Giesemann Aurora V12 is the new Hypercar of LED

[Spare time]

Yay! Another unaffordable luxury reef light! That is DEFINITLY what we need more of these days.

 

[Reef370]

What sz tank you lighting?
Wonder if it would be cheaper to pack a few together and figure out splitting it up in the states

6x3x2 ..

Im just waiting to see if they come here. Hopefully by then we will have more people with them and videos..

 

[rtparty]

Yay! Another unaffordable luxury reef light! That is DEFINITLY what we need more of these days.

It’s a luxury hobby completely dictated by one’s disposable income. This light coming to market has no bearing on the hobby as a whole.

Premium lights have always been expensive. Giesemann halides were the same price 20 years ago. Didn’t hurt the hobby then and doesn’t hurt it now

 

[Spare time]

It’s a luxury hobby completely dictated by one’s disposable income. This light coming to market has no bearing on the hobby as a whole.

Premium lights have always been expensive. Giesemann halides were the same price 20 years ago. Didn’t hurt the hobby then and doesn’t hurt it now

My issue is that most of these lighting companies have been ignoring their line up (either updating or not having any) of lower end price range lights. AI and Maxspect are the only major companies who has bothered to do so in recent years (ex: AI blade). Yes there is a market for the expensive lights, but the vast majority of people in this hobby likely can't afford those. It reminds me of the building of luxury apartments and no one building any affordable apartments in places where the vast majority of people could never afford a luxury apartment (i.e. NYC). This is why I push people towards lights like noopsyche, and almost never recommend something like a radion or kessil because these companies are ignoring a huge market of more budget friendly lights or just lighting with a practical cost. Fish/coral keeping isn't a luxury hobby relative to pretty much any other hobby in similar societies. However, if you only hang around reef2reef crowds, you might easily see it as such since prominent people here are likely very different than the average reef keeper.

 

[rtparty]

My issue is that most of these lighting companies have been ignoring their line up (either updating or not having any) of lower end price range lights. AI and Maxspect are the only major companies who has bothered to do so in recent years (ex: AI blade). Yes there is a market for the expensive lights, but the vast majority of people in this hobby likely can't afford those. It reminds me of the building of luxury apartments and no one building any affordable apartments in places where the vast majority of people could never afford a luxury apartment (i.e. NYC). This is why I push people towards lights like noopsyche, and almost never recommend something like a radion or kessil because these companies are ignoring a huge market of more budget friendly lights or just lighting with a practical cost. Fish/coral keeping isn't a luxury hobby relative to pretty much any other hobby in similar societies. However, if you only hang around reef2reef crowds, you might easily see it as such since prominent people here are likely very different than the average reef keeper.

Giesemann has NEVER been a low end, low cost manufacturer. Ever. Why would they start now and tarnish their reputation?

Anyone seriously looking at Giesemann knows it’s a supremely well built light and the price tag to go with it. You are paying a “brand tax” for sure.

There is ZERO reason for the higher end companies to mess in the “budget” friendly segment. China has that on lockdown.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Giesemann has NEVER been a low end, low cost manufacturer. Ever. Why would they start now and tarnish their reputation?

Anyone seriously looking at Giesemann knows it’s a supremely well built light and the price tag to go with it. You are paying a “brand tax” for sure.

There is ZERO reason for the higher end companies to mess in the “budget” friendly segment. China has that on lockdown.

Agree. But I'm not willing to pay hundreds in shipping...

 

[rtparty]

Agree. But I'm not willing to pay hundreds in shipping...

Neither am I. The light looks fantastic and is likely cheaper than other premium lights on the market. I hope we see one of the bigger companies bring some of these in to bring shipping and costs down

 

[Spare time]

Giesemann has NEVER been a low end, low cost manufacturer. Ever. Why would they start now and tarnish their reputation?

Anyone seriously looking at Giesemann knows it’s a supremely well built light and the price tag to go with it. You are paying a “brand tax” for sure.

There is ZERO reason for the higher end companies to mess in the “budget” friendly segment. China has that on lockdown.

The budget range meaning AI prime range. This doesn't mean low quality knock off light. There is a difference between budget friendly lights and cheap fire hazards. Giesmann could easily make a single puck version of this light, and could sell a ton if they priced it in the $200-400 range. Red Sea, AI, Maxspect, Kessil (to some degree albeit they just don't update their product lines which is a whole other rant), Orphek (or3), etc. all understand that you can make powerful lights and sell them at a lower price range. Guess who is going to make far more money, AI with their primes, or Giesmann with this. Yup, its going to be AI because they make lights with all the bells and whistles for reasonable pricing because the vast majority of people with saltwater tanks are not going to spend that much in a hobby that is already trying to exclude more and more people by charging a very high amount for something such as a box of plastic.

Unless Giesmann has an sps stick up their "donkey," there isn't a reason not to do something like a single puck version. Then again maybe I just care about the reef tank and not the name on the box.

I want more people to be in this hobby because it makes them give a crap about science and nature, and hence why I want more companies to focus on their lights in the price range that doesn't immediately turn people away.

