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Discharge in 2026? |
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djgorey 
Young Croc 
Joined: 29 December 2007 Location: S. Wales Status: Offline Points: 1311 |
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 Topic: Discharge in 2026?Posted: 07 February 2026 at 6:09am |
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I’m thinking about maybe, possibly Dj-ing again, which means buying a whole new set up, again, for the 4th (I think) time.
I’m a big fan of moving mirrors and looking around you can now get what were once very expensive, top-end fixtures for about the same price as new LED ones - Robe Clubscan, Martin MX-10, Clay Paky MiniScan etc. The question is, is it worth it? I understand that from a practical point of view LED will win - cooler, lighter, about a million on one socket, lamps that last forever, it’s a no brainer. But… Do discharge lamps still look better or have LEDs caught up. I remember 5 years ago my LED scanners were great on white, but when I put a colour in front of them, they seemed to lose a lot of their impact. I can handle 13kg units, waiting half an hour to pack them down, lamps that have to be replaced every year and cost a bit and all that if they’re better. I had ASS Spektra when all my friends had Mackie SRM. I’d appreciate your thoughts
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FOO
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Joined: 23 December 2018 Location: Denmark Status: Online Points: 949 |
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Posted: 07 February 2026 at 10:56am |
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If you want a scanner with power, then go look at Robe Silverscan.
350w LED. That thing is rockin'. It puts the old Clubscan and CP Miniscan to shame. But it ain't cheap
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djgorey
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Joined: 29 December 2007 Location: S. Wales Status: Offline Points: 1311 |
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Posted: 07 February 2026 at 11:59am |
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I remember those being announced and yes, they look amazing. I can’t find new prices (if you have to ask, you can’t afford it), but I did happen upon a listing for 3 second-hand that wanted £2,500, which suggests that the new price is about that each.
Unfortunately, dj-ing is now firmly in the “hobby” part of my life and I can’t quite justify that sort of expenditure.
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Gaffa tape is like the force in Star Wars - there's a dark side and a light side and it holds the universe together
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FOO
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Joined: 23 December 2018 Location: Denmark Status: Online Points: 949 |
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Posted: 07 February 2026 at 2:19pm |
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If it's just for shitz and giggles then you would like to take a shot at varytec heroscan 150.
https://www.thomann.dk/varytec_hero_scan_150.htm?atr=true It's a very great machine for the price. And looks like a prober scanner  Years ago Varytec was garbage, but they have gotten better over the years. Deploy them with a good haze, and enjoy a good result for small'ish money
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djgorey
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Posted: 07 February 2026 at 2:27pm |
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So that’s a good example of the sort of new unit I would get. Something like that or the Chauvet Intimidator. Something in that ballpark.
How would that compare on quality to an old Robe or CP with a 250 or 300w discharge lamp. They’re about the same price.
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Gaffa tape is like the force in Star Wars - there's a dark side and a light side and it holds the universe together
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FOO
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Joined: 23 December 2018 Location: Denmark Status: Online Points: 949 |
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Posted: 07 February 2026 at 3:01pm |
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It's around the same output.
The problem with discharge is that they loose intensity over time. And if you don't adjust the source 100% you are going to loose quite a lot of output. Then we got the noise of highspeed fans, quite high unit weight and alot higher power draw. Build quality? The old units was build to be tanked around. No doubt about that. Modern budget options? I wouldn't dare taking them out on the road with less than a pro flightcase for them. Should I choose today, for hobby, I would go with the varytec or equal. Should I choose with my heart? Then I would try to hunt down some COEF Performance 250 DV. That is my kryptonite when it comes to scanners. OMG what a beast! Entire optics is bigger than a coke can in diameter. Edited by FOO - 07 February 2026 at 3:04pm |
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monkeypuzzle
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Joined: 25 January 2005 Status: Offline Points: 1046 |
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Posted: 07 February 2026 at 3:08pm |
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I've been pondering on converting my Highend Trackspotsto LED for years and now I have an actual workshop space I might do a bit of tinkering but those varytec with motorized.focus, rotating gobos, prism and 150w chip are making me wonder if it's worth it....
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blah blah blah blah blah......
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KDW32
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Joined: 09 April 2010 Location: Green Hell Status: Offline Points: 770 |
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Posted: 07 February 2026 at 6:14pm |
 Thank you very much for the tip
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woody2
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Joined: 04 March 2010 Status: Offline Points: 1844 |
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Posted: 07 February 2026 at 7:02pm |
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If you want retro I would check out the equinox UFO, A dj was using 4 last week at a awards night we did....really good for led.....
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djgorey
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Joined: 29 December 2007 Location: S. Wales Status: Offline Points: 1311 |
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Posted: 07 February 2026 at 7:46pm |
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It’s not that I want retro particularly, it was more that I saw that the scanners that used to be really great, but out of my price range are now about the same price as the new Chauvet or Equinox and I wondered which was the better fixture.
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Gaffa tape is like the force in Star Wars - there's a dark side and a light side and it holds the universe together
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FOO
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Joined: 23 December 2018 Location: Denmark Status: Online Points: 949 |
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Posted: 07 February 2026 at 10:22pm |
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I would walk away from Equinox scanners. I don't have any experience myself, but if you make a Google search and dig deep in reviews and comments people seem to "enjoy" alot of issues with the Helix series in general.
If I could get brand new discharge scanners like ADJ Accu Scan 250, i would totally go for that. High quality without breaking the bank. But most discharge units today have seen some milage. Keeping mind that spare parts will be an issue and you don't have any warranty on it.
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Bams
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Joined: 08 April 2009 Status: Offline Points: 679 |
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Posted: 09 February 2026 at 8:16am |
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For everybody in a nostalgic mood regarding discharge scans. Somehow higher powered MSD/MSR bulbs are getting unobtainable or at extreme prices so things like a Cyberlight, VL2000 series and such can be picked up for almost nothing but mostly with worn out or missing bulbs.. Any HMI light can be picked up for the same low prices but with rather decent HMI bulbs form the far east available for 20 euro's. for that price a rig of Goldenscan 3's or COEMAR NAT's can be run for almost nothing.. recently surpriced myself with a Avo Pearl and 4 SGM Galileo 4's for 200 euro's.
regarding using discharge or led in a more professional setting.. most discharge is used when projection/gobo's is a thing which leads up to a color wheel instead of cmy/rgb.. as a child from the 90's i really dig some sharp edges piercing to a fog but most modern looks are far less mid-air centric. losing cmy for an old fashioned look wouldn't be my choice. Edited by Bams - 09 February 2026 at 8:21am |
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FOO wrote: