Honestly, almost any of the more frequently talked about high wattage mods are going to be pretty similar and work well (any of the IPVs or Sigeleis, SXmini, VaporShark). The big differences are the fit and finish stuff and look/feel. The DNA40 has the new temp control, which is the biggest feature to compare, but lower power than the rest of them. Once you decide whether you'd rather have temerature control or that extra 10-110 watts, the rest of it comes down to which one you like the best from an aesthetic and build quality vs price standpoint. I'll throw in a plug here for the SXmini mod because I love it, along with everyone else I've seen who owns one, and you seem to have budgeted for quality. That said, you can't really go wrong with any of them.
However, I'd stay away from the Variant. For $900 (or $250 for the clone), I would expect a mod to have smooth, filtered pulse-width modulation. The Variant isn't filtered. Basically what that means is that instead of a flat signal at the power level you've set it for, it pulses rapidly between a higher and lower power setting to average out to your preferred power level. This can be a harsher vape, especially at higher power levels. Here's a video where you can hear the cycle when the Variant is fired.
Pretty much all of the devices that are universally recommended on these boards (with the exception of the new Eleaf iStick) are filtered pulse-width modulation, which runs that pulse signal through a circuit that flattens it to output a flat, smooth, unchanging power signal. It's probably the only thing the MVP2, Provari, Sigeleis, DNAs, IPVs, and SX350s ALL have in common, and those devices are universally recommended. Usually when someone asks about something with unfiltered PWM, somebody here brings up the "rattlesnake effect" and points out that it's a harsher vape a lot of people don't like.
...I guess that's me in this thread.
However, I'd stay away from the Variant. For $900 (or $250 for the clone), I would expect a mod to have smooth, filtered pulse-width modulation. The Variant isn't filtered. Basically what that means is that instead of a flat signal at the power level you've set it for, it pulses rapidly between a higher and lower power setting to average out to your preferred power level. This can be a harsher vape, especially at higher power levels. Here's a video where you can hear the cycle when the Variant is fired.
Pretty much all of the devices that are universally recommended on these boards (with the exception of the new Eleaf iStick) are filtered pulse-width modulation, which runs that pulse signal through a circuit that flattens it to output a flat, smooth, unchanging power signal. It's probably the only thing the MVP2, Provari, Sigeleis, DNAs, IPVs, and SX350s ALL have in common, and those devices are universally recommended. Usually when someone asks about something with unfiltered PWM, somebody here brings up the "rattlesnake effect" and points out that it's a harsher vape a lot of people don't like.
...I guess that's me in this thread.
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