Head to head

Diadem Elite XT 16 vs Luxilon LXN Smart 16L (1.25)

Elite XT 16 leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is ball bite, where Elite XT 16 is 10 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Diadem

Elite XT 16

Polyester · 16 ga

Luxilon

LXN Smart 16L (1.25)

Polyester · 16L ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
20573rd pct
20169th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
4068th pct
4371st pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
8628th pct
8733rd pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
8.798th pct
6.889th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.65499th pct
0.54088th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.07513th pct
0.07921st pct

Bars are percentile against all 788 strings, and the marked side is the one that measures better, which is not always the one you want. A firmer bed is worse for your elbow and better for your control, and no measurement knows which of those you came for.

Which one wins, by problem

Each string's standing on the site's rankings, out of every measured string in the database. This is where a comparison stops being arithmetic and starts being a decision.

Swapping between them: what tension?

Bed stiffness is published at one reference tension, so the only honest conversion is to scale it. These are starting points from 52 lb, not prescriptions. The calculator takes your own tension.

Coming from Elite XT 16 at 52 lb

String LXN Smart 16L (1.25) at 52.9 lb 24.0 kg

Coming from LXN Smart 16L (1.25) at 52 lb

String Elite XT 16 at 51.1 lb 23.2 kg

Hybrid: what if you used both?

Estimated, not measured. No hybrid combination has been tested as a bed. These figures are the two strings' own lab measurements weighted by how much of the bed each one actually is. Treat them as a guide to which way a pairing moves, never as lab data.

Elite XT 16 mains / LXN Smart 16L (1.25) crosses

Stiffness71st pct · 1 measured
Tension loss69th pct · 1 measured
Energy return30th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential97th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite98th pct · 1 measured
String friction15th pct · 1 measured

LXN Smart 16L (1.25) mains / Elite XT 16 crosses

Stiffness70th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss70th pct · 1 measured
Energy return30th pct · 1 measured
Spin potential92nd pct · 1 measured
Ball bite91st pct · 1 measured
String friction19th pct · 1 measured

Open this in the hybrid builder

Which goes dead first?

Estimated from tension loss, which is the only thing the database measures about ageing. This is when the bed stops playing the way you strung it, not when the string breaks.

Elite XT 16

~20 hours of play

LXN Smart 16L (1.25)

~19 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Diadem Elite XT 16 Polyester16find20540868.70.6540.075
Luxilon LXN Smart 16L (1.25) Polyester16Lfind20143876.80.5400.079

Add a third string Elite XT 16 in full LXN Smart 16L (1.25) in full