Jem K1 Hazer Or Unique 2 Hazer??

[lightman02]

I can either get a brand new Martin K1 hazer or a very slightly used Unique 2 hazer for about the same price. I have had a Martin Magnum hazer, but have had a lot of problems with it in the past. However I am looking at both these units and wanted to know it anyone has any experience with them??

[bishopthomas]

How much are you looking at spending? I recently got a Radiance and love it. I have a Chauvet Arena hazer that has given me nothing but problems since day one. I finally coughed up the money for the Radiance and don't regret it one bit. I've also used a Martin Magnum hazer and had no issues with it. A local company has a pair of them and he uses them quite a bit with good success. I've heard great things about the Unique and was considering it before purchasing the Radiance but it was a bit out of my budget. For that kind of money you could get a DF-50 and have an easier time with cross rental.

[lightman02]

How much are you looking at spending? I recently got a Radiance and love it. I have a Chauvet Arena hazer that has given me nothing but problems since day one. I finally coughed up the money for the Radiance and don't regret it one bit. I've also used a Martin Magnum hazer and had no issues with it. A local company has a pair of them and he uses them quite a bit with good success. I've heard great things about the Unique and was considering it before purchasing the Radiance but it was a bit out of my budget. For that kind of money you could get a DF-50 and have an easier time with cross rental.

Thanks for the reply, I can get the Martin Or the Unique for $1300. A used DF-50 is around $1700 plus they are messy with the residue. Also I have used the radiance and they seem to clog a lot.

[Pie4Weebl]

I'm touring with a Unique 2 and I strongly dislike the effect it produces. The haze looks more like a fog and dissipates much quicker than I would like. Anytime I hit a venue with a DF-50 I use the houses hazer.

[Woodj32177]

I'm touring with a Unique 2 and I strongly dislike the effect it produces. The haze looks more like a fog and dissipates much quicker than I would like. Anytime I hit a venue with a DF-50 I use the houses hazer.

I completely concur,
I hate those Uniques with a passion,
I bought 3 of them, and they did 1/10th the job of a Df-50.
Plus 2 of the 3 needed a $750+ repair.
They drink fluid like a stagehand on a rock tour, and they have no hang time on the haze.

However, I have now moved onto a MDG Atmosphere machine, And it is by far the best hazer I have used.
I will never buy another brand of hazer.

Joshua Wood

[BillESC]

You can get a brand new Radiance with a gallon of fluid for the price of the used Unique 2. You won't be sorry.

[hazard]

I have not worked with the Jem, but I can speak to the Unique 2 and the DF-50. Yes, the DF-50 has been a workforce for years and suspends an awesome haze. However, the DF-50 is very hard to use in theatre because the thing is so **** loud. The Unique 2 haze will not suspend as long as the DF-50, but it will fill a space with very minimal noise making it more useful in a theatre environment. Also, the Unique 2 is definitely much cleaner to run than the DF-50.

[Woodj32177]

I have not worked with the Jem, but I can speak to the Unique 2 and the DF-50. Yes, the DF-50 has been a workforce for years and suspends an awesome haze. However, the DF-50 is very hard to use in theatre because the thing is so **** loud. The Unique 2 haze will not suspend as long as the DF-50, but it will fill a space with very minimal noise making it more useful in a theatre environment. Also, the Unique 2 is definitely much cleaner to run than the DF-50.

I agree, it is cleaner,
But I don't really believe that there is such a thing as "water base" haze (or fog for that matter).
It's really glycol based, and this water base nonsense is just marketing at its finest.

If you want the best hazer both in hang time, consumable usage, and quality of haze.
The MDG atmosphere blows everything else away.
However, price may kill that as a option.

Of course, this is just my .02
Joshua Wood

[David Ashton]

I love the unique hazer, I have had zero problems with my own or the ones I have sold and the fluid consumption is extremely low, I also have Jems of several types, mostly in pieces, I've just fixed one today, the unique is the first hazer I've had which has been trouble free.A short hang time can be very useful in theatre you don't want haze to hang around in the next scene.

[icewolf08]

I own a Unique2 and it has been nothing but great for us. I don't know anything about the Jem. There are some things to consider though. If you are a theatre company you should look at the AEA guidelines and make sure you get a hazer that is usable. Our other hazer, while it can really kick out haze can't be anywhere near an actor which often makes it quite useless as it would have to be offstage behind the set to be far enough away. The Unique we can usually find a place to hide in the set or cut a small opening for. If you are producing rocks shows or shows in big venues you might want something that can push out more haze on a large scale.

I will say for experience though, the Unique 2 in our 1000-seat house can do a bang up job of creating atmosphere and still be amazingly fluid efficient.

[bosox242]

I just purchased a Radiance Hazer for use in a dance piece and it has been good so far. A local regional theater has had one for a few years and it has been trouble free for them so far. I debated whether or not to demo a Unique2, but because of the purchase cost (if we decided to purchase it) my superiors opted against it.

Some general observations so far are one, it's great that it has a hanging yoke standard. I didn't have to purchase extra accessories to make it useful for my venue. Two, concerning the yoke, it comes very close to hitting the 4L bottle cap/hose when in the vertical(normal) hanging position, thus when trying to move the yoke past vertical (toward the front of the unit) in order to prop the unit up you have to remove the bottle. Three, Haze volume is good, we have about 3 minutes to haze the stage between pieces, and although it's not perfectly hazed since time is short, the designer is happy with the results. Finally, the unit is pretty quiet when at lower fan speeds.

I've also used an MDG Atmosphere which worked great, but you need to use CO2. So that is an additional consideration as to whether you can get CO2 easily, and an additional cost.

[ackdp]

Having used the Unique 2 in a number of shows in two separate theatres (one proscenium and one black box) I have found that it has low hang time, especially with non-prevailing air currents and the simple size of the proscenium space make it inefficient compared to the likes of the DF-50. However in smaller confined spaces I could never turn down the variability of the units fan and output to give me the control I need for shows, I am a little particular about my atmospherics.