Kind LED vs Advanced Spectrum MAX : LED Comparison and Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17u7fL1XW34 Kind LED’s are one of the top LED grow light manufacturers on the market. In today's post, we will be looking at the K Series L600 and comparing it to the Advanced Spectrum MAX S450. Both of these lights are advertised to be equivalent to a 600w HID and at a glance, these lights look almost identical. Both are plated in a white with branding and have large heat vents on the two opposing sides. Equipped with 6 fans on the top and wire hanging, these lights look top of the line.
The K Series L600 is advertised to be a max 320w light. After running it through a Watt meter we found that this was running at 297 watts. The S450 is also advertised as a max 320w light. Running through the same meter we found that this light is actually running even lower at 281 watts. Lower watts means a more efficient light if there is a comparable PAR reading. Now that we have a better idea of the power these lights require, let's take a look at their spectrum. Both of these lights claim to be a full cycle and both utilize 120 diodes with a secondary optical lens. The Kind is a 12 band light, meaning the cluster of diodes is turned into 12 different wavelengths. Taking a look at the spectrum chart provided by Kind, you can see a full cycle light with spikes in UV and IR which are great additions.
Now let's look at the Advanced spectrum. This light is a 6 band, however, it is a full-cycle light with IR coverage. Let's compare to the Kind. With the exception of UV's these spectrum looks similar. The Kind does have more of a consistent increase in the oranges to reds. Overall I'd say both of these lights can take you from veg to harvest with the Kind having the upper hand with UV light.
As usual, a light comparison comes down to a PAR test. We hung both LEDs in a 4x4 grow tent, 4 ft from the ground. We gave both lights 30 minutes to heat up. The Kind had a well-rounded PAR in the center, mainly in the 200s, tapering off to the low hundreds in the corners. The Advanced Spectrum came in with a similar looking PAR chart. Overall the Advanced Spectrum had an average par of 178.5 while the kind followed closely with 177.4
Lastly, we ran a heat test to measure which light runs cooler. We placed a thermometer in the center of the tent and had the lights run for 30 minutes. With an AC controlled room, we then compared the final results within the tents. The Advanced Spectrum brought the temperature up to 87°F and the Kind rose the temperature to 88°F.
Let's take a look at all our results. Both lights run at a lower wattage than advertised, but the Advanced Spectrum MAX takes the cake with 281 watts. Both lights have a full-cycle spectrum, however Kind is superior due to their 12 band technology, giving more UV. PAR was relatively close however Advanced Spectrum takes it with a stronger PAR average. The heat was also very close with The Advanced Spectrum running 1-degree cooler. With that in mind consider the major price differences when choosing what light is best for you. Ultimately The Kind LED offers a slightly fuller spectrum, but that will run you an extra 300 dollars over the Advanced Spectrum which still provides a full cycle light. If you think the 12 bands are worth the added 300 dollars, then the Kind is for you, If you want a full cycle light while keeping some money in your pocket, we suggest the Advanced Spectrum MAX. Well there you have it, folks, these lights are almost identical with a major price difference.
1 comment
GROWACE
We’ve tested both the Kind LED grow light (great light) to the Advance Spectrum MAX and they’re almost identical in terms of PAR value and output. Biggest difference is that the Advance Spectrum MAX LED Grow Lights have a UV spectrum which helps greatly in resin production.