 

[rtparty]

The budget range meaning AI prime range. This doesn't mean low quality knock off light. There is a difference between budget friendly lights and cheap fire hazards. Giesmann could easily make a single puck version of this light, and could sell a ton if they priced it in the $200-400 range. Red Sea, AI, Maxspect, Kessil (to some degree albeit they just don't update their product lines which is a whole other rant), Orphek (or3), etc. all understand that you can make powerful lights and sell them at a lower price range. Guess who is going to make far more money, AI with their primes, or Giesmann with this. Yup, its going to be AI because they make lights with all the bells and whistles for reasonable pricing because the vast majority of people with saltwater tanks are not going to spend that much in a hobby that is already trying to exclude more and more people by charging a very high amount for something such as a box of plastic.

Unless Giesmann has an sps stick up their "donkey," there isn't a reason not to do something like a single puck version. Then again maybe I just care about the reef tank and not the name on the box.

I want more people to be in this hobby because it makes them give a crap about science and nature, and hence why I want more companies to focus on their lights in the price range that doesn't immediately turn people away.

That isn't Giesemann though. Never has been and very likely never will be. They aren't trying to compete with AI and sell more units. Again, their history shows who they are and what they value as a company.

For more than a decade we (the hobbyists) fought with them about T5s needing to be actively cooled. What did they do? Doubled down and tried to prove they didn't need to be. Yet, their fixtures were routinely out sold and out performed by ATI.

All that to say, Giesemann knows who they are and who they aren't. I highly doubt we see a drastic change of heart now.

 

[SuperSaiyanTang]

Anyone decide to purchase yet? Curious about the import process stateside

 

[Reef370]

Anyone decide to purchase yet? Curious about the import process stateside

I decided to wait and see if they become available state side. At the moment there is little videos available to see it in action as well as the high shipping price..

Side note: they still didn’t say weather or not it was coming state side and I asked multiple times..

 

[alton]

If Giesemann was smart they would get Roger Vitgo from Tunze to rep their lights again.

 

[Reef370]

If Giesemann was smart they would get Roger Vitgo from Tunze to rep their lights again.

Agreed!

 

[Karliefish]

problem is i dont think giesemann has any distributers in the US anymore. I think coralvue was their distributer before but not sure. I used to use a giesemann matrix t5 and it was a great looking fixture

That is my understanding as well - distribution network in the U.S. has all but disappeared. Not sure I want to buy this expensive light early-on until I see proof that they’ll have a strong distribution presence in the U.S.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

I decided to wait and see if they become available state side. At the moment there is little videos available to see it in action as well as the high shipping price..

Side note: they still didn’t say weather or not it was coming state side and I asked multiple times..

I didn’t see this thread until now but I just posted this..that should help a bit with more videos content https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/giesemann-aurora-v12-review.972699/

I must say that I don’t agree what so ever with a couple of posters regarding the price. I’m using one of these fixtures to light my 200x80x65cm tank which is a bargain in my opinion. If I went with orpheks or something like that I would need at least 4 if not 5.

Regarding US distribution I believe that they are working on it and it should be available fairly soon.

 

[rtparty]

I didn’t see this thread until now but I just posted this..that should help a bit with more videos content https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/giesemann-aurora-v12-review.972699/

I must say that I don’t agree what so ever with a couple of posters regarding the price. I’m using one of these fixtures to light my 200x80x65cm tank which is a bargain in my opinion. If I went with orpheks or something like that I would need at least 4 if not 5.

Regarding US distribution I believe that they are working on it and it should be available fairly soon.

Sadly, the pricing becomes stupid when you factor in shipping to the US. So until they get distribution setup here in the US, it’s overpriced for us to import them. Shipping costs half what the fixture does

 

[JSR]

Sadly, the pricing becomes stupid when you factor in shipping to the US. So until they get distribution setup here in the US, it’s overpriced for us to import them. Shipping costs half what the fixture does

Thats a bit of an overstatement…having gotten quotes shipping is NOT half the cost

 

[rtparty]

Thats a bit of an overstatement…having gotten quotes shipping is NOT half the cost

Half was an exaggeration. Just making the point that the price for this fixture really sucks when shipping is what it is. If a bigger vendor brings this in, it will help for the US folks.

My bet is BRS brings in some to test out the market

 

[JSR]

Half was an exaggeration. Just making the point that the price for this fixture really sucks when shipping is what it is. If a bigger vendor brings this in, it will help for the US folks.

My bet is BRS brings in some to test out the market

I hear you....shipping cost is hard to swallow.

Id still echo what others said..... For larger tanks, by the time you add in the number of "smaller" fixtures to get equal spread/output; you are at similar cost as other higher end (radion) options. Perk of having a cleaner end look/less cords/etc. Keeping in mind Giesemann was never a budget light option anyway.

 

[reef_ranch]

They've added a "DeepBlue" option for the extra strips in the matrix section with these leds (the columns are the 36", 48" and 60" sizes):

UV I 400nm - 410nm	21 per module	27 per module	36 per module
Deep Blue | 440nm - 450nm	28 per module	36 per module	48 per module
Ocean Blue I 465nm - 480nm	98 per module	126 per module	168 per module

It should add a good amount of blue pop for those who think its a bit white in the standard setup (like me).

Tempted to bite the bullet and buy two 36" units.