Still baffled

[Sarah]

I want a power bar, I thought I'd see something at B.P.M but to be honest it's added to my confusion as to what to get, what might be too bright, not bright enough etc. Any thoughts, taking cost into account too?
Sarah x

[ppentertainments]

http://www.thomann.de/gb/stairville_stage_tri_led_bundle_complete.htm

[Sarah]

Yeah, looks like a good call. Nearly bought the ADJ jelly par profile today. I take it the Thoman is much brighter and is only £60 more too.

[Shaun]

I take it the Thoman is much brighter and is only £60 more too.

I'm pretty sure that the Thomann version is less expensive than its KAM counterpart

[Sarah]

I've heard a lot of bad reports about the Kam and anyway it's about £140 dearer than the Thoman.

I've narrowed it down to the Thoman and the ADJ jelly par profile, I'm wanting to know the difference in brightness between these two please.

Sarah x

[chrisj]

Worth remembering is the 3 yr warranty with Thomann.

[Excalibur]

I've heard a lot of bad reports about the Kam and anyway it's about £140 dearer than the Thoman.

I've narrowed it down to the Thoman and the ADJ jelly par profile, I'm wanting to know the difference in brightness between these two please.

Sarah x

You will be the recipient of a discourse on the relative merits of Jelly bars, Powerbars and the like, if you answer your mobile. :p:D:D:D

PS. I saw the jelly bar in action at BPM. In my exceedingly humble opinion, it's a pile of poo. I also was a third Powerbar, and I'll have to investigate it further. From its appearance, I have an inkling of its ancestry, but I can't yet be sure. third option (http://www.soundlightuk.com/shop/products/Stageline-PARL%252d47SET-LED-Power-Bar-Stage-Light-System.html)

[Jem]

Plug any of them in to an external DMX controller and you'll be able to control the brightness to whatever level you desire ;)

[Excalibur]

Right folks, let's see if I can shed a little light :coat: on this conundrum. :D:D

Option 1
Par bar/Party bar/par cans. Multiple LEDs, divided up into Red, Green, and Blue. Biggest downside is that say you want a red colour, only a third of your lights are lit, cos the green and the blue aren't used. Also, since there may be hundreds of them in each fixture, the likelihood of a few of them dying is high. With so many small LEDs inside each can, repairs are fiddly at best. Makers improved that by using larger brighter LEDs, needing fewer to achieve the same output. Having outlined their failings, they're still widespread, they're relatively cheap, and relatively reliable.

Option 2
Powerbar-KAM, Stairville, and now IMG Stageline. Fitted with TRI LEDs, which means that each LED can create Red Green and Blue itself. Thus, pure red is as bright as a colour using all three colours. Units tend to have only seven LEDs in, which means that replacing a faulty one is easier. They're really really bright, KAM claiming that their one is over three times brighter than their Par bar. The colours are much sharper and easier to create, and one bar is more than capable of lighting a village hall on its own. I know, cos I've done it. The foot pedals offer some control over them, the KAM one in particular give a lot of control, but not dimming.
(Excessive ) Brightness. The solution to this is a DMX controller. Wth one of these, you can dim them from full to zero. You can also select patterns, or static colours etc. With the Stairville it's a doddle, the KAM isn't anywhere near as easy, and I don't know about the IMG. You don't need a complicated unit to get good results from them. Many of us on here are happy to use only a powerbar for lighting an event. It's particularly useful in venues with little lighting of their own.

The Stairville is usually over a hundred pounds cheaper than the KAM, and offers fairly much equivalent performance.

So, do you want a powerbar, or a par bar? Well just to make it harder, there is a third way
Two or more of these (http://www.disco-world.co.uk/lighting/american-dj-mega-tripar-profile/prod_2035.html?gclid=CI6hv7zr9LICFUPHtAodTCQABg) at around £60 each. No tripod, no foot controller, and more cabling. They can however be used on their own, whereas the bars are designed to be used as a whole unit only. There's a way of controlling them with a remote controller ( not supplied ) which I don't know much about, but I know a man who does, and I'll see if we can get him to tell us in here.

