The Jebao Matrix LED spotlight is just the latest in a long line of knockoff product from the unscrupulous Chinese company. The Jebao ‘Dense Matrix’ LED AK-60 is a nearly perfect clone of the Kessil A360 LED spotlight on the outside, but if you are a fan of the original, we assure you the similarity is purely superficial.
Jebao’s AK-60 is only about 63 watts, with four colors of LEDs in white, blue, deep blue and ultraviolet and these are controlled across only two channels. Jebao’s Kessil A350/360 knockoff is actually not the first Chinese light we’ve seen that counterfeit’s Kessil wildly popular aquarium light. Kelo has a similar light which also apes the original Kessil and again, the resemblance is only skin deep.
Besides the form factor, what made the Kessil A350/360 so popular is a unique blend of their own home-grown LEDs that are arranged into the original Dense Matrix LED. The unique spectrum from Kessil is distinct from Aqua Illumination, distinct from Ecotech Marine, and quite unique in the marine aquarium market as any diehard Kessil fans can attest.
Not only are the Kelo and Jebao LED spotlights not nearly as bright as the original Kessil, but the color leaves a lot to be desired. Sure you can expect to tweak the light to the blue end of the spectrum, but you’re simply not going to see the pop we’ve come to expect from Kessils.
Also remember that at 60 watts with distinct channels for blue and white, when you tune the Jebao Matrix LED to be mostly blue, you’ll be essentially setting it at somewhere around 30 to 40 watts. With that kind of output you might as well get a real Kessil A150/A160 but what how much performance do you think you’re going to get for less than $200?
Look, we get it, reefing is an expensive hobby and we look to cut costs wherever we can. Jebao has a long history of knocking off products from established brands. The Jebao WP pumps, the Jebao dosing pump, and more recently the Jebao Cross-Flow – moving water is pretty straightforward and we can’t make the same argument against knockoff water flow pumps as we can for knockoff LEDs.
Producing high quality LEDs, managing heat and using good quality electronic components is a whole different ball game from making simple tweaks to commercially available motors. Don’t waste your money on the Jebao AK-60 Matrix LED.
