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[John Roll]

For a basic entry level LED system I am looking at the following:

1-Elation LED Operator with two Mega Panels

OR

2-Obey3 controller with two Color Pallets

Is the Chauvet better/worse than the American DJ stuff or vice versa? I will be controlling lighting while doing sound for a small country rock band. Being a soundguy and new to the lighting arena,any and all input is appreciated.


thanks,
John

[Chad Costanzo]

I have always been a Bigger Fan of American DJ, I see less DOA equipment and have always gotten better customer support from them.  
(Dealer for American DJ, but speaking from my personal experiences, one of the reasons I do not sell Chauvet is I don't want to deal with the issues)

[Duane Massey]

+1 on ADJ/Elation. The Mega Panels can flicker a bit when fading, but I used a pair with a wedding band for a year with decent results.

Run away from the Chauvet....

[Jeff Lelko]

Another vote for American DJ/Elation.  I own gear from both Chauvet and ADJ, and I've found Chauvet products to be *far* less reliable and very hit or miss.  The Elation brand product is a definite step up from ADJ so if your budget allows for it, I'd go for all Elation.  Either way you get what you pay for and really can't go wrong as long as you avoid Chauvet.  

[Silas Pradetto]

Elation is fantastic. Great products, great service, never had a problem with them. I'd recommend them to anyone.

The high end Chauvet stuff I've demoed seems to be quite good, but we're talking in the $2000+ dealer cost range for things like LED movers.

I had a demo of one of the smaller Chauvet lights (a colorado I think?) and the demo was DOA--one color of the LEDs didn't work at all. Probably a freak accident, but not very reassuring at the same time.

[Ben Lagman]

+1 on ADJ and Elation also.

Elation is also great, I love the Design Spot 575E's. Great moving head with a bunch of features, and great priced IMO. But their they're way to go.

[Matt Melberg]

Hey all, saw this thread and decided to sign up.  
Another brand that is new on the scene is Blizzard Lighting. <disclaimer - I am in the process of becoming a dealer for these guys>  One of the reasons I like them and went so far as to try and become a dealer is they offer higher quality products than the usual ADJ and Chauvet stuff at sometimes equal or lower pricing.  I have a few of their moving head fixtures already and I really like them.  YMMV.  There are already a few places that carry them around the web and they are listed on Blizzard's site.  Not trying to spam here, I am genuinely excited about this stuff!

http://www.blizzardlighting.com

[James Feenstra]

+1 they make a quality product and they're fairly cheap!

disclaimer: i'm a blizzard dealer

that being said, i'd never sell or endorse a product that's not worth the money

elation makes some decent small movers (the design spot 250s are pretty nice, given the price, compared to something like a mac 250)

more features, cheaper price...only downside is rider acceptability and the colors aren't as great

[Micky Basiliere]

Robe!!!

[E. Lee Dickinson]

Big fan of Elation gear. Back in the day (5 years ago or so) 1 in 4 chauvet fixtures I would order would arrive DOA. This happened across multiple orders.

These days, Chauvet seems to have seriously stepped up their game. No harm in checking them out as long as you confirm the return policy with your dealer.