I do hope this has helped in some way, and if there's anything that's unclear, then ask away, and I or others will doubtless reply. Manuals below.

KAM manual. (http://www.kam.co.uk/media/file/product/manual/Kam%20LED%20Powerbar%20Manual%20v1%2023-03-10_web.pdf)

[CRAZY K]

Right folks, let's see if I can shed a little light :coat: on this conundrum. :D:D

Option 1
Par bar/Party bar/par cans. Multiple LEDs, divided up into Red, Green, and Blue. Biggest downside is that say you want a red colour, only a third of your lights are lit, cos the green and the blue aren't used. Also, since there may be hundreds of them in each fixture, the likelihood of a few of them dying is high. With so many small LEDs inside each can, repairs are fiddly at best. Makers improved that by using larger brighter LEDs, needing fewer to achieve the same output. Having outlined their failings, they're still widespread, they're relatively cheap, and relatively reliable.

Option 2
Powerbar-KAM, Stairville, and now IMG Stageline. Fitted with TRI LEDs, which means that each LED can create Red Green and Blue itself. Thus, pure red is as bright as a colour using all three colours. Units tend to have only seven LEDs in, which means that replacing a faulty one is easier. They're really really bright, KAM claiming that their one is over three times brighter than their Par bar. The colours are much sharper and easier to create, and one bar is more than capable of lighting a village hall on its own. I know, cos I've done it. The foot pedals offer some control over them, the KAM one in particular give a lot of control, but not dimming.
(Excessive ) Brightness. The solution to this is a DMX controller. Wth one of these, you can dim them from full to zero. You can also select patterns, or static colours etc. With the Stairville it's a doddle, the KAM isn't anywhere near as easy, and I don't know about the IMG. You don't need a complicated unit to get good results from them. Many of us on here are happy to use only a powerbar for lighting an event. It's particularly useful in venues with little lighting of their own.

The Stairville is usually over a hundred pounds cheaper than the KAM, and offers fairly much equivalent performance.

So, do you want a powerbar, or a par bar? Well just to make it harder, there is a third way
Two or more of these (http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americandj.com%2FProductDetai ls.aspx%3FCategory%3D%26ItemNumber%3D2085&ei=M4l0UPXiLeTY0QXxl4GIDw&usg=AFQjCNGRlHXjorjamUWm7cnJRa4Zkqe6sA&sig2=Sm3PIc9_FHJSu69zyfA0MQ), at around £60 each. No tripod, no foot controller, and more cabling. They can however be used on their own, whereas the bars are designed to be used as a whole unit only. There's a way of controlling them with a remote controller ( not supplied ) which I don't know much about, but I know a man who does, and I'll see if we can get him to tell us in here.

I do hope this has helped in some way, and if there's anything that's unclear, then ask away, and I or others will doubtless reply. Manuals below.

KAM manual. (http://www.kam.co.uk/media/file/product/manual/Kam%20LED%20Powerbar%20Manual%20v1%2023-03-10_web.pdf)

Third option link not working here Peter.

Or is that deliberate to whip up the crowd:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Great post by the way!

[Excalibur]

Third option link not working here Peter.


Fixed now. For some reason, I can't bring up the manual, I appear to be blocked from the ADJ website. :confused::confused: This is quite a helpful advert though.

Thanks for the approval, Alan.

[Jem]

With the Stairville it's a doddle, the KAM isn't anywhere near as easy...

Never having used the Stairville I can't comment on how easy that is to set up with DMX. However, I can now say with some certainty that the KAM Powerbar(s) are not at all difficult to set up to work with an external DMX controller. If, like me, you've never used DMX before there is a bit of a learning curve to actually get to grips with the DMX controller itself. This however, is a general DMX learning curve and is nothing to do with the Powerbar per se.

