Robe Xt 250 wash or mac 300?

[dfinn]

Hi,

 

I've searched the forum and I cant find anything on comparing the mac 300 and robe xt 250 wash so I've had to start a new post.

 

My school is soon going to be getting a pair of moving heads and they originally speced Mac 300's due to the fact this is the only model our drama teacher knows about. But when she asked me about them I said why not look into Robe?

 

I've done a bit of research and found they are cheaper than the Mac 300's and from what I've heard the quality is excellent.

 

These fixtures will be used for music/ orchestral concerts, dance performances and also normal shows and musicals and will only have to be moved a few times a year.

 

They will be run of a fat frog.

 

In this situation which of the two fixtures would you think is best. My opinion is to go for robe as when I saw the mac 300 I wasn't overly impressed.

 

Thanks,

 

Daniel

[mattwright15]

the best thing u could do is get a couple of each from a sales company a number of companys would have models they can send out to u for a week or so and that should help u make ur mind up. never using robe wash units I dont know wat they are like, but the only real problem I have ever had with 300's (operational not maintaining) is if you use the wide angle lense cant remember the degree of this but its quite high and doesnt come as standard. any way back to my point you can see shutter movements in the beam which doesnt look overly great.

 

Matt

 

 

Moderators' note : could people please take note that we don't welcome posts written in text-speak on this forum - posts written in 'proper' English are much easier to read.

[zonino]

why not look at the new mac250's?

[dfinn]

I presumed the new mac 250 was another profile type MH. I saw the mac 250 wash but isn't that a 300?

 

Thanks,

 

Daniel

[PhilR]

The Mac 250 Wash is basically a 300 with better optics, a couple of extra options on the CMY mixing and 16-bit everything. In a 250 case.

 

The only functional difference that I can remember off the top of my head is that you can control the maximum and minimum values for each colour when it's doing a random CMY mix, although I guess that could be an option on the 300 that I'm not aware of.

[jfitzpat]

I am a big fan of Martin fixtures but, when it comes to small wash fixtures, I'd take a close look at Robe. I've had some terrible experiences with Coemar's 250 Wash fixture (in fact, a brand new one just fried here a week or so ago). And I was pretty much ready to swear off anything but Martin and (some) HES.

 

But a good customer of ours swears by Robe and convinced me to take a closer look. If nothing else, I have to concede that Robe is a lot of fixture for the money and very durable.

 

As mentioned above, the best thing to do is to actually try the fixtures. Sometimes it is little things that matter most for a given siutation (ex. fan noise, appearance, whatever). Even a 'cheap' moving fixture is still a pretty big investment!

 

-jjf

[ChrisD]

I'm a big fan of the Robe fixtures for school use. However, a friend of mine who works at a house which recieves touring shows says there is always at least 1 Robe unit out for repair. Compaired to mac, they're expensive, however, talk to Pulsar. At ABTT, they had some small wash units going at discount rates, definately worth a call.

 

Robe are cheaper and often brighter, however you might be taking them to AC or someone similar to get them fixed every now and again.

[zonino]

if I remember correctly they're going for about £850 each (the ones pulsar are selling)

 

n yeah I meant the mac250 wash, managed to forget to say that! the optics are very much improved from the 300 to the 250 wash, has been completely redesigned, much better light output!

[jamielovesmusic]

yeah we had a couple of coemar fixtures and they were awful! If you panned the things round, the head lid would come open - how stupid! Moral or the story is stay away from Coemar. Robe are the new Martin in the opinion of many - they are sound fixtures for a much better price. Personally would go for Robe.

[dfinn]

Hi,

 

Thanks for all the help. I will be pestering the drama department to get robe now because you have confirmed my feelings that they are as good as Martin at a more sensible price.

 

Thanks,

 

Daniel

[zonino]

not had experience with the movers in anger, but we experience problems the scans we have from them, such as the DMX XLR connectors falling through into the fixture, lamp's blowing frequently etc

[dfinn]

do you mean martin or robe?

 

Thanks

 

Daniel

[zonino]

oops! problems were with robe! had no problems with martin atall!!