ATI Straton LED Light - Comments, Review, PAR, Coverage, Discuss...

[ryshark]

This is possibly the least scientific presentation ever, but this is the "natural spectrum 10m" preset straight out of the camera. It's whiter than my normal room lights. At 75% overall intensity, PARwise was reporting 340 PAR ~60cm beneath the light. I'd guess it's around 6000k.

Yeah, that mode is super white

 

[AmateurAlchemist]

The loudest coil whine I’ve ever gotten (spectrum/intensity dependent) I have to have my ear right next to the units/ballast to hear it. Viewing the tank from 3 feet out, they’re dead silent - the water trickling over the overflow grates is the only sound coming from my tank. He must have a bad unit if it’s that loud.

But in my spectrums I’m using and intensities, mine make no coil noise.

"I can't hear the noise they make if certain criteria are met" and "they emit 0dB" are very different things.

I find them mildly annoying but I've spent most of my life abusing my ears. My SO is a hair younger and hasn't, so is almost certainly more responsive to higher frequencies; she's never said a word about any of the dumb stuff I've done, but has put her foot down over the Stratons.

 

[Reef-Engineer]

My G1 204 units have almost inaudible coil whine, you can hear it if you get up and put your head right beside them, but looking at the tank you could never hear it, certainly not from a more than 2-3 feet from the unit.

Maybe it is a difference G1 to G2 or perhaps unit to unit.

I imagine that typically that whine would be masked by even louder noise from active cooling on most lights.

 

[AmateurAlchemist]

My G1 204 units have almost inaudible coil whine, you can hear it if you get up and put your head right beside them, but looking at the tank you could never hear it, certainly not from a more than 2-3 feet from the unit.

Maybe it is a difference G1 to G2 or perhaps unit to unit.

I imagine that typically that whine would be masked by even louder noise from active cooling on most lights.

It's starting to sound like most have at least some coil whine. It's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that I've got two that are from the same sub-par batch, pardon the puns.

I have 5 GHL Mitras that are all completely inaudible at ~65% intensity with an ear right to the units; and had a similar experience with Red Sea ReefLEDs.

The Straton whine cuts through my AC from 3 feet away. No fan is ever going to mask that.

Supplier has started troubleshooting before getting ATI involved so we'll see where things go over the next few days. Despite their many shortcomings I'd still ideally like to use the Stratons but expectations are low at this stage.

 

[buruskeee]

"I can't hear the noise they make if certain criteria are met" and "they emit 0dB" are very different things.

I find them mildly annoying but I've spent most of my life abusing my ears. My SO is a hair younger and hasn't, so is almost certainly more responsive to higher frequencies; she's never said a word about any of the dumb stuff I've done, but has put her foot down over the Stratons.

Yeah for sure. I’m pretty sensitive to higher frequencies too, but each unit is different (like when I first got my 4090 GPU, my buddy got one and he had a ton of coil whine, they were known to have some units experience it, but mine did not).

I can walk outside and sometimes hear the power lines buzzing - or when a tv is left on, I sometimes can hear a high pitched frequency even if the tv is on mute and a black screen.

On my Stratons, the produce coil whine sometimes, and when they do they are very low dB that you’d have to have absolutely zero noise and can hear a pin drop. But for the most part, mine are dead silent.

 

[AmateurAlchemist]

Yeah for sure. I’m pretty sensitive to higher frequencies too, but each unit is different (like when I first got my 4090 GPU, my buddy got one and he had a ton of coil whine, they were known to have some units experience it, but mine did not).

I can walk outside and sometimes hear the power lines buzzing - or when a tv is left on, I sometimes can hear a high pitched frequency even if the tv is on mute and a black screen.

On my Stratons, the produce coil whine sometimes, and when they do they are very low dB that you’d have to have absolutely zero noise and can hear a pin drop. But for the most part, mine are dead silent.

I hear ya (ha)- I had an EVGA 3080 that had the worst coil whine I’ve ever heard. It was audible from over 6ft away…! It was replaced with a 4090 FE that’s completely silent.

