# Has anyone seen or used these cheap chinese mini spots moving heads?



## delphonic (Sep 26, 2009)

I saw these moving head mini spots online for $149, and look a like like the chauvet. It looks like they ship from China... surprise surprise. Just curious if anyone has ever ordered one. It's so cheap I'm half tempted to give it a try... but of course there's warranty/repair issues... etc. 

I've ordered stuff from China before (but just electronic parts), but not from this company.


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## epimetheus (Sep 26, 2009)

That is the Chauvet MinSpot, just without the brand name. If you can call Chauvet a brand name, that is. I've got a MinWash sitting on my desk right now, not really useful as anything other than a toy or learning tool.


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## Corbettlight (Sep 27, 2009)

I was gonna say, that is definitely a MiNSpot. The weird part, though, is that it says it has the gobo shake effect, which the MiNSpot definitely does not have. I assume they're getting it confused with one of Chauvet's "higher-end" moving heads.. although even though they may be higher-end, they're still from Chauvet... I have one that I use to learn with. Not much else.


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## gafftaper (Sep 27, 2009)

Yeah it's a Chauvet Minspot sold by the Chinese OEM who makes them, but without the Chauvet sticker. As has been said they make a great desk top ornament and are fun for educational purposes but have little use in performance. Do a search for minspot and you'll find lot's of threads about them. I seriously doubt that it's a 15 watt LED. My AA MagLED flashlight is *significantly* brighter than my Minspot. For that matter, I've seen no name brand LED flashlights for $5 next to the cash register at my gas station that are brighter than my Minspot.


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## metti (Sep 27, 2009)

I looked at that site and they have a $95 LED color mixing strip light? Does anyone have any idea what name brand fixture it is?


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## Lotos (Sep 27, 2009)

metti said:


> I looked at that site and they have a $95 LED color mixing strip light? Does anyone have any idea what name brand fixture it is?


 
Looks similar to American DJ Homepage.


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## MillburyAuditorium (Sep 27, 2009)

That sight seems to be just a person who sells stage/DJ lighting. Maybe a web sight made by the company who makes Chauvet's lights? If they don't make them themselves, not sure. If you scroll down, they have other DJ lights for cheaper then the same models from Chauvet. They also have a 2500Watt follow spot, one of the fancy shmansy ones with buttons to change colors and whatnot. For only $300.


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## Les (Sep 27, 2009)

Yeah, they're no more than a retailer that buys OEM products and sells them for way cheaper. Who knows where they are located... Could be an apartment for all we know. 

The reason they are so cheap is that they are buying wholesale and selling them off at discounted prices -- the retailers get a better price than we do as the customer due to a little thing called markup. Markup is the difference between what they pay and what we pay. This in turn creates margin. Margin = profit. Add the fact that they may not have much overhead (bills). This could be the reason why they can sell them so cheap. But these prices come at a cost to us in the form of non-existent customer service, no brick-and-mortar store to go to for service, high stock turnover rates (what you see today might be gone tomorrow), small selection, etc. 

I am assured that Chauvet is not directly affiliated with this seller. I doubt they are even an authorized dealer due to the fact that they don't have Chauvet's name on the product. To my knowledge, Chauvet is the only company who markets the Minspot, and they spend big money doing so. 

That "fancy schmancy" followspot is really no more than what you would find at your local Guitar Center, also a Chauvet or American DJ product. And at a similar price. They might seem like a good deal, and I'll admit I tried one out and they are fun in a weird way, but in no way a professional grade spot. They aren't bright enough for a theatrical sized throw, and if you decide to hit the blue button for a blue spot, you will see all the intermediate colors on the wheel while it's on its way to the color you asked for. These are really made to spotlight couples on a dance floor and I imagine they work well for that.


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## Footer (Sep 27, 2009)

> Accepted Payment Methods: Money Order


DANGER DANGER DANGER

The reason you buy online with credit cards is if the item does not arrive, you can always file a claim with your credit card company. With a money order, they money theirs and if you don't get the product you are up a creek. 

This is a guy who bashed out a website in his apt one night. The product never hits his door. It goes strait from China to you. If you have no contact info, no email address to get a hold of this person. You have nothing. The DJ market is filled with this type of thing. Its also filled with people who want to get gear for really cheap prices and get bitten. Don't ever buy anything from anyone online that wants to be paid by money order. You are asking to get ripped off.


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## BillESC (Sep 27, 2009)

A person on another chat site I visit purchased a LED fixture directly from China. After a week or so, it began to act up intermittently loosing DMX control. For warranty service he'll have to ship the unit back to China. A ten pound package mailed via the US Post Office using the cheapest methon will run him about $ 40.00 and it is not known if the original seller will pay the return freight.

