haha idk man. I am inclined to trust Tony's posts here for a lot of reasons:
1) I've read many of his posts and they are all well articulated and make sense
but the most important reason is:
2) he posts videos and pictures to back up his claims. I have seen him hit the ball, which confirms that the posts he makes match up to the skills he demonstrates.
I am still reading your posts with an open mind. However, I do not believe that I have been unlucky with a "bad batch" of HN3 rubber. many reputable posts here have reported the same thing.
@JJ Ng is a long time user of HN3 and he reports the same thing as well. Since you mentioned video evidence of pros, to me, it seems like their rubbers are also more matte and not very glossy. For all of these reasons, I am inclined to believe that this is how DHS is making these H3N rubbers now.
So then the question becomes- why? Since DHS sponsors so many of the top players in the world, surely these pros have had some input into the decision. Tony's answer about the sponge seems logical. I will also agree with you that a Tackier (stickier/more shiny) topsheet should grip the rubber more....but how much grip do you really need to produce a quality shot? I was able to lift backspin balls with tenergy 5...this was not a tacky rubber. I am able to do with my H3N too...I would say its easier but its also a different technique than i use with tenergy05.
To answer your question about my rubber- yes i clean after every practice. I use water sometimes, and other times i used Tibhar GRIP. but this test was done right out of the box. also after i boosted with 2 layers of regular seamoon. The tackiness did not change with boosting, but the performance definitely did. Also, since i played with the rubber unboosted for 2 weeks before actually boosting, i was able to visually see the expansion of the rubber from the boosting effect. I had to trim boosted rubber down to fit nicely on the paddle again.
anyways, I digress.