It realli is just a case of plugging in the controller and setting the DMX address of each unit (if you want to use them as different units). I you just want them to mirror each other it's just a simpe case of plugging in two cables.

[CRAZY K]

Fixed now. For some reason, I can't bring up the manual, I appear to be blocked from the ADJ website. :confused::confused: This is quite a helpful advert though.

Thanks for the approval, Alan.

No problem, a comprehensive review.

I use stand alone QTX LED units like the ADJ and find them very useful for additional colour.

I own one piece of American DJ LED equipment and thats been brilliant--so I imagine these are ok.

[Sarah]

Well just to update, I've finally bitten the bullet and ordered the Stairville Tri Led Bundle from Thomann.

Hope it proves to be a wise choice.

Thank you all as always for your help.

Sarah x

[ppentertainments]

Well just to update, I've finally bitten the bullet and ordered the Stairville Tri Led Bundle from Thomann.

Hope it proves to be a wise choice.

Thank you all as always for your help.

Sarah x
You won't be dissapointed.

[Excalibur]

Well just to update, I've finally bitten the bullet and ordered the Stairville Tri Led Bundle from Thomann.

Hope it proves to be a wise choice.

Hmmmm. So many comments spring to mind, all of which it would not be seemly to post. Let's just say:


You won't be dissapointed.

I agree with Chris. Hope you enjoy using it, Sarah.

[Sarah]

Hi all,

Is early days but am well pleased up to now with my Stairville Powerbar.

I did a breast cancer charity fundraiser on Saturday night and took it for a practice.

All I can say is WOW!

I had it set on a static 'pink' at first and then set to an auto subtle fade.

There was a band on too, they didn't have any lighting and asked if I would leave mine on for them.

I set it to sound-to-light for the band and reduced it to No1 sensitivity.

It looked fantastic!

The band asked me where I'd got it.

Talking of our Germany friends, I can honestly say I've found their Customer Service second to none.

When I opened everything up there was only a 'Jarman' power cord.

Quick phone call to Thomann and they said if I'd mentioned needing an adaptor on ordering it would've been included.

2 days later, a 3ft British iec lead landed, another 2 days after that and another parcel with an adaptor converter for the original lead arrived.

Unfortunately the tripod bag has 2 tiny slits in it at the end.

Thomann asked that I email them some photos of the 'damage'.

Just received an email to say they're sending me a replacement bag and no need to send the holy one back.

I used it with a laser on Saturday and still undecided as to whether I would use it solely on it's own as I do like some pattern, gobo effect going on too.

All-in-all I'm well chuffed with it and hope it serves me well.

Thank you all for your advice

Sarah x

[Excalibur]

Hi all,

Is early days but am well pleased up to now with my Stairville Powerbar.

I did a breast cancer charity fundraiser on Saturday night and took it for a practice.

All I can say is WOW!


A fairly standard reaction. ;)


Talking of our Germany friends, I can honestly say I've found their Customer Service second to none.
I've not personally had experience of any problems with Thomann ( Yet. Touch wood ) so I've not needed
customer service. I have however dealt with Lamba ( KAM ) and let's just say I'm unimpressed. Others have had far better results, so perhaps it's just me.



Unfortunately the tripod bag has 2 tiny slits in it at the end.

Thomann asked that I email them some photos of the 'damage'.

Just received an email to say they're sending me a replacement bag and no need to send the holy one back.

If I'm honest, the bag is the weakest link. Mine's just about shot, but can be replaced with any cheap tripod bag.


I used it with a laser on Saturday and still undecided as to whether I would use it solely on it's own as I do like some pattern, gobo effect going on too.

All-in-all I'm well chuffed with it and hope it serves me well.

Thank you all for your advice

Sarah x

Glad to hear you're happy with what you bought. Always good to hear.