Yes, importers do sell at a margin (profit) but some of it goes to cover the cost of warranty service, the stocking of replacement parts and salaries for repair technicians. Price should NEVER be the sole criteria when making a purchase.


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## MillburyAuditorium (Sep 27, 2009)

Wow, I didn't realize he only accepted money orders.

Don't do it : P It is tempting, but the site isn't even professional at all.

I only buy from known retailers, even though you do pay a bit more, its well worth it. You get a brand new working unit, warranty, service, etc.
I buy DJ equipment from
½ Off Sale! – DJ Equipment – DJ Systems -DJ Lights - Mirror Balls – Fog Machines
It says 50 percent off, but its less, but it really is cheaper then other sites, and everything I have ordered had no problem or anything, got warranty's, etc. I need to get a new microphone for a light, but, it wasn't the retailers fault, just that I bought a cheap Eliminator light 
And my wireless mic broke, but, I bought a 10 dollar wireless mic xD
And my right side of my headphones don't work, but I bought a 5 dollar headset xD So hey, you get what you pay for, but that site is great, try comparing some stuff.

And Guitar Center has a nice choice, for DJ lights.



Also about the site I linked to, which their real name is actually Pro Audio Video Inc. Not CheapDJGear.
Well, they also sell audio equipment, which would be fine for theatrical uses, unlike most lighting they have. Ie, Sound boards, anything from a tiny 5 input, to a 24 channel proffesional board.
Microphones from crappy 5 dollar ones up to $700 8 channel wireless mic systems
Speakers of any size shape and price plus subs.
Etc etc
: )


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## soundlight (Sep 27, 2009)

If you are going to buy DJ-level lights, contact a good dealer, they will give you below MAP pricing as well as real customer service. Which is all but a necessity when dealing with this quality level of fixtures.


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## derekleffew (Sep 27, 2009)

metti said:


> I looked at that site and they have a $95 LED color mixing strip light? Does anyone have any idea what name brand fixture it is?


Umm, that's kind of the point. It ISN'T a name brand fixture, or at least a brand anyone has ever heard of.


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## gafftaper (Sep 28, 2009)

Some of you guys aren't quite getting how the Chinese OEM thing works. Elation, Chauvet, and AMDJ are all made in China at a big factory. That factory fills an order for a certain number of Minspots, puts a Chauvet sticker on them and ships them out the door to the US to be sold. However when that order is complete, the assembly line is still setup and ready to make more Minspots. So they make some more Minspots supposedly with the exact same parts and same specifications (some say yes, some say no on that point). These Minspots get sold from China to the US under the name Neo-Neon for less money, because they aren't paying for Chauvet's advertising budget. There are others, Neo-Neon is just the most well known. 

EDIT: 
(Correct me if I'm wrong with the following Bill). 

You can buy these products straight from China, or you can get them drop shipped via some unknown guy's apartment with a money order (SCARRY), or you can get them through a legit dealer via Irradiant's distribution network. Irradiant is an importer who brings the Neo-Neon fixtures over and sells them to a dealer network. If something goes wrong you have a dealer to go back to who can send them back to Irradiant. Yes it will cost a little more than going directly to China but you have a backup plan if the fixture comes D.O.A. 

You don't have to sacrifice the safety of your money, or risk getting stuck with trying to mail a D.O.A. product back to China. Just find a legitimate dealer who handles these products. The few bucks more you may have to pay are more than worth it for the security it offers.


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## zuixro (Sep 28, 2009)

gafftaper said:


> Elation, Chauvet, and AMDJ are all made in China at a big factory.



I think it's actually THE SAME factory (that may be hearsay though).

I've heard that Foxconn, the Chinese company that manufactures products for Apple, also manufactures products for Dell, and parts for many other computer brands.


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## dkumpula (Sep 28, 2009)

Hey folks - although the housing is nearly identical, these are NOT Chauvet MinSpots. They are (most likely) CDS-5102 LED Mini Moving Heads. I have 7 Chauvet MinSpots and 5 of the complementary Min Washes. I made the mistake of purchasing four of these CDS-5102's thinking they were identical to the MinSpots. 

Of the four I received, one of them did not respond properly to DMX control. I sent it back to China at my own expense (~$60) and received it back a few weeks later - still not functioning reliably. I've since given up on this device.

Of the remaining three - they work, but are different and inferior to the Chauvet MinSpots. The channels of the CDS-5102s are the same, but the colors, auto-movement programs, gobos are all different. The Tilt-Fine / Pan-Fine works in reverse (which really works screwy with my software). The pan/tilt speed is errattic - going fast then slow over a wide angle when it should be consistent. 

I couldn't find a copy of the manual on-line but can e-mail a copy if anyone needs it.


