Tu put it straight, according to the owners the light sucks below the main3 mode (~300lm). And they are certainly not tint-snobs, just OEM and Emisar users.
However my 3500K mix is magical and the 3000K rocks as well. Overall I think your Wizard/Tiara PRO (with mixed or D220 CCT’s) are the best multi-purpose headlamps ever made.
I also mention E21A 4500K D220. It is (probably) the most crispy neutral white tint I have ever seen. Under 500mA per LED it gets a very slight hint of brownish yellow (which is fully acceptable for me anyway). The sweet spot for tint is around 800-1400mA per LED, above that it gets into a bit of too rosy tint for me.
UPDATE 190312:
Store restocked with complete selection of R9050/9080 E21A as follows: 2000K, 2200K(new), 2700K(new), 3000K, 3500K(new), 4000K, 4500K, 5000K, 5700K(new), 6500K. Same 3 steps MacAdam as usual.
Also, I cannot select sm223 and sm273 from E21A bare LEDs - is that on purpose? Fixed
How are these E21A LEDs different to each other?
sm203-D160-R9050 [old stock without voltage bin] and sm203-D160-L2-R9050
sm503-D220-L2-R9080 [old stock, lower voltage, less bright, pink tint] and sm503-D240-M1-R9080
sm653-D240-R9080 [old stock without voltage bin] and sm653-D240-L2-R9080
So, tint difference is expected/apparent only with the sm503 - ‘without voltage bin’ stocks technically give the same tint as their newer counterparts (just not specific about voltage bin, which may be same or different as well).
Anyway, do you plan to ask maukka to measure a few more of these newly available bins (and the sm453 as well)?
Clemence, can you also send him some individual (non mixed CCT) emitters to Maukka? Would love to know how the emitters in this new batch perform on their own.
I remember the times when I was hunting for the only available “perfect” led- the nichia 083a. Which I had to sell eventually for it was too green, in person.
Now with this broad selection of great leds I one would guess that the perfect one is just a matter of quick choice, right?
Nope, still pros and cons everywhere, and that grail led is again around the corner.