage similar playing style.  Tau, to me, is a little spinnier on attacking low underspin balls, while Whale 2 is a little better at driving through spin.

Away from the table, Tau seems to have more top end speed with similar spin.  It is an odd effect since on slower shots Tau has short(ish) dwell time, while on harder shots the dwell is a little longer than expected, so I can really make the ball spin on big loops.

Keep in mind that I have tried a few sheets of Whale 2 and they were quite dissimilar from each other.  The best Whale 2 sheet I had was fairly close to Tau, while the rest of them were rather different.

I ultimately gave up on Haifu rubbers fo rthe same reason I gave up on DHS: inconsistency.  If DHS or Haifu could come up with asimialr rubber formulation and produce it consistently in a commercially available product, I would be playing with it rather than turning toward more expensive rubbers like Tau.

http://www.tabletennis11.com/eur_eng/tt-rubber-xiom-tau#.UXTlJrXqlBk - http://www.tabletennis11.com/eur_eng/tt-rubber-xiom-tau#.UXTlJrXqlBk

Tau is somewhere between TG3 Neo and H3 Neo in terms of playing characteristics, but with a little more speed and a little more dwell time on harder shots.  DHS rubbers are a little stickier, or at least commercial versions are.  Provincial H3 I played with a while back seemed to have similar level of tack to Tau.  I have not spent enough time with National team H3 to know how they compare.

Tau has nicely high throw on brushing contact, similarly to H3 Neo, but at higher speeds the throw is a little lower while retaining spin.

Back when I played with chinese rubbers, I liked H2 Neo the most, so Tau is, in essence, a replacement for that.  It has similar enough feel with a little more dynamics.  It blocks a little better than than H2 Neo.  It pushes a little worse: H2 Neo has extra tack that helps with aggressive pushes.  Looping over the table is similar, with Tau being a touch more forgiving.  Driving underspin is similar, although H2 produced flatter and lower bounce shots that were harder to return.  Tau is a little more forgiving, so I can make for a bit more variation with it though.  Counterlooping is much easier with Tau (not sure why).  Driving through spin was easier with H2 Neo, I think.  With Tau, it is a lot more controllable to use the incoming spin for an effortless counterloop: cover the ball and follow through; the ball ends up super loaded and hops all over the place.

Bottom line: pure power game was a little easier with H2 Neo.  With Tau, I can still play my power game, but it is easier to take a little pace off and hit some nasty angles.  With Tau it is also easier for me to make a slow spinny loop that almost double bounces on the opponent's side of the table.  I have been working on that shot as a variation for my 3rd ball attack and Tau is unusually good for it, despite its speed reserves.

ILya

I used back in the glue days.

The rubbers I mentioned were all Neo versions and I did not alter them in any way.

ILya

Thanks for the info :)

Xiom Tau should have been The solution. The only facts I can say and share are these two: very hard sponge (possibly like 42deg. on dhs scale, as mentioned above), quite heavy (55grams cut on average blade).

Unplayable on hinoki 1ply blades. Tuning did not help.

TY General. S  .............

 on another note. there is no best. there is only preference another persons preference will not be the same as yours

Bloody hell, this is one proper cannon! Probably the fastest setup I have ever played with. What's more, thanks to the tacky topsheet Tau's throw angle is ridiculously high, higher than with anything like Neo Hurricane 3, MX-P or even Tenergy 05.  Oodles of spin on serves ...  

I've tried playing with commercial Neo Hurricane 3/Skyline 2 in the past, but Tau seems to be far superior that either of these. 

i guess ill be expecting the rubbers any time soon now :D. ill treat you to a pint or 5 of Guiness or Vodka in return

guilty as charged.

but I didn't try it. (except a couple of loops). It was for my teammate, who has a lot of power (probably more than Ma Long) :)

Well, Tau was slow.

The reason is twofold: 1) it is very, very, very tacky. It is so tacky I give it to my wife to wax her forearms. 2) it is completely untuned (no booster in the sponge). At least, the one they sell in italy.

Now that I've boosted it with one layer of seamoon, one of falco, and also one layer of falco on the topsheet, and removed some tack with a degreaser, it seems like a playable rubber. But I still have to try it with some human, not a robot. And then again, a tg3 NEO with the same treatment would not be worse I think.

Unfortunately I had a minor shoulder strain and will be going on vacation for a week..

So won't be able to hit with it for another two weeks. Will try to post an honest review after a week of use.

I've used Thors, Vega China and switched to Rakza 7 for both FH and BH. Giving this tacky tensor a try and hopefully it's more than an overpriced sheet of H3.

VDEOS

once my camcorder charger arrives i shall add some video and compare with my bread and butter combo..

if the sponge was a few degrees softer might make it a better rubber of the get go and more natural bounce

It's like Vega China on steroids.

Super predictable, absolute monster on top spins and loops. I think it chops decently too.

Not so great for flat hits though. I think the best rubber I've ever had for flat hits would be Palio Macro Era.

Oh I should mention, this was on clipper CC.  Only differences I found: its heavier than h3 neo prov.  It throws a little bit differently.  Better service, same short game, more pop on loops.  Great stuff.