How do these two emitters compare? I’m familiar with the XL-P-L HI’s but know very little about the SST-20’s.
Building a Convoy S2+ triple and I’m unsure what to go for.
Which is the more ‘throwy’ or the highest output? And which tends to have the better tint/CRI.
Considering 4000k in either. Thanks.
Not sure about which throws more, but SST20 tends to be way above the BBL and have nasty green shifts in tint. I’ve got two and luckily avoided this in both, and both in 5000K and 2700K it has very nice CRI, comparable to my 219Cs.
No experience with any XP-L HI, but people over here praise it a bunch for its tint despite its manufacturer.
I have lights with XP-L HI 4000K and SST-20 4000K , and XP-L HI wins for me. As Jack Kellar said, the greenish tint in the SST-20s is quite 
That also happens in the 5000Ks, which only loose the greenish and become rosy when the light is beeing used in higher amps!
My Fireflies ROT66 Gen II has 5000K SST-20s and only when reaching the top of the ramping it gets “white”. That doesn’t happen with XP-L HI 5000K, which is almost pure white!
Yeah, while the SST-20 can be high CRI (in 4000K and below), the tint can leave something to be desired (greenish at lower currents). It’s not entirely random, though - some manufacturers seem to pay close attention to the bin. For example, many people reported that the Lumintop FW3A with 4000K SST-20 emitters had a great tint (mine sure did).
In terms of output, the high CRI SST-20 will have a lot less output than the XP-L HI. I’ve read that the low CRI SST-20 (5000K+) is similar in output to the XP-L HI, though. And it has more throw, too!
You could try sending BlueSwordM a message if he still has some SST20 FD2, its below BLL. Last I checked the GB seems to have closed. Maybe post a WTB thread if you want some members might still have they’re willing to part with. I recommend the XPL-HI as well if you don’t want to play the tint lottery.
Wow thanks for the input here. this thread is what I needed. I have an fw3a with sst20 4000k and the tint is really nice. I am very interested in the 4000k xpl for it’s high out put
I have not, but thank you got the heads up. I repcenyly ordered a fw3a in brass with xpl hi 1a because that was only emitter left. So I have been looking on MTNE and saw they stock 3x boards with all the xpl hi options, so now I’m debating 3000, 4000, or 5000k
Other people say it’s the other way round - it’s rosy. Or perfect. It applies to every single emitter. Also compared to high CRI emitters (like SST20 4000K) all low CRI LEDs from Cree look green because they lack red big time.
Xpl-hi 5d or 7a is more rosy than any sst-20. Rosiness and red color rendering is not the same.
Thanks for posting this. I for one do not like green color tints, at any output level. I dont mind amber or even a slight yellow at low currents. But green is a deal breaker for me personally. I’m not a tint or CRI snob either FWIW. Just keep me away from the angry greens. hahaha
Way back when the XPG2 first came out I got a couple that were horrid-green colored… just awful, total waste of perfectly good solder. hahaha
Green tint is a lottery, can happen in practically every emitter.
The SST-20 2700K high CRI definitely shows reds much better, when I compare side-to-side. But, it’s probably not as efficient or bright. Still, the XPL HI 3000K is nice.
It does, but at least from what I’ve seen, the SST20 has a worse problem with it than the average. I was way lucky with my two - one is in 5000K, another in 2700K, and neither is greenish at all.
I have only rosy XM-L2 in my oldest Convoy S2, and one on a C8 that is only slightly yellow (incidentally that C8 is the only light of mine with anything close to a ‘fried egg’ that Lightbringer hates so much 
). I did have a very green one back when I got a Thrunite in 2015. Not sure if I’ve ever seen an XP-L of any variety with bad shifts… o_õ
I shouldn’t use my smartphone for this as it is not very sensitive to this, but I hope you can still see it. To my eye, the difference is clear.
From left: C01S 4000K, Jet II-MK with XP-L Hi 5D
It depends which bin has been used, unfortunately Convoy got the batch of a green tinted SST20 so I wouldn’t recommend stock Convoys with this emitter but for DIY project just buy a different tint bin and it won’t be green (I’m on my phone now, I’ll check the specific bins later on).
EDIT. Try the FD2 bin from Kaidomain, it’s less likely to go green and it’s brighter:
http://kaidomain.com/Flashlight-DIY-and-Tools/LED-Emitters-or-LED-Star-on-PCB/Luminus-Leds/Luminus-SST-20-Neutral-White-4000K-CRI95-LED-Emitter
Is the xpl-hi 4000k 5A bin more on the rosy side? I read in another thread Lightbringer saying 5A and 5D were both better than the B and C bins for the 4000k xpl-hi’s. Can anyone verify how they like 5A? I’m looking at a Rot66 on Jack’s site and debating if it’s worth paying the extra $$ for them. I want the output and the look of lower cct, cri is not that Important to me , I have a K1 with Cree xhp35 in 4000k and really like, and thats not high cri.
My experience with 5D is very nice, yes rosy.
Thank you. Yea FireFlies website only has the 5a and I think I’m just going to pull the trigger on them and check it out. I’m sure they’ll be nice.
In my Astrolux HL01 XPL-Hi 5A is real BBL with no question. Just Perfect. But and SST20/4000 in such another HL01 very close to BBL. But SST20/4000 in EDC18 is very greeny (XPL/5000 in EDC18 is neitral), SST20/4000 in ROT66 ii is a little greeny.
Thank you, and Thank you! this is great to know. I have had great sst20 4000k and mediocre ones. I have never had any xpl-hi 4000k, so having this info helps when deciding whether to pay $30 more for the ROT66 II. The ony two options i was considering were xpl-hi 4000k or sst20 4000k, so your comment hit the nail on the head for me.
BTW, i wish every sst20 4000k was like the one that came in my early 2020 fw3a…