Why is this light different from all other lights?
No matter how found this page, at this moment, you may be asking yourself this very question. Perhaps you are an inquisitive youngster, or maybe you are a professional pool player who is looking for the BEST available lighting for your pool table. This hypothesis isn't too far fetched, as the most recognized names in pool are currently rocking a Littman Light at home. Names like Shane Van Boening, Sky Woodward, Allison Fisher and Nick Varner. In addition to being the absolute best in the world at what they do, these current and future hall of famers all know the same important thing: Proper lighting is essential in the game of pool. As essential as the proper table, the proper cloth, the proper balls, and the proper cue. So in order to answer this question, "why is this light different from all other lights?", please allow me to borrow a turn of phrase from another, slightly larger industry.....diamonds.
That's diamond with a lower case "d". I'm talking about the precious stone...that people put in wedding rings. Have you ever bough one? If you have, I bet that you have heard of the "4 C's". They are Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat weight. If you're on board to hear me out on this analogy, I think you will agree that it's a good one. Here we go....
1. Cut. As in the cut of the diamond gives it that brilliance, that sparkly reflection of light. Well in the case of pool table lighting, the goal is kind of the opposite. What we want to do is to direct the light away from the eyes of the player, and down towards the table, so that we light up the playing surface. This is accomplished through a special reflective diffuser called paracube. Notice that I said REFLECTIVE diffuser. What we DON'T want is to cut down on the amount of light that is being put out, like a frosted glass or plastic would do, in the name of reducing glare on the eyes of the players. The paracube diffuser does this in a rather ingenious way. Due to the shape of the individual reflective cell walls, the light is actually reflected directionally downward, towards the surface of the table. This accomplishes 2 major goals: the majority of the light is directed TOWARDS the table surface, and AWAY from the players' eyes. It's genius, and an absolute MUST, especially given the spectacular brightness of LED lighting (more on that later).
2. Color. Remember those commercials in the 80's and 90's for G.E.'s "soft white" bulb? Did you ever understand what that actually meant? It has to do with color spectrum. Light bulbs come in color spectrums that typically range from 2700K (or Kelvin) to 6500K. 2700K is in the yellow spectrum, while 6500K is what they call daylight spectrum. What is absolutely incredible is the color of your cloth, and the color of the balls, can appear VASTLY different to the eye, depending on the spectrum of light that is being shined upon them. When I first started making pool table lights in 2017, I spent hours upon hours doing testing and surveying of people to determine what the optimum lighting spectrum is for pool table lights. At the risk of giving away my trade secrets, I arrived at the conclusion that definitively the best color spectrum is 5000-5500K. At lower spectrums the yellowing effect results in dull, drab tones which don't allow for the balls to "pop" off the table. At higher spectrums the cloth becomes "washed out"- things become too stark and the sense of warmth and color get lost. As such every Littman Light comes with lighting in the 5000-5500K spectrum for optimum color perception.
3. Clarity. What is it that we need to be able to see the pool table surface clearly? Power! Output! Brightness! And in the year 2020 that means only one thing: LED technology baby! LED's are SUPER bright, SUPER efficient and SUPER durable! Littman Lights are made from edge lit LED panel lights. This means that the output is bright, even and when combined with the paracube diffusers provide incredible lighting intensity directly onto the pool table surface. For you numbers geeks out there, our lights put out a remarkable 5,200 to 11,700 lumens of light, depending on the model, all while consuming only 40 to 90 watts of power! And our panels are indicated to last for tens of thousands of hours! This is why we feel confident enough to back our lights with a 3-year comprehensive warranty on everything including panel life. All of this adds up to a clear, bright, brilliant pool playing experience.
4. Carat weight. Well, in this case I've kind of shot myself in the foot. Obviously when it comes to diamonds the heavier the better! But in the case of pool table lighting the opposite is true. Made from anodized aluminum and LED panels, our lights are very light weight when compared with our competition. Examples: The 1x8 home edition: 26 lb. The 2x5 Tournament edition: The same. And our super- light and compact 1x4 home edition for bar boxes weighs in at a mere 13 lb. Our lights are plug-and-play ready, so unbox it, hang it, plug it in an you are up and running baby! And at a mere 3 inches thick, with a variety of color options, your slim, sleek Littman Light will look good in any setting, with any brand, style or color of pool table.
So if you like it, put a ring on it! I personally guarantee that you will not regret purchasing a Littman Light!
-Mike Littman
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