Are Cree MC-E emitters in their golden years?

[Solenopsis]

Hello all,
This emitter seems to have been on the market for awhile. I am thinking about buying the JetBeam M1X, but would hate for new a new emitter to replace it in a few months or so. I understand that upgrades are a constant, but the MC-E has held strong for years, so I can wait for the next if it is promising. Like possibly the XM-L emitter? The SST-50's in that package just don't seem to jive with me. What could be the emitter that will retire MC-E is basically my question.

 

[deadrx7conv]

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=293168

 

[LITE-BRITE]

You guessed it, the SST-50 has already replaced the MC-E emitter as the preferred choice when it comes to high powered led lights. It's just the SST-50's higher price that has kept some people from switching over.
Cree will still continue to make MC-E drivers as long as there is a market for it.
It's still a long way before the XM-L will start to replace some of the other higher powered LEDs. Manufactures aren't just going to dump their current stock of LED's to switch over. We'll eventually see the XM-L in high end lights and P7-MC-E DX type host before some one designs the correct reflectors for them.

What is it about the sst-50 that you dis-like? The M2S and RRT-3 has a brighter and slightly tighter beam then the M1X, but it is more expensive.

 

[Solenopsis]

I'm just antsy to hear something more on the XM-L's. So if anybody has heard something.......

 

[Solenopsis]

The efficiency for one on the sst-50. Mostly I don't think that manufacturer's have it down for the reflector's or the heat sinking capacities. There is the possibility that the emitters are transferable to current production models, if allowable by physical constraints on the actual design. The degrees of variance from production to slightly altered that could be able to conform to the emitters perfect form (as far as reflector and internal power performance), I have ab-SOL -lutely no idea. If this emitter id somewhat similar to some production emitters than there should be a somewhat easier transition. Case in point; Jetbeam's rrt-2 seemed to not to deliberate on the XP-G upgrade, but the collest thing of all the price stayed the same. Do you guys think that this will be a easy transference form emitter to emitter, or will the price be jacked?

 

[joe1512]

I would say the MC-E will be aorund for a while.

They are cheaper than P7/SST-50s and are now available in warm white.

They cannot be driven quite as high as the other two, but from what I have heard they are as efficient or slightly higher at 2.5 Amps.

Hence, though many lights have gone to SST-50s, the MC-E still works nicely, especially for a floody style light.

There is also nothing on the horizon that appears to be significantly better in the next year that Ive noticed.

 

[Kestrel]

This topic has been covered more extensively in the thread provided in post #2, so I'm going to close this thread and encourage any further discussion there - it's a good topic. I'm also going to move this thread to / Beyond Flashlights / LED /, where it should have been anyway...