Chauvet Good or Not?

[Esoteric]

Well, I have to say I am of two minds on this issue.

First off, let me say that you get what you pay for. There are some products that break the mold, but for the most part you get what you pay for.

That being said, I am not a huge Chauvet fan. I like their really low end (Rain) LED products as truss warmers or for people who just do not have the money for anything else or who are just getting into the LED market and are not sure it is for them. The Rain units are good units, just a little underpowered. For anything else Chauvet, run away fast.

That being said, I used to feel the same way about Elation. I have recently however had a chance to sit down with some Elation gear and I now put their gear in two categories. The first includes their shoebox dimmers (which are the second best shoeboxes on the market next to Leprechaun), their Design series moving lights (probably running in the second tier right now with Robe and Martin), and their high end LED units (which are on the second teir along with WDM and ColorKey, but cost more per unit and are not as cost effective). These products are not as good as the first teir gear in their respective catagories, but they are good products which will hold up under moderate stress and usually work and play well with others. The rest of their gear falls in with Chauvet gear, RUN and do not buy it.

If you can afford it, buy good gear. If not you have to decide if it is best to buy value gear (never buy cheap gear) or wait and buy good gear.

Mike

[EndHigh17]

I have a few chauvet light and again you get what you pay for I put them just above American DJ however I must say for the price i was not expecting them to be as nice as they are. I use them for youth services as just accents and not as the primary lights and they do that well. Just remember you get what you pay for.

[Nathan J]

Take this with a grain of salt, but I recently tried to order a few Chauvet lights (warming application) and my sales rep at a very large company told me they stopped carrying anything from them because the product quality and service from the manufacturer were very poor.

[Esoteric]

Interesting. On the new product lines (in their Pro Series), everything looks very nice and works really well too. I am very impressed. Of course in their pro lines you are looking at $1200-$1700 per LED PAR. Now, their cheap stuff is just terrible, I would rather buy the Chinese units.

Mike