Probably the most favorite light in my small collection is the Sofirn SP36 BLF with Samsung LH351D 4000k, a very well known and one of the most highly regarded LED’s outside of Nichia. (LH351D is the same LED that is used in the famous lantern Sofirn LT1 BLF.) Known for its high CRI, the Samsung to me stands the perfect middle ground between magenta tint of Nichia and yellow tint of SST20 4000k.
Before comparing Nichia vs Samsung, I thought it would be fun/interesting to first compare Samsung LH351D 4000k versus Luminus SST20 4000k, both in Sofirn lights. Both LED’s have CRI/Ra in the 90’s, but I don’t know about R9 (strong red). Judging by how the lavender plant is rendered, I would guess neither is as strong as Nichia’s R9 value of 80 plus in the 219b series (219b is R9080, the highest Ra and R9 rating possible).
I hope the photo shows why I love my Sofirn SP36 w/ Samsung LED. Without doing photography comparison or CRI consideration, if you were to ask me based on real life viewing which is my most favorite tint overall, it would be the LH351D 4000k. In this particular crop, LH351D is less yellowish/greenish than SST20 4000k, and has more faithful reproduction of the bark.