Lightsaber Soundboard Comparison: Baselit RGB vs Xenopixel vs SN-Pixel vs Golden Harvest vs Proffie
One table comparing the soundboards in today’s sabers: blade support, setup method, customization, Bluetooth and who each board is for.
Short answer
Pick by blade and by how much tinkering you want. Baselit RGB boards are cheapest and toughest for dueling. Xenopixel and SN-Pixel V4 are the easy neopixel boards. Golden Harvest adds richer blade effects without coding. Proffieboard does almost anything but is configured in code through the Arduino IDE.
The soundboard decides what your saber can do: which blades it can drive, how smoothly it reacts to swings, how many sound fonts it holds and how you change them. The table below covers the boards you will meet in sabers for sale today, from $60 baselit duelers to $600 custom builds.
The comparison table
| Board | Blade type | How you change settings | Customization | Bluetooth / app | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baselit RGB (e.g. TXQ RGB S4/S16, generic “SmoothSwing RGB”) | Baselit only (LED in hilt) | Hilt buttons | Low: color wheel, a few fonts | Rare | Dueling on a budget, kids, first saber |
| Xenopixel V3 | Neopixel (most also run baselit) | Hilt buttons, SD card | Medium: preloaded fonts and blade effects | On some versions | Easy first neopixel saber |
| SN-Pixel V4 / V4 Pro | Neopixel | Hilt buttons, SD card config; app on Pro versions | Medium | Pro versions | Easy neopixel with more effects |
| Golden Harvest V3 | Neopixel | SD card config files | High, no code | Check version | Effects-focused buyers who won’t code |
| CFX (Plecter Labs) | Baselit and neopixel | SD card config files | High | Add-on | Premium custom builds |
| Proffieboard V2.2 / V3.9 | Baselit and neopixel, up to 6 LED channels | Config file compiled in Arduino IDE; optional on-saber edit mode | Very high: open-source ProffieOS | Add-on module | Tinkerers, custom builders |
Prices move constantly, so we left them out of the table. As a rough guide, baselit RGB sabers start well under $100, Xenopixel and SN-Pixel sabers cluster around $120–$250, and Golden Harvest, CFX and Proffie builds usually start above that.
Baselit RGB boards
A baselit board drives one LED module in the hilt, usually red, green and blue dies (sometimes with a fourth white or amber die). The light shines up a hollow blade lined with diffusion film.
Strengths. Cheap, simple and tough. Because the LED sits inside the hilt, a hard hit can crack a blade but cannot damage the electronics in it. Spare blades are cheap tubes.
Limits. No ignition animations along the blade, and brightness fades toward the tip. Effects are flashes and flickers of the whole blade. Sound fonts are fewer and are usually changed by cycling through a menu on the buttons.
Xenopixel V3
Xenopixel (often shortened to “Xeno”) is one of the most common neopixel boards, found in LGT Saberstudio cores and many sabers built on them.
Strengths. Ready to use out of the box, with preloaded fonts, smooth swing and blade effects such as blaster deflects, lockup and tip drag. Everything is changed on the hilt buttons, so there is nothing to install.
Limits. Blade styles are mostly fixed by the firmware, so you can choose between them but not design your own.
SN-Pixel V4
SN-Pixel V4 (SNV4) is the other workhorse neopixel board, common in TXQ and many reseller neopixel builds. The Pro version adds an app for changing colors and settings from a phone.
For how it stacks up against the open-source option, see SN-Pixel V4 vs Proffie.
Golden Harvest V3
Golden Harvest sits between the easy boards and Proffie. You get far more blade-effect variety than Xeno or SNV4, set through configuration files on the SD card rather than code. It costs noticeably more.
CFX
Plecter Labs’ Crystal Focus X is a long-standing premium board in custom builds. It is configured with text files on the SD card and is known for its sound quality and polish. It usually appears only in higher-end custom sabers.
Proffieboard V2.2 and V3.9
Proffieboard is an open-source board by Fredrik Hübinette, made by Artekit and running ProffieOS. It can do nearly anything, because the blade styles are code.
- Hardware (V3.9): 80 MHz ARM processor, 512 kB of flash (double the V2.2’s 256 kB, for more presets), and six MOSFET LED outputs, so it can run a baselit tri- or quad-LED, a neopixel blade, and accent LEDs at once. It drives 4–8 Ω speakers and charges over USB at about 450 mA.
- Setup: you write a configuration file listing presets, fonts and blade styles, then compile and upload it with the Arduino IDE. Many sellers ship Proffie sabers with an on-saber edit mode (Fett263’s prop file is the common one), so owners can change colors and fonts without a computer.
- Fonts: WAV files, normally 44.1 kHz, 16-bit, mono.
Who should skip it: anyone who wants to set it and forget it. A well-configured Proffie is the best saber you can own; a badly configured one is frustrating.
How to choose
- Will you duel hard? Baselit, any board. See baselit vs neopixel durability.
- Want a neopixel with no fuss? Xenopixel V3 or SN-Pixel V4.
- Want more effects but no code? Golden Harvest.
- Want total control? Proffieboard.
Questions people ask
Which lightsaber soundboard is best for beginners?
For a first neopixel saber, Xenopixel V3 or SN-Pixel V4. Both come preloaded with fonts and blade effects and are changed from the hilt buttons or an SD card, with no coding. For a first dueling saber, a baselit RGB board is cheaper and puts the LED in the hilt, where hits can't reach it.
Do I need to know how to code to use a Proffieboard?
Not to use one that's already set up, and many sellers ship Proffie sabers with an on-saber edit mode for colors and fonts. To change presets, blade styles or button behaviour beyond that, you edit a configuration file and upload it to the board with the Arduino IDE.
Is Golden Harvest better than Xenopixel?
It offers more blade-effect variety and finer control while still being configured without code, and it costs more. If you only want a bright, reliable neopixel saber with good sound, Xenopixel does the job for less.
Can I swap the soundboard in my saber?
Usually only by replacing the whole chassis (the core), and only if one is made for your hilt's inner diameter. Boards are wired to the speaker, switches, battery and blade connector, so a swap is a soldering job rather than a plug-in upgrade.