So I’m looking over P60 drop-ins, and there is a seller on eBay offering a $55 drop-in that’s got a Nichia 219 LED.
I’ve seen a few posts mentioning the Nichia 219, but is it really that far superior to the latest generation of Cree 5X5 form factor LEDs like the XM-L2, to make a drop-in worth 3 times the price?
Technology obsoletes a lot of things, the world of LED emitters is certianly a textbook example of that. How relevant is the Nichia 219 in May of 2014?
Very relevant due to Typical 92CRI for neutral white (not ultra warm white like the rest) LED in a small 3535 size.
Aha, just the topic I wanted to start some day.
I’m told the 219B has better colour compared to XP-G2.
So I got me 5 pieces for 13½ bucks from Kaidomain.
But they’re cooler white than I had hoped.
So far I tend to prefer XP-G2 NW I bought from LCK on ebay, even if it’s a little bit pink-ish
But, the Nichia 219B has lower Vf than XP-G2 and also better efficiency than XP-G2
That makes it a better LED i.m.o.
But you can’t overdrive them like the latest CREEs.
My confusion lies in the codes and bins and colours etc…
Is the 219B only available in this 5000K tint?
The (or some of) the older 219A I understand has the best colour.
But price is way too high. 18sixfifty was offering same thing much lower price a few days ago.
worth to check with him first if he still has one.
Various Nichia comes in different tints, bins, and with different CRI.
The older 219A with 92 CRI and around 4500K have been the benchmark and what most think of then mentioning Nichia emitters. But its just one out of a "ton" of different Nichia emitters, most of which are nothing special. Its become popular due to its unique combo of very high CRI (92), desirable color temperature 4500K and overall good tint. Something CREE does not offer in the 4500K range.
The issue as far as I have seen is that Kaidoman have gotten various of newer Nichias and with different tints, and who knows what CRI. Makes things more confusing. Especially due to Kaidomains ability to just slap "top bin" on everything they get in stock. On top of that, they also mixed up specs it seemed.
It does not mean you get bad emitters, it just means its harder for people to know what they are buying, and it may not be the best out there or what they expect it to be.
Luckily intl-outdoor now have the latest 219BT with 92 CRI and 4500K.
Just arrived, and on Noctigon.
http://intl-outdoor.com/led-nichia-c-107_140.html
(thanks to djozz for notifying here)
Rmm has them too. No need for the month wait from china. I got mine a few days after ordering.
I’m not sure what is up with the 219B. The Nichia you hear the most about is a 219A (full number is NVSL219A-H1) with a neutral tint (4500K) and high CRI (92). It isn’t quite as bright as most XP-G’s and nowhere close to an XM-L or XM-L2, but the color-rendering and neutral white tint are what made people rave about it. Like most LED’s, there are a lot of different tints that are available including cool white and warm white. So all 219’s are not the same.
For a custom-made drop-in like that, you are paying for it being custom made, not for the LED which isn’t that much more expensive than most other LED’s.
Yes, I also have a bunch of RMM’s 92 CRI 4500k 219Bs. The tint is lovely. Far better color rendition than any of my CREE XPG2 or XML2s in neutral tint.
That is a straight up ambiguity. 219B means almost nothing, XP-g2 mean almost nothing. Both LEDs come in various tins, various temperatures, various locations on Y axis, and various color rendition indexes.
RMM is good for US customers only otherwise shipping is also quite slow and very expensive.
So would the IOS Nichia be the same tint as RMM’s Nichia?
Yes. They probably have the same source of emitters.
Would be nice if they were a bit warmer than the Kaidomain ones…
I was a little bit disappointed.
I think that’s the great thing about Nichia 219 that colour temperature is close to sunlight. Warmer means yellower.
Well that depend of the time and weather, for example warm white is also sunlight color… but at dawn or dusk. :bigsmile:
IOS is a reliable source for a very specific LED model, they even take pictures of the official label as proof.
That listing does not even explicitly give what 219 they are selling. Mentions color and CRI & shows some cute graphs but no real numbers. Is it actually a 219 H1 sw45? Certainly doesn’t say.
IMHO anyone who knows what they are making & selling would at least list “92 typ CRI, neutral white”.
Anyway, mine seem to be ‘colder’ than what I saw somewhere here some days back.
I got these:
Nichia CRI92 NVSL219B-E R85 B220 LED 14.5 x 1.5mm Star (5 pcs)
The tint is supposed to be SW45 (4500K) but looks more like >5000K (SW50 ? )
Check the BLF LED database for Nichia LED sources. Link in my sig.
Doesn’t work here…
Anybody have experience with the KD nichia’s I mentioned?
I think Djozz and ImA4Wheelr like them.
Try these links database nichia page BLF database thread
I thought I recalled Djozz saying the KD nichia seemed a bit off.