G6 Upgrade Kit - Isn't the Price Absurd?

[BanjoBandito]

GONNA BE SOME HOT SALES ON THEM G5s!

 

[blaxsun]

GONNA BE SOME HOT SALES ON THEM G5s!

I don't think we'll see anything more than what they've had recently - especially since they are upgradeable now.

 

[seifer]

I would be very interested to see if anyone builds something to drive these LED upgrades. Then you can have an easy LED system at less then 1/2 the cost of the new ones.

 

[TribalJeebus]

I just bought 3 new xr30's in the last 2mo, ouch... I definitely wont be upgrading at that price, but ill for sure be looking for someone selling a couple g5 at a discount now.

 

[areefer01]

Will be interesting to see how it influences the used prices.

If you bought the G5 3 years ago (or if you wait 1-2 years so you have had it for 5 years) it is a nice option to have.

You more or less hit the nail on the head. Existing G5 users that have owned them since launch this could be a no brainer. A solid upgrade path instead of buying new. Looking at it from the longer term G5 owners the upgrade would be their best play if staying with Radions.

 

[Harold999]

The old board that you swapped out might have some resell value (in the future) though, let's say 75-150 depending on the model.
Broken G5's runned out of warantee can be fixed quit cheap with those second hand boards.

So buy the update, and sell your old board to someone who wants to fix his G5 and doesn't care for a G6.

 

[SunnyX]

My G5’s have done a great job over the past couple years and I see no compelling reason for me, or anyone with G5’s to upgrade. You have your special cases, but most reefers fall somewhere between 50-150gls and there is only so much lighting you can put of that footprint.

Concerning the upgrades, yes, that is quite the investment for what I perceive to be negligible gains in output and efficiency. At the current upgrade prices I would need to spend $1200 to upgrade my units. For that amount of money I could pickup Two additional XR30’s or possibly three XR15’s, used. That would be a much wiser investment and provide more spread and control.

With these upgrades and the way they’re priced, the math just doesn’t work out. A more reasonable price would be $125 and $250. At those prices, I may be tempted to upgrade.

 

[Harold999]

A more reasonable price would be $125 and $250. At those prices, I may be tempted to upgrade.

I think those are the manufacturer costs. Ecotech needs a profit on top of that.

 

[BanjoBandito]

I don't think we'll see anything more than what they've had recently - especially since they are upgradeable now.

I meant on the secondary market - lil' bit of that FOMO.

 

[DaJMasta]

The price is quite reasonable given that you're getting an entire new board of LEDs, which is probably a good chunk of the bill of materials cost for the whole light.

That said, it isn't close to worth it to me to replace a fully working G5, but to repair one or to renew a G5 that has been running 100% since day one and has degraded performance from aging of the LEDs it's a pretty reasonable price for what you get in terms of cost of materials and total portion of the product.

 

[rtparty]

Couple things...the upgrade path essentially dropped the used price on all G5s. That is what G5 owners should be more upset about. Ecotech has always had good resale value. Instead, many are crying their already fantastic light isn't the new kid on the block and therefore must be "worse" today than it was yesterday.

This is like Apple releasing the S lineup. They saw some serious complaints and took actions to fix them. No issue with that IMO. Does Apple let you self upgrade your phone to S specs for half the cost? Nope. Ecotech could have very easily said no upgrade path and kept all those parts for themselves. Chances are the G6 might be hard to come by after the first batch sells out.

Remember, it used to cost $200 to upgrade our $500 T5 fixtures to better bulbs. The LEDs and optics ARE the light. They are the cost in these fixtures. If I had a newer G5, I wouldn't pay the upgrade today. Not a chance. But in 2 years when my G5s are 4 years old? Absolutely, I will drop $400 to get all the performance and life back.

 

[polyppal]

I'm sure they improved the spread, but I seriously doubt that you can reduce the number of fixtures based on the improvements alone, that's simply ridiculous. It's the same size fixture, what little improvements in spread are superficial at best. I like that they added more violets and warm whites, but it's still a vastly overpriced fixture like most LED fixtures. I will say that I love seeing all of the marketing terms being used here, talk about over-sensationalized.

I’m gonna wait for the Radion 6-S. It’s 2 mm thinner than that bulky ol’ on Radion 6

 

[rtparty]

I’m gonna wait for the Radion 6-S. It’s 2 mm thinner than that bulky ol’ on Radion 6

They missed the boat by not offering an XR60 IMO. Or at a minimum some Radion Bars. Their optics on an LED bar would be awesome

 

[Manny’s Reef]

What does brs have to do with this? They don't make the light

Did you not watch their video and giveaway last night? That's what I'm referring to with the marketing hype train.

 

[Manny’s Reef]

I have been going back-and-forth between the Kessil A360x and Radion Xr15 pro G5’s. Chose Kessil before the new G6’s came out and glad I did. Sure they are all fantastic.

I'm actually running radions and kessils. Best of both worlds I think.

 

[blaxsun]

What's interesting with the upgrade is that you can go from a pro to a blue (or vice versa). So if you have a G5 Pro with "buyer's remorse" for not getting the G5 Blue, you can upgrade to the G6 Blue.

 

[Spare time]

Did you not watch their video and giveaway last night? That's what I'm referring to with the marketing hype train.

I did not I'll check it out thanks

 

[ukgeoff]

Really love that I bought 3 g5 blues a month ago and BAM G6's come out and prices are slashed on the g5s. I have such great timing. $200 for an upgrade x3... na. What's that $200 really get you? Doesn't really seem like the slight shift in spectrum really justifies that cost per light.

I just done exactly the same thing, I upgraded from a gen 1 Radion to a gen 5 blue. Wish I had stick to my gen 1 now…

 

[J1a]

When the spread increases while the power remains the same, the light intensity is likely going to drop. The same amount of photons are going to be spread out over a larger area.

 

[flashsmith]

As far as hobbies go. This is one of the most expensive ones. There all kinds of options on the low end as well. Yep people will buy this and not even think about the cost. Usually when I perceive something as not a good value or fit for me I just walk away and quickly forget about it. I could see myself in a year or so changing out my G5s with this kit. Of course it's not worth it if your lights are newish but if you like radions it's good to have this option instead of going out and getting a completely new setup.