These two statements appear to be incongruous.
I suspect your definition of "strip lights" needs some refinement.
The best
cyc lights I've ever used are those from
Ianiro/
QuartzColor, which used to be sold in the US by
Strand. The
Iris model for the top and the Orion for the bottom. Link to
catalog.
Altman,
L&E, and
Selecon make adequate (but not as good) fixtures also.
If space is at a premium, and it sounds as though it may be as "the bigger the spread, the better," the
L&E MR-16 MiniStrip is likely your best solution.
I've ignored LEDs, which I don't think are ready for prime time yet. (Although I am sorry I missed investigating the
Altman Spectra Cyc at
LDi.
) The
CK Color Blaze and
PixelRange Pixelines are fine products, but cannot achieve the same eveness of an assymetric
reflector fixture. I'll issue a preemptive
strike before a certain member jumps in and regales us with how great the
Selador 7-color
LED strips are: They're still not bright enough! (And technically, they're striplights.)
Finally, what are you using now, and what are your chief complaints? Have you tried
Roscolux Cyc Diffusion (R120, 121, 122) and/or
Cyc Sliks (R124, 125, 126)?