What specifically about the construction made you laugh? I've opened several black boxes now, none of the internals were particularly funny in a literal or ironic sense. They're basic, cheap lights. They have two AC/DC power supplies, some dimming circuity, fans, and LEDs soldered on to a thin metal board. Some cheapness or simplicity in the materials is to be expected: they produce similar PAR to lights that cost hundreds of dollars more. There's got to be a reason they cost so little by comparison.
If you want to go LED, I think your choice is spend a hundred bucks on a black box, or spend several hundred on something with a name brand. Just keep in mind the warranty period when weighing the pros and cons. Buying name brand for a warranty is all well and good until the warranty runs out. There are a few anecdotes out there of Ecotech or AI replacing a light out of warranty, but legally these companies are not required to do so.
Black boxes definitely grow corals. That's not in question. The build quality may not be perfect and customer service might not be stellar (although both of the black boxes I own claim to offer at least 1 year warranties), but the trade-off is they cost a fraction of what a name brand light costs. If that makes you uncomfortable, that's fine. Everyone has different risk tolerances. Just know that you're going to have to pay for that peace of mind and supposed customer service.
