I don't follow Chauvet as I've had some no so great experience with their stuff, It seems like ADJ has basically decided, hey lets put a laser on every fixture and call it a new product
No creativity from ADJ lately
- Thread starter tunes4046
- Start date
You are correct. They 3fx in 1 stinger gobo effect they are introducing at the DJ EXPO looks cool. It does come with a lazer, but it depends on the price. I have a feeling it will MAP at $249 or higher, and to me that's a bit high for what it will be.
The new Inno Pocket spot LZR is pointless to me. I don't want a lazer shooting out of my moving head lights.
Chauvet has come out with USB D FI connectible lights. They are pushing USB connectivity. Not sure how popular that will be moving forward, but maybe it's a good move.
It seems they are starting to abandon the under $200 effect lighting market. Their newer lights are mostly $249 or higher per fixture.
Honestly, I have more than enough effect lighting, and know it doesn't make me more money by buying new lights. I have a nice enough show to continue to use for years if I want to.
I do want the ADJ Starburst. Will see what kind of deal they are priced at the Expo before I make a purchase though. It will likely be the last light I buy for a long time unless I see something at the Expo I just have to have which I don't think will happen this year.
The new Inno Pocket spot LZR is pointless to me. I don't want a lazer shooting out of my moving head lights.
Chauvet has come out with USB D FI connectible lights. They are pushing USB connectivity. Not sure how popular that will be moving forward, but maybe it's a good move.
It seems they are starting to abandon the under $200 effect lighting market. Their newer lights are mostly $249 or higher per fixture.
Honestly, I have more than enough effect lighting, and know it doesn't make me more money by buying new lights. I have a nice enough show to continue to use for years if I want to.
I do want the ADJ Starburst. Will see what kind of deal they are priced at the Expo before I make a purchase though. It will likely be the last light I buy for a long time unless I see something at the Expo I just have to have which I don't think will happen this year.
You will Like the Starburst, after our conversation the other day I ordered one, should be here today, will work out some DMX programming for it this weekend
Yeah, nothing really interests me that I've seen come from adj lately either.
All manufacturers have had lemons but yes, for a while it seemed like chauvet was putting out a lot of unreliable product with very high failure rates.
Lately they seemed to have stepped up their game though and I think just like any other fixture you would be smart to wait and read reviews after the other guinea pi......er I mean beta testers have had their run with them.
Since the life span of most fixtures seems to be no more than two or three years before they are discontinued, I try and wait until the clearance sales are on before I buy any lighting gear.
Right now I'm trying to resist the temptation to pull the trigger on 4 of the new chauvet spot 155 movers. They are quick little suckers with an even brighter led than the 150's (32 vs 25 watts).
Or maybe I should just keep dreaming of this bad boy:
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8otXoeGx9cw
All manufacturers have had lemons but yes, for a while it seemed like chauvet was putting out a lot of unreliable product with very high failure rates.
Lately they seemed to have stepped up their game though and I think just like any other fixture you would be smart to wait and read reviews after the other guinea pi......er I mean beta testers have had their run with them.
Since the life span of most fixtures seems to be no more than two or three years before they are discontinued, I try and wait until the clearance sales are on before I buy any lighting gear.
Right now I'm trying to resist the temptation to pull the trigger on 4 of the new chauvet spot 155 movers. They are quick little suckers with an even brighter led than the 150's (32 vs 25 watts).
Or maybe I should just keep dreaming of this bad boy:
That's just how the business rolls... there's only so much they can do with LEDs without blowing the cost way up, and it's simply not worthwhile to design and manufacture a new lighting product only to sell it for less than $200. You might think that they sell thousands of each individual fixture, but the market has become much smaller.
Factor in the number of Chinese factories reaching out to U.S. DJ's directly and you can imagine that it's not the best time to be in the effect lighting business.
Factor in the number of Chinese factories reaching out to U.S. DJ's directly and you can imagine that it's not the best time to be in the effect lighting business.
Oh I agree. Their golden age just ended. I feel when LED first came out, and all the new effects came out is when they grew a lot. 2009 to 2013 were good years for them. Now that the DJ Industry has brought into effect lighting, and LED Up Lighting, there isn't going to be an influx of DJs purchasing effect lighting for a long time to come.
Just look at the effect lighting videos on YouTube. Some popular lights have maybe 50,000 views after a few years. Maybe 10% of them actually purchased the product....so 5,000 units sold on a popular effect world wide...MAYBE that many.
The more expensive effects. Probably less than 1,000 units get sold generally speaking world wide. There are only so many clubs and bars purchasing lighting along with DJs, production companies, and bands, churches etc.
It's a niche product. ADJ threw a bg pizza party and gave away all these lights in 2012, and 2013. Times must have been good with profits. 2014/2015...they cut down a lot of the freebies, and no more big pizza party.
