Chauvet SlimPar Pro RGBA vs Tri

[jtvd]

The school I work at is looking to update our lighting. Up until this point we have been doing almost entirely white lighting due to laziness and lack of additional fixtures to gel. Right now all we have is 20 ETC S4's in front of the stage as white light.

The space is used for theater, orchestra/band/choir concerts, meetings, assemblies, and weekly chapels.

I'm trying to add 15-20 or so LED fixtures above our stage to use as a general color wash to help with theater productions and other events.

The stage is 30' wide and 25' deep and about 12' high (there are acoustic panels hung above the stage with 3 rows of pipe for lighting)

I'd love to hear a professional or experienced opinion. Do you think the Chauvet SlimPar Pros would work well in this situation? Or am I asking too much from these fixtures?

 

[JD]

Try them before you buy them. Chauvet LEDs have come a long way, but I just did a show this weekend that had a lot of them in the house system and was reminded of how much of a problem the low end curve is. Tricky to get a good smooth fade up from black.

On the bright side, the newer Chauvets using the 3 watt tricolor LEDs really do put out a reasonable amount.

As one might expect, you can pay between $200 and $3,500 for a fixture. There is a reason for this!

 

[jtvd]

Try them before you buy them. Chauvet LEDs have come a long way, but I just did a show this weekend that had a lot of them in the house system and was reminded of how much of a problem the low end curve is. Tricky to get a good smooth fade up from black.

On the bright side, the newer Chauvets using the 3 watt tricolor LEDs really do put out a reasonable amount.

As one might expect, you can pay between $200 and $3,500 for a fixture. There is a reason for this!

How is the light output of the 3 watt SlimPars compared to the RGBA units with more 1 watt LEDs?

 

[JD]

How is the light output of the 3 watt ProPars compared to the RGBA units with more 1 watt LEDs?

Well, the pro par RGBA uses 42 one watt LEDs, and the TRI par uses 18 three watt LEDs, however, the 3 watt LED's are actually 3 one watt LEDs in one package, or 54 watts. Didn't do a side-by-side but I would expect the TRIs to be a bit brighter (54 watts vs 42 watts.) Of course "Should" and "Does" are two different things.

The ones I used this week were the TRIs. I would expect the RGBA units to have a better color. I found the TRIs to be lacking in amber. The fixtures were a bit blue when mixed to white.

EDIT:
By the way, that crazy diffuser plate in the TRIs actually does seam to work with regards to getting rid of that "bundle of laser pointers" effect the earlier products had.

 

[jtvd]

Well, the pro par RGBA uses 42 one watt LEDs, and the TRI par uses 18 three watt LEDs, however, the 3 watt LED's are actually 3 one watt LEDs in one package, or 54 watts. Didn't do a side-by-side but I would expect the TRIs to be a bit brighter (54 watts vs 42 watts.) Of course "Should" and "Does" are two different things.

The ones I used this week were the TRIs. I would expect the RGBA units to have a better color. I found the TRIs to be lacking in amber. The fixtures were a bit blue when mixed to white.

Could you make any comparison of the TRI units to a conventional 300w Par 56 or 500w par 64 with primary color gels? I know the transparency would alter results but it would be great to have a rough idea.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

I would also suggest you contact your local vendors to get some demo units from Chauvet, Elation or others and then shoot those out in your space.

 

[jtvd]

I've also been hearing about the new Blizzard Q12 units. Has anyone done a side by side with Chauvet SlimPar Pro? Any thoughts on the Q12 units?

 

[JD]

Could you make any comparison of the TRI units to a conventional 300w Par 56 or 500w par 64 with primary color gels? I know the transparency would alter results but it would be great to have a rough idea.

300 watt par would be brighter when both were set to white. HOWEVER, a deep blue gel has a transmission factor of about 1%, so when you get into the rich primary colors, the TRI wins as there is no filtering loss.

 

[JohnD]

I've also been hearing about the new Blizzard Q12 units. Has anyone done a side by side with Chauvet SlimPar Pro? Any thoughts on the Q12 units?

TJ Cornish had this to say over at soundforums.net:
Chauvet SlimPar Pro RGBA Review
He had also previously tested the Blizzard Q12.

I really like the case he built for the SlimPar Pro's.

 

[JD]

TJ Cornish had this to say over at soundforums.net:
Chauvet SlimPar Pro RGBA Review
He had also previously tested the Blizzard Q12.

I really like the case he built for the SlimPar Pro's.

I like what he said about the low end curve on these. What I found on the TRIs is that as soon as you bring the fader to 1% the unit itself jumps from 0 to 10% (very common on cheap LEDs) The output visibly chops higher as you move from 1% to about 10%. From there up to 100% is smooth. The show I did required a lot of subtle fades from black that were not so subtle!! Best as I could play around at sound check, the workaround I came up with I was not personally satisfied with.

 

[jtvd]

TJ Cornish had this to say over at soundforums.net:
Chauvet SlimPar Pro RGBA Review
He had also previously tested the Blizzard Q12.

I really like the case he built for the SlimPar Pro's.

awesome review, thanks for sharing!

 

[TJCornish]

Hello folks - I've been lurking for a while - it's apparently time for me to register. I'm glad you found the review helpful.

I've been pretty happy with the SlimPars, but have had another quality control issue that I thought I would report. Of my original 16 fixtures, one was defective - the blue lights were stuck on. Chauvet and/or my dealer - not sure which - sent a call tag for the defective fixture and replaced it quickly. I discovered that this replacement fixture was also defective - the DMX output jack does not work. I didn't discover this right away, since it was often at the end of the chain. I have returned it again to Chauvet, and after 4 weeks and 3 phone calls, it is supposed to be on its way back.

 

[TJCornish]

I like what he said about the low end curve on these. What I found on the TRIs is that as soon as you bring the fader to 1% the unit itself jumps from 0 to 10% (very common on cheap LEDs) The output visibly chops higher as you move from 1% to about 10%. From there up to 100% is smooth. The show I did required a lot of subtle fades from black that were not so subtle!! Best as I could play around at sound check, the workaround I came up with I was not personally satisfied with.

Was this with the Chauvet fixtures, or the Blizzards? If Chauvet, were you using the Dim1 setting? That has solved all of the chopping/stepping issues I've had. Minimum output is higher than filament glow, but I don't think it's 10%.

 

[TheaterEd]

So it is almost a full two years later. Are folks still happy with their SlimPars? I'm looking to add an LED top wash to my high school auditorium ( 49' x 25' stage with 3 electrics at 16' trim). I'm thinking that 12 SlimPars could do the job, but I'm not sure. Should I up it to 15? 18? Should I look at a different fixture? I welcome any and all thoughts.

 

[derekleffew]

SlimPAR Pro RGBA, "• Beam Angle: 21° • Field Angle: 42°". At 16'-0" throw distance: beam pool=5.9', field pool=12.3'. If downlight, I'd probably go with 7 fixture s on 6' centers, on each electric, for a total of 21 instrument s.

"Illuminance: 2,830 lux @ 2m" = 263 FC @ 6.6'. At 16' slightly less than 50 FC, so somewhat underpowered, depending on what they'll be competing against.

 

[TheaterEd]

I have s4 pars, fresnels, and ers. Looking to add flexibility to my down or back light. If they are under-powered, is there something else around that price range you would suggest?

 

[TheaterEd]

So the Products » SlimPAR™ QUAD 12 IRC | CHAUVET® Lighting is showing 4500 lux at 2m. That should mean it is bright enough to punch through right? Also, the stage is only 45' wide, so can I drop down to 6 fixtures per electric and just sacrifice a couple of feet on either side of the stage?