It’s been a long time since we’ve had any updates on the MaxSpect Ethereal LED, but after nearly a year we are looking forward to seeing the new light at Aquarama next week. First revealed at InterZoo last year, Maxspect’s new flagship LED lighting platform has been under advanced development and refinement for the past 12 months to get it just right, and we have no doubt that the feature set will have been worth the wait.
Since it’s been quite a while, let us refresh you on how the Ethereal LED is built. Like the innovative passive heatsink “wings” of the Maxspect Razor, the Ethereal has an equally creative heatsink design with a top-mounted central fan pushing air through a venting channel that is essentially sandwiched between two aluminum panels.
The LEDs themselves are arranged in an original way, with five different LEDs clustered together into a commonized reflector, to get a balance of depth penetration while also encouraging ideal color blending. All of the LEDs in the cluster are five different colors each representing a separate channel for controlling intensity and creating custom spectrum and photoperiods over the aquarium.
As we have learned in the past, a powerful LED light with many different LED colors and channels is only as useful as the controlling interface with which to program them. To this end Maxspect has spent considerable effort really refining the wireless connectivity options, with each light being equipped with onboard wireless, connecting directly to your iOS, Android or Windows smartphone.
For controlling multiple lights, a separate device called the Maxspect Multi Controller (MMC) will serve as a bridge between your smartphone and all of your lights. We believe the MMC will also be a direct connection to your phone but it is unknown whether this device will also put your lighting network online, offering cloud-like connectivity when you are away from home.
The Ethereal LED light we are being shown now is basically nearly the same as last year’s version, with few slight changes. The number of holes in the top of the fixture have been reduced to only those necessary to secure the fixture, meanwhile the wireless “package” has been moved from the arm of the fixture to the rear of the top, a change which should help enhance signal strength but most of all it will allow much easier access to the arm mount for adjustments.
Stay tuned for next week when we come face to face with the nearly completed version of the forthcoming Maxspect Ethereal LED light at Aquarama.
