Actually, I didnt realize the quality differences until buying many different bulbs and realizing the the consistency and quality of the Euro made lamps was generally superior to that of the chinese made lamps. I didnt buy Reeflux lamps despite knowing the quality was better with the German lamps. I ran VHO for years and years, then tried halides, T5s, and then finally halide with T5 supplements for color. It really wasnt until I had purchased many different lamps, some chinese, some European and some Iwasaki lamps made in Japan ... that I drew my general conclusions after seeing the better consistency of the German lamps (and the Iwasakis) compared to the chinese made lamps.
There are 3 lamps that I really like ... Iwasaki 50000K 150 DE or Medium base, Ushio 20000K any base or wattage and Iwasaki 14000K 250 DE and the Iwasaki 15000K 175 watt. I also think that the Ushio 14000K is a fantastic lamp if you have enough blue flourescents to offset the warmer look. And the Aqualine Buscke 13000K with blue supplements. So basically, I have found the lamps I like best for different par requirements/applications through trial and error over the past few years. But these are very personal choices in terms of color preference.
But It had nothing to do with buying Reeflux lamps despite having already drawn my own conclusions about the general quality and consistency differences between the different countries of manufacture.
Actually, the Reeflux were some of the early lamps that I tried.
One thing regarding the nipple orientation ... 250 watt DE and 400 watt DE lamps rely on the manufacturers orientation of the nipple. You can only orient these lamps one way in the sockets. I have actually had a 250 watt DE chinese made lamp pair in which one lamp had the nipple facing up when in the socket and the other lamp was facing down. Another manufacturer was consistent but both lamps had the nipple facing down when installed in the socket.
