Par 64 LED

[bhamp10]

We are looking to upgrade our boring can lights to some par 64 LED lights. I was doing some research and was curious how these two differ. One is from a reliable site Musicians Friend and the other is just an ebay store. Is there any reason not to go with the cheaper one on ebay? Thanks for the help!

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com...ing?sku=803199

http://cgi.ebay.com/LED-Par-64-183-U...d=p3286.c0.m14

[Nathan J]

There are several reviews around the internet regarding this type of LED par. Overall, the ones that you posted from tend to be very well liked in the comparisons. I've done some looking into them for us too.

The one you posted is an update to the ones sold on Solaris (http://www.solarisnetwork.com/item_2765) These are also very similar (may be the same with different branding) to the http://www.wiedamark.com cans.


Note: These cans typically put out about as much as a 250w light. There's some good info here: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/l...y-usefull.html

[james tucker]

I have 4 Weidamark 64's and 4 of the solaris cans - no problems yet. I've used them to light up props on stage, on floor bases lighting up musicians, back light for concert stuff, and for colored front light. Love them to death.... Still would not use them to try to make a usable "white" for front face light.

Here is a picture of a system I designed for a portable church here in town - based around 16 solaris LED 64's and a 4 Par 46s for white front light.



Another setup for a rock show - 8 LED 64's and 6 Color Palettes


I've had a great experience with the $100 LED's for small/medium gigs and my stuff gets thrown around wayyy more than most people.

[Nathan J]

Cool, thanks, James.

Another model I've been eying (although there seem to be no reviews anywhere online yet) is their 1w version. It's $229 and has 36 bulbs. I'd really like to know how it stacks against Elation's Opti RGB ($500)

http://www.stageoutlet.com/browse/br...key/10206.html

[bhamp10]

James what kind of board do you use to run the LED lights? Do they require dimmer packs or do they all just daisy chain and go to the board? Do you use a special DMX cable or just a typical mic cables?

[theatre4jc]

Can't speak for James on his exact setup but they do not require dimmer packs. I have a couple American DJ Par 64s. They make 2 models the 64 and the Pro64. I would always go with the pro version over the regular Par64. It's got a little more powerful LEDs in it. I would always recommend higher quality lights but mine have been going strong on the road with a traveling theatre ministry for a little over a year with no problem and not much tend care either. Lot of volunteer hands means being droped and thrown around.

Out of the two mentioned in the first question the American DJ one will be better for you but I'd still say get a stronger LED. But for the money Nathan's 1W could be your best bet.

[bhamp10]

So you would say it would be worth paying twice the price for the higher quality lights when I could get two of the lower quality for the same price? Just curious... thanks,

[waynehoskins]

Originally Posted by bhamp10

So you would say it would be worth paying twice the price for the higher quality lights when I could get two of the lower quality for the same price? Just curious... thanks,

I'm a conventionals guy myself, but in anything I end up doing, the answer is usually "absolutely". Quality over quantity most any day.

For example, I'm much more willing to pay $80 for an Altman P64 than $40 for an ADJ P64. The ADJ (aside from being a Cheap Lights From China) is just a junkier light (even though there's not much in a PAR), and undoubtedly I'll have to replace it in a shorter time than the Alt. Same for the knockoff Source Fours. Cheaper, but a real S4 will last longer and make more light come out the front.

I usually buy older stuff used, fix it up a little, and make it work well. There are good deals to be had, though not quite so much in LED fixtures since they're so new. Conventionals, though, give me a 360Q any day: they're 30 years old, but they just work.

[james tucker]

Originally Posted by bhamp10

James what kind of board do you use to run the LED lights? Do they require dimmer packs or do they all just daisy chain and go to the board? Do you use a special DMX cable or just a typical mic cables?

The LED's have onboard dimming. I did use two dimmer packs to run the 8 (conventional) Par 64's for front light. For the truss setup, I did daisy chain the fixtures along the truss, for the portable church setup, I had them buy a DMX splitter and make power/dmx looms to spider out to the trees to save setup time.

(umbrella of mercy)

When I bought my first set of scanners and dimmer packs in 2002 I used any XLR I could find - I never had a problem for six years.


I needed more cables for larger setups, I wanted to make some quality cables for my shortys. I did some research and found that Markertek sells a good DMX cable by the foot for less than 50 cents a foot..... the downside is that is blue, like Cat 5 cable.... I've bought 900 feet of the stuff and made a pile of cables (16 x 3', 8 x 12' , 8 x 25', 9 x 50', and 1 x 100'. The upside to the blue color is when you are working with volunteers, you can tell them "all the blue cables are mine" and you don't walk home with the random mic cable used to mic up the piano.