I’ve only tried one B35AM. It’s in a DM11 prototype. It seems … okay-ish. It looks pretty green compared to my favorite LEDs, but it’s far from the worst. Would be pretty okay at 5000K, but I wouldn’t want that much green in a 4000K LED. For that matter, it’d be nice if the TS10 came in a 5000K variety… because typically 4000K is too green and 6000K is too blue, but 5000K is easier to get right.
More importantly, it couldn’t be used in a tiny triple like the TS10, because it’s too big. Instead you would need single-die LEDs like the E21A or E17A. But the B35AM could be okay in a TS10 SG maybe.
Yeah, I get the feeling the sales may have been counterproductive. Sales, in general, train people not to buy anything for regular price. It attracts the kind of customers you don’t want, and makes things seem less valuable than they are, and sets unrealistic expectations. Even as a buyer, I usually prefer when something is given a single fair price which doesn’t change. Because I hate gambling. Instead of simply buying what I need when I need it, sales turn the buying process into a game of speculative investment, like playing the stock market or trying to make a profit with crypto, or even haggling with a car salesman. And I hate that game so much that I usually just leave without buying anything, and look for somewhere less unpleasant to shop.
Sales get us viral products which sell a large amount in a short time and then disappear forever, because deal shoppers move on to the next cheap fad. But an item like the TS10 is the type of thing I want to have available long term. A staple, so to speak… something reliable that I can always count on and recommend to people.
ZebraLight, for example, has had a “H5x” and “SC5x” product available for 15+ years now, with consistently good quality and performance. The LED type and model number may roll forward every year or two, but you can always count on them to have something pretty similar which is going to be good. So it gets recommended a lot, and they have a lot of loyal long-term customers.
Wurkkos could have that too, with the TS10, TS10 SG, and HD10. The products themselves are pretty solid, and they serve needs that people will continue to have. But long term viability would require a change in business practices. These seem like the type of core products that could get a company a steady income to serve as a stable foundation. But if you do the sales game with your core products, the foundation won’t be solid.
Then again, I’m an engineer… not a business person. So don’t take my opinion on this too seriously.
JK.
