[sphelps]

Yes the halides look much better but your LED spectrum is much more limited. I too went through the same process but if you spend enough time and money on your DIY fixture you will get it to a point you're happy with but you have a long way to go, as in 5 more channels of color. Blue is an absolute must, then comes red and green (or cyan). After that you can decide if adding UV and yellow is worth while. It can get quite complicated and tedious which is why I find DIY these days less productive than just buying a decent fixture, these you can see running before you invest so you pick the one that best suits your taste, thus eliminating the trial and error that comes with DIY.