RE Stratons, that’s interesting. I know it’s in here somewhere but I’m losing track- which model do you have again? I’m always dubious when people describe things as “silent in their environment” after buying supposedly quiet Kessil A360Xs, only to find the fans run at full tilt constantly, but that sounds like your Stratons are, like, actually quiet.

 

[oreo54]

O/T ...possibly how to fix it ..a bit .

How to quickly & easily fix coil-whine(coil choke noise)

A forum user recently asked about Coil Whine, which is the noise a choke coil sometimes makes as it operates. This is almost always a video card problem, but can happen on any other computer or electronics components employing a choke in it's circuitry, including motherboards & power supplies...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[AmateurAlchemist]

O/T ...possibly how to fix it ..a bit .

How to quickly & easily fix coil-whine(coil choke noise)

A forum user recently asked about Coil Whine, which is the noise a choke coil sometimes makes as it operates. This is almost always a video card problem, but can happen on any other computer or electronics components employing a choke in it's circuitry, including motherboards & power supplies...

www.techpowerup.com

Good find, thanks. If all else fails I was planning on cracking them open and seeing if there’s room for some thermal pads but I’m all for having a backup plan.

 

[buruskeee]

I hear ya (ha)- I had an EVGA 3080 that had the worst coil whine I’ve ever heard. It was audible from over 6ft away…! It was replaced with a 4090 FE that’s completely silent.

RE Stratons, that’s interesting. I know it’s in here somewhere but I’m losing track- which model do you have again? I’m always dubious when people describe things as “silent in their environment” after buying supposedly quiet Kessil A360Xs, only to find the fans run at full tilt constantly, but that sounds like your Stratons are, like, actually quiet.

I have the gen 1 OGs. Yeah I have the EVGA FTW3 3080 too prior to my Aorus Master 4090, neither has coil whine but my buddy recorded his MSI 4090 and it was super loud.

I had XR30 gen 5 and even at 50% intensity the fans kick on and it’s super loud and annoying. I couldn’t wait to get rid of them.

Funny enough I have been placing my ear next to my Straton units today. During ramp up on very low intensity there was coil wine (again very faint). I’m almost at the peak of my ramp up where I run full 100% using a 10k spectrum first 3 hours and a 14k (AB+ like) spectrum second half of peak period. I have zero coil whine (or it’s just too faint to hear) at full power, and I’ll check again for the back half with a different spectrum.

I can post recordings, but the iPhone amplifies quiet sounds so there’s a lot of background noise you typically don’t hear first hand.

 

[oreo54]

I have the gen 1 OGs. Yeah I have the EVGA FTW3 3080 too prior to my Aorus Master 4090, neither has coil whine but my buddy recorded his MSI 4090 and it was super loud.

I had XR30 gen 5 and even at 50% intensity the fans kick on and it’s super loud and annoying. I couldn’t wait to get rid of them.

Funny enough I have been placing my ear next to my Straton units today. During ramp up on very low intensity there was coil wine (again very faint). I’m almost at the peak of my ramp up where I run full 100% using a 10k spectrum first 3 hours and a 14k (AB+ like) spectrum second half of peak period. I have zero coil whine (or it’s just too faint to hear) at full power, and I’ll check again for the back half with a different spectrum.

I can post recordings, but the iPhone amplifies quiet sounds so there’s a lot of background noise you typically don’t hear first hand.

For many driver related whine going 100% ( DC) it usually disappears.
It's the pwm frequency that seems to cause it.

What causes PWM coil whine?
Friction: The coil windings rub against each other and the coil housing
Voltage load: The pitch and amplitude of the whine can change depending on the load on the voltage transformer
Incompatibilities: Slight incompatibilities between components like video cards, motherboards, and power supplies can cause coil whine

 

[buruskeee]

For many driver related whine going 100% ( DC) it usually disappears.
It's the pwm frequency that seems to cause it.

Makes sense. It seems for me the lower the intensity the more I can hear the whine. I’ve tested it (have video I can post on YouTube), and it seems at 40-50% all of my whine goes away and 10-20% is where I notice it the most (but still super faint for me).

 

[LiquidSpace]

Makes sense. It seems for me the lower the intensity the more I can hear the whine. I’ve tested it (have video I can post on YouTube), and it seems at 40-50% all of my whine goes away and 10-20% is where I notice it the most (but still super faint for me).

