Cree is owned by General Electric.... Toshiba just bought Bridgelux....and throw in Philips Rebels too. Cree is the more expensive ones with newer technology coming out every few months it seems ( see latest XM-L2) with a large capital to fund its R&D. Some people say the rebels ( see Stevesleds (on sale right now) , & nano-box-reef lights) are actually better in terms of the spectra though... I would go with a mix as some companies are doing it ( eg. Crees & Philips by
http://www.marinedepot.com/Maxspect_...FILDTN-vi.html ). Nowadays on the DIY front, people are doing the full spectrum layouts as opposed to blue and white offerings though.
Also, Epistar, a taiwan based company, shares some of the same patents as Cree and is the cheapest of the 4.
regs
msjboy