Head to head

Head PerfectControl 16 vs Tecnifibre E-Matrix 16

E-Matrix 16 leads on 4 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is stiffness, where E-Matrix 16 is 7 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Head

PerfectControl 16

Polyolefin · 16 ga

Tecnifibre

E-Matrix 16

Nylon/Polyurethane · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
15114th pct
1437th pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2018th pct
2019th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9388th pct
9493rd pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
2.65th pct
2.76th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.39420th pct
0.38415th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.14993rd pct
0.14291st 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 PerfectControl 16 at 52 lb

String E-Matrix 16 at 55.9 lb 25.4 kg

Coming from E-Matrix 16 at 52 lb

String PerfectControl 16 at 46.5 lb 21.1 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.

PerfectControl 16 mains / E-Matrix 16 crosses

Stiffness10th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss19th pct · 1 measured
Energy return91st pct · 1 measured
Spin potential6th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite19th pct · 1 measured
String friction92nd pct · 1 measured

E-Matrix 16 mains / PerfectControl 16 crosses

Stiffness10th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss19th pct · 1 measured
Energy return91st pct · 1 measured
Spin potential6th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite15th pct · 1 measured
String friction92nd 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.

PerfectControl 16

~35 hours of play

E-Matrix 16

~34 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Head PerfectControl 16 Polyolefin16find15120932.60.3940.149
Tecnifibre E-Matrix 16 Nylon/Polyurethane16find14320942.70.3840.142

Add a third string PerfectControl 16 in full E-Matrix 16 in full