I bet by 2020 some of these companies are going to close their doors. Maybe not ADJ or Chauvet, but the smaller lighting companies who run tight with expenses are going to have a tough time moving product moving forward.
technology evolves and something new will come out smaller, lighter Fixtures that produce bigger effects, may a atmospheric effect that no one has seen before, batteries that last 6 months on one charge,, there will always be something new, some bigger than others, heck I remember in the 80's an ADJ halogen effect like the aggressor was $400 weighed 30 pounds and had 10 min run cycles, it will change again we certainly haven't reached the pinnacle of technology
Last edited:
I'll see what ADJ, Chauvet, Blizzard, et. al. have tomorrow when I get down to the DJ Expo. I'm OK with lighting for what I do. Some battery powered units would be nice, but cost vs. benefit aren't there yet for me .. I just don't do enough to recover the costs. No .. will be searching for tops to replace the JBL PRX and subs to replace the Yamahas .. a lot will depend on the deals, as I'm not in as much of a hurry.
I think one of the next big steps will be bigger better wireless battery powered speaker technology, I could get a quality 18 inch sub and 10 -12 inch top all wireless with batteries that would last 8 hours and max volume, that would be awesome, imagine setting up you console, place speakers and hitting a pair button and everything working flawlessly
this is nothing new, years ago, not sure, but easily 10, the first "Pocket Scan" had a lazer built into it....
Attachments
That's a big maybe... because 50,000 views doesn't mean that 50,000 individual people watched. I'd be surprised of .10% of the people who watched a YouTube video about a lighting product actually purchased the product.
I think LED technology is starting to kill itself.
Think about it.
Years ago, we'd buy new lights and use them until they died.
Or we'd wait the expensive halogen bulbs blew, and then use it as an excuse to buy something new.
LED's last so darn long, people hold onto them a lot longer.
Probably why they are combining two or three effects in one fixture.
But in the end, that too will kill it's own sales,
as now you have several lights that you DON'T need to buy right now.
Think about it.
Years ago, we'd buy new lights and use them until they died.
Or we'd wait the expensive halogen bulbs blew, and then use it as an excuse to buy something new.
LED's last so darn long, people hold onto them a lot longer.
Probably why they are combining two or three effects in one fixture.
But in the end, that too will kill it's own sales,
as now you have several lights that you DON'T need to buy right now.
I was for the most part very unimpressed with the new lighting effects at the DJ EXPO. I noticed some of the high end moving heads from Chauvet were BRIGHT...very bright beams and cool effects. The Martin Rush moving heads were also very good. However, with effect lighting, I was pretty disappointed. Nothing motivated me to even consider purchasing any of it.
I purchased a $5 "CAESAR" little light up UFO light from Pro X Stands. I figured it was only 5 bucks and I could give it to my son as a Souvenir Toy to put in his room. For 5 bucks it's not bad. A better little effect light than the $20 to $30 ones found at Spencer Gifts or Wal Mart.
I purchased a $5 "CAESAR" little light up UFO light from Pro X Stands. I figured it was only 5 bucks and I could give it to my son as a Souvenir Toy to put in his room. For 5 bucks it's not bad. A better little effect light than the $20 to $30 ones found at Spencer Gifts or Wal Mart.
They did not have any ADJ Starbursts in stock/for sale at the ADJ booth. The guy there told me they stopped manufacturing those, and what's in stock at retail locations is going to be it for a while to come until they do another production run of it (If they do another run at all) since it was last year's model from Startec Series.
The only light I was looking at seriously, was the Blizzard Weather Station .. 8 very bright mini spots, but at $500, wasn't night and day different than my 4Bars. I might get one of the Chauvet Freedom Stick packages at some point, but I can get them cheaper than the show price so there was no need to move.
DJ at the last wedding (as photog) had a weather system..not impressed. Not that bright, he had it pointed at the far wall of the room (BIG room..he put a second set of remote speakers halfway across the room) and it never made the wall, even with the lights turned off. Looks impressive in the videos, but less so in person. Maybe he could have done more with it..as it was setup all you got were bright lights in the eyes when you looked at it.
he also had a swarm fx 5, kept the laser off, I can see some potential from this light, does what a mini kinta does and a bit more. Might want 2 though.
he also had a swarm fx 5, kept the laser off, I can see some potential from this light, does what a mini kinta does and a bit more. Might want 2 though.
Should have been clearer .. it was the Weather System EXA (there is also a lower power Weather System) ... Weather System™ EXA and they are VERY bright.
The only light I was looking at seriously, was the Blizzard Weather Station .. 8 very bright mini spots, but at $500, wasn't night and day different than my 4Bars. I might get one of the Chauvet Freedom Stick packages at some point, but I can get them cheaper than the show price so there was no need to move.
I looked at the freedom sticks - but I just can't see how I would benefit from or use them - other than strapping them to the ceiling for a modern club / skating rink look.