the sw45k is guaranteed to be below the BBL… that info is Tint, it is not the same as CRI, which is a separate variable.
the fact that the sw45 tends to not be as far below the BBL is the reason the sw45 is yellower than the sw45k, or to put it another way, the sw45 is less pink, but that in no way means it has more CRI… again, the BBL relationship only tells you Tint, it says nothing about CRI
so, If you want high CRI w more pink tint, further below the bbl, then SW45k is the winner
if you want the same high CRI with less pink (more yellow) tint, sw45 is good enough
since some people object to the extra pink of the sw45k
I offered only sw45 when I had a batch of lights modded for resale
otoh, the one I use for myself, is sw45k, because I dislike the yellower sw45, by comparison
all things are relative, Im totally fine with sw45 if I cant get sw45k
besides, you cant get sw45k from andy anyway, I bought the last ones… LOL
here is an excellent example of the difference in tint of the sw45 and sw45k
you can see that the sw45 has more “neutral Tint”, not to be confused with “neutral white color temperature”
both the sw45 and the sw45k look pink on my white kitchen ceiling during the day, when my brain is adapted to sunlight (5700k)
both the sw45 and sw45k look white at night, when my brain is white balanced to 3000k incandescent
the sw45 is a great LED, for me, the sw45k is greater ;-), but either one is better than any sw40, during the day, when daylight white balance is influencing my brain’s color perception