| Price | Amazon |
| Release | April 11, 2023 |
| Compatibility | PS5 / PS4 / PC |
Introduction
The Qanba Q7 Obsidian 2 is an officially Sony licensed arcade stick that has a Sanwa JLF joystick and Sanwa OBSF-30 buttons in the Vewlix layout. It is a sequel to the critically acclaimed Qanba Obsidian.
The control panel includes PS, L3, R3, turbo, and mute, the latter of which is to mute your microphone input. As for the toggle switches:
- DP / LS / RS
- PS5 / PS4 / PC
- Tournament lock
Of course, there is a touchpad. There is, again, a 3.5 mm mic input with a mute button, and the cable is located on the left side. There is also an anti-slip base pad.
The star of the show is the joystick interchangeability. Sanwa JLF joystick tops are swappable. Included is a ball top and bat top. With thumb-screw access, the right side compartment can hold two joystick tops as well as USB cables.
Performance
As the Obsidian 2 is fully decked out with Sanwa parts, you can expect the best of the best. Sanwa joysticks are known for their responsivity, reliability, and clicky feedback. The same applies to the buttons, which have the optimal travel distance, meaning not too deep that they take long to register a press, yet not too short to activate unintentionally. The Obsidian 2 is slightly heavier than its predecessor, enhancing stability, especially in addition to the anti-slip base pad.
Hardware
We briefly glossed over thumb-screw access. Its main appeal is unscrewing the right side compartment with simply your thumb instead of needing to have a specialized tool for that. However, this does not mean that the compartment is flimsy, which is good. The same applies to the left side compartment with thumb screws.
Like the Drone 2, there is dedicated joystick access from the bottom of the Obsidian 2. Otherwise, to detach the bottom panel, you are eight screws away from doing so, and those are not thumb screws. At least the interior, where you will find the PCB, is neat. Speaking of PCBs and compatibility, since the Obsidian 2 is officially Sony licensed, you can expect it to work on a future PlayStation console as well, making it a decent investment.
Appearance
The Obsidian 2 is quite sleek, minimalist, and elegant, but its top panel makes it show fingerprint smudges with ease, so if you are concerned about aesthetics, you can have a microfiber cloth around to wipe the smudges down, which you can get into the habit of after a play session. Otherwise, if you replace the art, smudges might show less, especially because the original color is black, which is notorious for showing smudges.
Speaking of which, we at The Arcade Stick have a custom art service. Check out these artworks our Marques West and Carlos Martinez made for their clients’ Obsidian 2:
Another thing worth mentioning is that, while it is nice that the Obsidian 2 now has storage space on each side, the LED from the original Obsidian seems to be missing in action when it comes to the aesthetics department, such as if others see the sides of your arcade stick at a tournament.
Conclusion
While there are downgrades from the original Obsidian, the Obsidian 2 still offers enough innovation to deserve a buy.
- Sanwa parts
- Nice & weighty
- Anti-slip design
- Thumb-screw storage
- Neat interior
- Headset port
- Sony licensed
- Included accessories
- Lots of screws
- Fingerprint smudges
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