The low-profile, lightweight X-5 is designed to deliver the same output as conventional strobes from one fifth of the power. Housing 2,970 LED's, power consumption of 360W with lamp life of 50,000 hours, contained in a slim aluminium chassis, it is designed into three cells - to boost creativity.
These attributes had been brought to LeRoy's attention by one of his partners, programmer Cory FitzGerald, and Randy Wade, who heads up SGM Inc, based in Houston, Texas. And so the designer decided to specify them for the first time.
"I was impressed by the combination of power consumption, brightness and rugged design," LeRoy explained. "But I was particularly impressed by the fact that each strobe breaks down to three individual cells, enabling me to project very low res graphics as well a bright blasts of light and strobing," he said. "Most of them are in a 4 x 4 block formation."
These cells can be operated independently when fitted to the special brackets that enable them to be used in blocks for a perfectly spaced pixel blinder.
Lighting for the tour, which opens in Europe in mid-April before moving to the UK, and then hitting North America at the end of June, has been provided by Illinois-based rental company, Upstaging Inc - who are LeRoy Bennett's supplier of choice. "They have the best back-up and are always more than 150% supportive of every project," he says.
John Huddleston from Upstaging, in turn, stated how impressed he was with the X-5. "It's one of the first true plug and play effects we have purchased in a long time. The fixture design is very 'Apple'-like in its elegance and we are happy to be able to offer them in our inventory."
(Jim Evans)
