Looking for an ellipsoidal LED fixture with no cooling fan other than Altman Phoenix

[bcbaumer]

Hi all.

I was all set to buy a couple dozen 150W Altman Phoenix LED ellipsoidals but have learned they are making a change in the design and aren't shipping the new version until next March.

We selected the Phoenix largely due to its lack of a cooling fan. The venue where it would be used is extremely acoustically sensitive. We'd rather stick with the old 575W fixtures than go with an LED fixture with a fan.

Anyone know of a comparable LED fixture with no cooling fan? (I realize the fans on this new stuff are variable and quiet. We've looked at them and tested them. No noise is a must.)

Thanks.

 

[bcbaumer]

Oh, and it needs to be RGBW..............

 

[MNicolai]

Is the current revision of the Phoenix not sufficient for your needs or you do just not want to feel like you're getting gipped when they release the inevitable, improved successor to the current design for possibly the same price?

 

[bcbaumer]

Is the current revision of the Phoenix not sufficient for your needs or you do just not want to feel like you're getting gipped when they release the inevitable, improved successor to the current design for possibly the same price?

Our rep said Altman is not currently shipping any product, old version either. They first said the new version will ship in January, now it's backed up to March. Who knows if that date is any good either. Thanks.

 

[MNicolai]

@bcbaumer, my friends at Design Lab in Chicago sell quite a few Altman Phoenix fixtures. They were not able to verify that rumor and are adamant to the contrary that Altman is indeed shipping product. You can try give them a buzz yourself @ (773) 265-1100 and ask for Larry or Andre if you need a source for this product.

 

[bcbaumer]

Thanks. I will definitely do that. I appreciate it.

 

[Les]

Yeah, I think your rep is mistaken. We sell the heck out of PHX's and this is the first I've heard of it. Feel free to PM me as well if you wish to do so.

 

[bcbaumer]

Dragging up this old thread to give an update. I confirmed with other members here (including Les) and with Altman they were indeed re-designing the heat sink on the LED 150's. We had ordered 48 of them through our local rep months and months ago. After several promised and missed ship dates between last year and now our rep finally has the fixtures at his shop.

I'm bringing this up in case there is anyone out there that's interested in the PHX LED 150's in RGBW to let you know Altman has resumed production.

 

[Amiers]

It took almost a year to get fixtures? I hope you got some awesome swag.

 

[bcbaumer]

It took almost a year to get fixtures? I hope you got some awesome swag.

Yep. Had little choice. Nobody else makes an equivalent fixture without a cooling fan that I could find.

That was a primary requirement of the users.

(I'm a facilities guy, not a theater guy)

We used Elation PARS as they had no fan either. Those have worked well. I think there were 128 of those. We installed them just before Christmas. Only had one warranty issue with one of the fixtures so far. This performance hall is used nearly every day, all day too. It's on a college campus.

 

[dbaxter]

I love the budgets being thrown around here. What non-college, non-Equity theater has that kind of money? We're talking $90,000 to $150,000 or so.
If you do - how did you get it?

 

[Les]

Glad you're finally getting your fixtures! I'm seeing more and more growing pains associated with ambitious fixtures - and no manufacturer is immune. ETC recently jumped the gun on the 4WRD and had to pull the plug on production due to thermal issues. Hopefully they're close to shipping again.

 

[bcbaumer]

Here's an attempt at a couple small pics of the hall with the Elation Par's over the stage and some track mounted Rosco Miro Cubes lighting the pipe organ. We had to change out several dimming modules to constant voltage modules as well. Also, a pic of the Elation fixture that had an issue. It was replaced under warranty no questions asked.

]

 

[bcbaumer]

Oh, and I think I was wrong about the number of PAR's. There were less than 128 but I don't remember the exact count. 64 over the stage plus 24 or 32 over the house, plus some in front of and to either side of the stage but don't remember exactly how many at the moment.

 

[bcbaumer]

I love the budgets being thrown around here. What non-college, non-Equity theater has that kind of money? We're talking $90,000 to $150,000 or so.
If you do - how did you get it?

Yes, this project was quite expensive. More than your estimate. It involved replacing the DMX controls and making them Visionnet Ethernet DMX, replacing the stage right and booth control panels with Visionnet touch screens, replacing the light board with a new ETC ION, ugrading the processor in the Strand CD80 and replacing several dimming modules in the Strand dimmer rack with constant voltage modules, adding an iPad and ethernet hub with remote controls plus more.

What started this project was noise issues interfering with recordings. This hall had $millions spent on acoustical design and treatments when it was built and hosts musicians and vocalists from all over the world in addition to being used for teaching. The old PAR's and ellipsoidals would click and pop when warming up and cooling down which was causing issues with recording performances. When we looked at options and realized we could solve the problem with LED's and at the same time dramatically reduce our energy consumption (and therefore electric bills) and maintenance costs it became feasible. As this hall is used daily for most of the day we spent a fair amount of time and money just on lamp replacement alone. There is a payback on this investment for sure. I don't remember how many years on the ROI now as I crunched the numbers over a year ago but it wasn't too bad. The versatility of the LED's vs. using gels is amazing too. The users are quite happy.

 

[dbaxter]

That's great - it looks like a beautiful hall and from what you say, gets the use and support to make that investment worthwhile. Being in a 126 seat community/regional theater, I'm just at the other end of the rainbow.

 

[bcbaumer]

That's great - it looks like a beautiful hall and from what you say, gets the use and support to make that investment worthwhile. Being in a 126 seat community/regional theater, I'm just at the other end of the rainbow.

Yes, it is very nice and does get used. A lot. I had a very hard time scheduling a time slot for the install. It's even a little difficult to get 2 days to install the Altman's during summer break. I think it is 600 seats.

Again, I'm not a theater guy, I'm a facilities guy (I handle everything from lighting to fire alarm to 12kv power distribution to air handlers to hot water to steam to you name it MEP-wise) but I've been most impressed with how much the look of performance hall changes just by changing the warmness/coolness of even just "white". You can really dial in what color you want the wood to look like for example or say, how tan or pale skinned you want the performers to be while still looking like you're using incandescent "white light" and make the changes almost instantly. It should be even better once we get the Altmans hung and added to the system.

If you ever get the budget to change over to LED I'd definitely recommend going for it. Take a look at what you're spending on lamps and electric bills for sure as it will help offset the initial cost.