You really can't compare warm XP-G with cool XM-L. Because the XP-G is a lower power emitter, output is going to be lower. Neutral XM-L vs cool XM-L is a more fair comparison. And you notice quite well that you don't lose ALOT of lumens when you go from cool to neutral XM-L. Yet you gain tremendously when it comes to color quality. That's why people like this emitter so much.
good point, it does seem that people who want brightness and throw, favor higher power emitters
Looking just at the two XMLs, as color goes up, throw goes down.… tradeoffs.. it also shows heat and runtime stays the same for the two XMLs, possibly because the power levels match?
in the chart, the xpg has more color, less power, longer runtime, less heat, less throw, less lumens than xml which has less color, uses more power, has shorter runtime, more heat, more throw, more lumens.. than the XPG, which is warmer and higher CRI
I think the merit of the XML, or XPL for the sake of staying on topic, is that it can have higher brightness, at the expense of using more power, and offering less color..
My Thrunite XPL is 5700K and 70 CRI
My N219a aaa Prometheus Beta is 4400K and 87 CRI
basically, the more CRI, the lower the Kelvin.. in this example Kelvin drops 30%, when CRI increases 24%
Thrunite with XPL:
Beta with N219a:
here is what the Beta tint looks like compared to another 5800k 71 CRI, in my Maratac (I dont have the XPL photo, but the CRI and Kelvin are almost identical to the XPG2 in the Maratac)
To summarize, I think the XML and XPL, claim to fame is brighness, not color.. They are popular with high power, high Kelvin, high brightness, throwers, and single AAA are generally not in that category..
