Quote:
Originally Posted by sphelps
I don't recall a time T5HOs where much more than they are now, I remember some fixtures costing more than others but it's still that way. The difference I find is that back then fixtures and bulbs were hard to get in Canada and you had to order them from the states which cost a lot with shipping and duty. Maybe I'm not going back as far as some others remember.
I don't really buy into the fact LEDs will come down as much as people seem to think. Prices will drop a little as more competition comes in and more products become available but I don't expect to see a 4K fixture sell for 1K in a few years unless it's discontinued, refurbished or used. You can buy cheap LED fixtures now but they don't have controllers or quality LEDs. Solaris fixtures were pricey when they came out and that was quite a long time ago yet today's fixtures are still in the same range if not more, they are however better fixtures but that's the same with any market (this years cars are better than last years but new price is still the same). So how long before LEDs are cheap? We're not getting any younger  |
Cant agree with you there.
LED business is EXPLODING, there are tonnes of new developments in the technology and manufacturing process and more and more companies joining the fray either directly or through joint ventures...this is called an emerging market and the automobile market is an established and stagnant market with no new players joining the fray for some time....electronic vehicles however fit perfectly into the emerging market category with the first all electric Chevy volt having a stocker of arund 45,000$ (and the first one sold at auction for over 200,000$) with Chevy already anticipating a better version (longer travel per charge) and a lower sticker price in the next model year...
This is just the laws of supply and demand at work here, as more competiton enters the supply side, competition leads to lower prices unless there is as much of a significant increase in demand..which given the hobby, seems unlikely.
Look at how much an old aqualight Advance would have cost you 7 or 8 years ago...over 2K for a 48" one and all they had was MH...no led or supplements.
now you can buy a comparable unit for less than half of that price that comes with LEDs and supplements and offer a better design to boot.
There are already these "cheap" designs you metioned...these will only get more advanced as time goes by...I would be shicked if n the next 3 years, we didnt have a "cheap" model that rivalled everything the current Vertex can do and then some.
This process has already been slowed down due to some patent issues (pfo solaris anyone) in the states but that too wll pass and lead to a eve bigger wave of manufacturers getting involved.