At LDI 1992, ETC simultaneously launched three remarkable products: the Obsession console, the Sensor dimmer, and the Source Four spotlight. With just a 575W bulb it put out more light than other 1kW or even some 2kW fixtures – it felt like a miracle!
 
It came from the mind of maverick inventor David Cunningham, who after creating consoles (Light Palette) and dimmers (CD80) for others, set up his own design firm with partner Greg Esakoff and decided it was time to have a go at a spotlight.
 
To make a better light he needed a better light bulb, so he made that first – the four filament HPL from which the fixture took its name. The smaller bulb meant a smaller reflector, so the ability to use dichroic glass to keep heat out of the beam, and then smaller lenses, allowing for better glass, or the plastic 5? and 10? lenses. Then the pair engineered and engineered it until its cost premium over its rivals was reasonable. 
 
More than three million Source Four products have been sold since, but this Source Four is from the very first production batch, possibly fixture number 5. It’s here to celebrate both ETC’s 50^th birthday and the Source Four’s West End debut, on the play Burning Blue in 1995 – 30 years ago!

ETC Source Four
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