I have seen 4 LED's aside from my own
Mine is a
Mars Hydro 1200
I've seen the one above, Supergrow SK450
I've seen the generic eBay ones that were designed to look like the original
Mars Hydro Series
I've seen the Spectrum King 400's (two actually)
The Spectrum King 400 in my opinion
is the future. That thing is bad-ass, & will change your mind about LED's. I don't work for them, I don't even own one, but after seeing what they do, it's next on my list of things to get. It will genuinely keep up with a 1000 watt hid. The growth is a little different too. The flowering stretch looked much more controlled, but I don't know if the grower did something to achieve that (he is very paranoid, so he doesn't share much, he has also been growing since 95, he knows
a lot!) But he has two of these, & I'm telling you, you have to see it, to believe it. He only runs a single 1000w & it's for a couple mother plants in a separate area, so I didn't get to compare directly. But he had them right next to some 600's (
Hortilux Blue's) & the 400's raped the HID's, in every possible respect.
I run an LED, & all I can say is seeing those 400's kick the spit out of those HB600's, is just bizarre. It doesn't look right. It almost looks like a trick. Actual draw I think is closer to 450w, but that's about all the "trickery" involved. The light is also significantly whiter, which I think mimics the sun better.
The Supergrow is also really good. It's in second place because I've not been able to see one next to an appropriate rival. But if one could afford a couple of them, they are really good. No fans on those either as I recall. Light is also whiter. It's a really good light. I just wish I had gotten to see it, next to an HID. My immediate thought when I saw it was, "Two of those would rock the hell out of a 4x4 (or 5x5) tent." Really well made too. Both of the lights I just mentioned were in fairly large rooms, 2 of them in 1200 sq ft, so I can't really comment on how much heat they made.
The
Mars Hydro 1200 is decent for the money ($450 or so) It does create a fair amount of heat. Not like HID's do, but because the design does not allow for venting in a closed system (I use co2), or should I say it doesn't have a way to directly duct out the heating like HID hoods, it still creates a fair amount of heat. The only way I could change that is to build a custom duct for it, which wouldn't be that hard, I just don't have the time right now. In the winter, the heat it throws is actually helpful.
If I were to purchase it over again (& didn't know about the other lights) I would definitely get the 1600. The actual draw on the 1200 is 592(iirc, that's what mine is) so you have a 600 watt light. In a 4x4 tent, the plants could really take more than it is giving. I supplement with side lighting, so I'm at an actual draw of around 1100 or so. I've not seen the 1600 in person, but it's the same as mine, just larger. As lights go, mine is fairly heavy, so I would imagine the 1600 is even more so. Nothing "tent crushing," but if you are hanging it by yourself, & trying to avoid touching the surface, it can be tricky. I know you don't need to avoid the surface, I'm just a perfectionist.
The 1200 vs. an HID, the HID creates denser buds. That is strain to strain, the HID's are denser. I have a Sugar Black Rose running at the moment & those buds are going to be
dense! So, if the strain is known for dense buds, the 1200 will get it done. Once dried, mine are pretty compact, but not at the level of HID. Oddly, strains that tend to be stringy, fluffy, whatever you want to call it (think Haze) end up coming close to the same. But for the most part, they aren't close in density, it's a noticeable difference. But I grow legit, for my own meds (I don't sell product) so it's not that big a deal.
I don't believe, however, especially after seeing the Spectrum Kings, that this is a byproduct of LED in general, but rather, just the overall intensity of the light. So I would get the 1600 if my price forced me in that direction. I think actual draw is 790. I like that you can easily replace the fans in it. In fact, you could have quite an upgrade if you removed the existing fans & put in some Scythe Typhoons (quieter, & move a TON of air). In the most advanced computer systems I've built, those are the go to fans.
The eBay lights are terrible. The only reason I would use one is if I had it laying around for supplemental lighting. Even then it's not worth the trouble of hanging it. I would use a T5 array instead.
That's what I've seen. To come back around to topic, I think those Spectrum Kings are the future, or at least that is the path...I really do. They get rowdy. Prices are still very high, I think my friend paid close to $2500 for two of them, but in a room like his, 1200 ft2, he starts to make up for initial costs very quickly. I forget how many lights he has, I want to say 30-40? & generally has about 100 plants going at all times. (His room is absolutely beautiful) But selling his current setup & replacing when he can with more LED's...for him, returns come quickly.
For the average "Home Grow Joe," I still think they will do well with a decent LED. The Mars 1600 would kick butt in a 4x4 tent and save you quite a bit of dough when compared to the HID options. But at this point, startup cost will deter most people. Once those start to come down, I think we will see a pretty massive shift.
**Edit** Sorry, the last LED I saw was a Kessil (sp?) I didn't get to see plants grown with it, but it was extremely expensive. It was very well made but you had to buy the lights separately from this "chandelier" looking thing that would move them around. Like I said, very well made, but in my opinion, the simpler the design the better. More moving parts, to me, is a step in the wrong direction. However, the light
looked really cool. Also, I think he said the most wattage he could get from it was 300? (Research that if u r interested in the light, I'm going from memory)
IF he was correct, the fixture takes up a lot of room but not putting out a lot of watts.