Except you've way over simplified it.
He had to make a new head/bezel because he was using a microscope to focus that wavien collar, and could not get the stock parts to clear the aspheric lens (You forgot to mention it was also there), and so forth. He paid ROYALTIES on those wavien collars too, something private users don't have to pay.
It took man many hours to tune each light, test each light to certify its output, etc.
He STARTED offering it for less....closer to what you are talking about actually, as he LATER found out how hard it was, and what kind of customization it took, and the hidden costs (Royalties, dust control, casting new parts, etc...to get to that 1 million cd point.
Remember, the DEFTX was using mostly stock drive levels so there was no over heating issue, no need for high drain cells, etc....its a different approach.
So, absopositivilutely a DEFTXVn would probably be a potential propulsion device for NASA, etc....but its two different build philosophies.
Vinh is getting 900 k cd from a REFLECTOR...with hard driving. Saab was getting it from an ASPHERIC with mild driving.
For most of us, the reflector's beam is more useful than an aspheric's.
After that, its about how you'd use it. If the heat management issues on a hard driven Vn are OK, especially given the cost differences, Vn's are a no brainer.
If the light needs to be on for an hour at a time, at the max output...Saab's stuff starts to be a better option.
At this point though, as Vinh can take advantage of stuff Saab didn't have back when making the Defts...you can buy 2 or 3 of Vinh's, and rotate them to allow cooling, and beat the Deft's run time at max...at a better price point.