Can you post it? Only example I’m able to find at REALLY loud PCs whining. I should have my lights by the end of the month, then I can check mine since they’re G2.

 

[ryshark]

Makes sense. It seems for me the lower the intensity the more I can hear the whine. I’ve tested it (have video I can post on YouTube), and it seems at 40-50% all of my whine goes away and 10-20% is where I notice it the most (but still super faint for me).

Probably whining because it wants to be unleashed. 10% on these is like driving a Ferrari 10mph. I’m just kidding, I ramp my Straton Pros up staring at 0% and back down to 0% hitting all the %’s on the way, but I still don’t hear anything even at lower intensity.

 

[AmateurAlchemist]

Makes sense. It seems for me the lower the intensity the more I can hear the whine. I’ve tested it (have video I can post on YouTube), and it seems at 40-50% all of my whine goes away and 10-20% is where I notice it the most (but still super faint for me).

I haven't compared with a PAR meter yet, but running the Stratons at 20-25% is visually similar to my current lights and no doubt, that's where the coil whine is worst. At 100% I can hear a little whining with an ear right to the fixtures but it's so quiet that it's irrelevant.

Can you post it? Only example I’m able to find at REALLY loud PCs whining. I should have my lights by the end of the month, then I can check mine since they’re G2.

Do you think you'll be running at high overall intensity? I'm really hoping yours are silent and I can organise some healthier replacements.

Probably whining because it wants to be unleashed. 10% on these is like driving a Ferrari 10mph. I’m just kidding, I ramp my Straton Pros up staring at 0% and back down to 0% hitting all the %’s on the way, but I still don’t hear anything even at lower intensity.

I largely wanted Stratons for the coverage (tank size is a little awkward, I'd need like 3.5 XR30s or Mitras 7206s etc in an ideal world) and for peace of mind that I could go hardcore SPS if desired, but holy moly do they have some oomph in reserve at LPS-friendly intensities.

 

[LiquidSpace]

I haven't compared with a PAR meter yet, but running the Stratons at 20-25% is visually similar to my current lights and no doubt, that's where the coil whine is worst. At 100% I can hear a little whining with an ear right to the fixtures but it's so quiet that it's irrelevant.


Do you think you'll be running at high overall intensity? I'm really hoping yours are silent and I can organise some healthier replacements.


I largely wanted Stratons for the coverage (tank size is a little awkward, I'd need like 3.5 XR30s or Mitras 7206s etc in an ideal world) and for peace of mind that I could go hardcore SPS if desired, but holy moly do they have some oomph in reserve at LPS-friendly intensities.

Yeah, the plan is to run it at a high intensity for mainly SPS, so hopefully I don’t hear anything. Hopefully you can figure yours out too.

I feel for you. I see in your photos you have a lot of audio stuff too so this is probably your wheelhouse.

 

[AmateurAlchemist]

Yeah, the plan is to run it at a high intensity for mainly SPS, so hopefully I don’t hear anything. Hopefully you can figure yours out too.

I feel for you. I see in your photos you have a lot of audio stuff too so this is probably your wheelhouse.

Fingers crossed, for both of us! Please keep us posted!

ATI support have asked me to run some tests so I'll setup a proper mic and grab some recordings at the same time. They don't have any info on my settings but are already claiming that coil whine below 100% is completely normal for "sensitive ears" (gigging musician here, my ears are far from sensitive) so I'm not hopeful.

 

[stenopus]

is it possible to connect via LAN cable and turn off wifi hotspot ?

 

[bcarl77]

So, are these lights really worth the premium out of all the other lights...? Are the G2's out in the US yet?

 

[Reef-Engineer]

is it possible to connect via LAN cable and turn off wifi hotspot ?

Yes, my units are on my LAN. You just use the hotspot for setup.

 

[Reef-Engineer]

So, are these lights really worth the premium out of all the other lights...? Are the G2's out in the US yet?

honestly, I love the power/LEDs/physical design. But not having season tables, not having a moonlight function, not having acclimation mode, is pretty tough to swallow at this pricepoint. Tough call for me.