I received the new Timpani, part of the Luxli Orchestra LED RGBAW lighting system has been given a few small physical upgrades that make a great big difference in the ease of use.

The little big changes

The Timpani light itself is the same as the original. These mechanical improvements make using it a lot easier, and faster.

Yoke upgrades

The first one is how the Timpani is mounted to the yoke that holds it on a light stand. The previous yoke was problematic, to say the least — the concept was good but the implementation was poor.

Each side of the light had a red knob, then the yoke and then a black knob. The idea was by loosening the red knob on either side then adjusting the black knobs allowing the light to slide up and down on the yoke, the light’s position on the yoke was adjustable. The issue was the black knobs would loosen and the Timpani would be crooked in the yoke. This often restricted the movement of the light. It wasn’t a big deal to fix and it was bothersome.

The upgrade eliminates the black knob altogether. The red knob is replaced by a locking handle that can be mounted on either side of the light. Simply remove a bolt and replace it with the handle.

Light stand mount

The upgrade changes out the red knob on the original with a small locking handle. Enough said!

V-type battery mount

The original Timpani came with a V-type battery mount that was super clunky to use because the battery was very hard to fit. The power cord had a straight XLR style connector the stuck out from the back of the light and could get in the way of tilting the Timpani up because the connector would hit the yoke.

This upgrade is a brand new V-mount that loads a battery smoothly with little effort. The power cord now has a 45º XLR connector that snugs up to the back of the Timpani. It’s the little things that make the biggest differences.

These updates are simple and in hindsight, obvious. I hope that Luxli will offer an upgrade kit of the yoke and the v-mount. The battery plate, by the way, can be changed out for a gold-mount if needed. A detailed review of the Luxli Timpani is here and an overview of the entire three-piece Orchestra series is here.