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## photoatdv (Sep 28, 2009)

How does the construction of the two compare? It's clear that they were intended to look the same, but did they make any effort to make the insides appear the same (though one is clearly inferior)


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## delphonic (Sep 28, 2009)

Just for the record I wasn't going to actually buy one... I just said it's tempting. All of my dealings with China have been via credit card and smaller electronics components (can't beat them for that). No way in hell would I send a money order blindly to a place like that. Not to mention the risk of import duties/tariffs... etc.

Plus, as Bill said, warranty and service are a consideration... especiall when you're dealing with product that already have inherently lower quality (let's be realistic).

...but still... it is tempting. ha.


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## BillESC (Sep 28, 2009)

Gafftaper is correct. ESC has begun importing a select and very limited line of LED fixtures built to our specifications. I spent 18 months researching both the products and the companies manufacturing them before I received the first demo fixture to actually test.

Our first shipment was small and pre-sold. Our second shipment, double the size, arrived last week and the last of the fixtures shipped today. Our next shipment is expected the third week of October. Feedback has been excellent.

Regarding one factory making everybodys fixtures, it simply isn't so. There are several major manufacturers, all turning out many of the same fixtures, i.e., you can only put so many 5mm diodes in a Par64. The difference is in quality of the component parts and quality control. The company making our fixtures imports their diodes from the U.S. and their build quality is leaps and bounds above your ADJ, Chauvet, Cheaplights offerings.

The Major players are (in no particular order) Neo-Neon, Dortron, Daisylight and Longman. All offer U.L., CE and ROHLS certification.

I'm not saying these manufacturers don't perhaps also offer cheaper lines of products as well, that's part of market share. Afterall, Shure sells microphones that dealers can buy less than $ 20.00.


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## gafftaper (Sep 29, 2009)

So Bill, and I'm NOT suggesting that your company is doing anything wrong here with this question, is it possible for a US dealer to go to the Chinese OEM for Chauvet and say, "Hey I want you to make me 100 Minspots. Cut these corners in quality I want to sell them on E-bay for $100 less than the real thing." 

That sounds like a very Behringer way to do business.


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## BillESC (Sep 29, 2009)

Gaff,

I'm sure it could be done but one would probably have to use a different manufacturer and reverse engineer the product (just like Behringer.) I suspect, Chauvet etc., have contracts in place prohibiting such practices with their manufacturers.


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## gafftaper (Sep 29, 2009)

BillESC said:


> I'm sure it could be done but one would probably have to use a different manufacturer and reverse engineer the product (just like Behringer.) I suspect, Chauvet etc., have contracts in place prohibiting such practices with their manufacturers.



Good to hear that there are some level of legitimate contracts and business ethics over there. Dealing with "China Inc" makes me nervous. I'm Not saying there isn't perfectly good equipment coming out of China, it just always worries me that the person who designed the product isn't getting anything for their hard work.


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## SHARYNF (Sep 29, 2009)

Having send years dealing with Manufacturing in Asia in another life, anything is possible. Here in the US we tend to think of business practices in terms of how we would react.

Typically the Chauvet AM DJ etc will take a standard model that the Manufacturer has designed and built and then require some mods to it for their purpose. the Manufacturer is offering them these deals based on the fact that they are actually selling the same basic unit to a lot of folks. So if you went to the manufacturer that Chauvet might use, you will probably see the same basic unit offered for sale

We also tend to think that different companies in Asia are all independant and fiercely competative, which in some situations is correct, BUT I have seen many instances where multiple companies share the same design, and if one runs out of stock will substitute from another.


Over the years, the factor that was the most important was how the QA ws handled. Having consistant QU over the life of a product is very difficult and in my experience required constant monitoring and with large orders actually having our own people on site checking bill of materials, and all steps of the product production cycle. It was a constant battle to prevent the substitution for "it is better" or It is the same' or whatever the excuse.

This is why having a dealer who will stand behind the product is important. Your Importance to the manufacturer is base on how many pieces you buy. If you are a one off buyer, you are at the bottom of the food chain.


It is not to say that US manufactures don't do the same thing. The Famous Ford Pinto it costs less to pay for the deaths than fix the design was not all that long ago.

Sharyn


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## dkumpula (Oct 1, 2009)

photoatdv said:


> How does the construction of the two compare? It's clear that they were intended to look the same, but did they make any effort to make the insides appear the same (though one is clearly inferior)


I can only speak to the casing - its visually identical to the Chauvet MinSpots exept for the branding, of course. I've only taken apart one of the CDS-5102's so I can't speak to the internals by comparison. As the CDS-5102's have gobo bounce and the minspots don't, there must be at least some minor differences.


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