Newbie here, so please bear with me!
I’m going to put together the following lights:
Convoy C8
XP-L HI V2 1A on a Noctigon
Convoy S2+
Copper pill
XM-L2 on a Sinkpad, haven’t decided whether I want NW or CW yet.
Both will be using Samsung 30Qs.
I have a H17F already and a BLF X5/X6 driver on the way.
The original plan was to use the H17F in the C8 and the X5/X6 in the S2+, but now that I’ve seen the LD-3, I’m wondering if it’s a better option for both?
As far as I can tell, the advantages of the PWM 7135/FET based drivers are true direct drive and minimal variation in tint, but at the expense of overall efficiency.
The LD-3 data sheet states that a “good thermal path” is required for medium/high settings. Would this make it unsuitable for use in the pill of the C8 without additional conductive material packing the empty space?
I’m sure there’s also personal preferences to take into account regarding the UI, but both the H17F and LD-3 UI seem impressive.
I like the idea of better efficiency (although whether the difference in battery life is significant in actual use is another matter) and the 7 - 9A pseudo-DD of the 6A LD-3 is probably as much as I need (for the moment at least :-)).
Are there any other advantages/disadvantages to using a PWM based driver vs the LD-3 that I’ve missed?