I some what recently got a Hamilton SE 250W 14K bulb and have run it on my older black-box ballast. It has definitely lost its blueish look that it had when I first got it, which is expected but I've also thought my old ballast may be running it too hard or something.
I figured if I used an electronic ballast the bulbs might last longer, especially the color characteristics. Would it be true if par values were higher maybe the bulb color or life may be shorter? Also, maybe if I converted to HQI I would also have better results holding bulb color longer.
By the way, either of you looking to sell an electronic ballast?