I went LED at the time because it was just as good as HPS (with right components) and I needed to fill a 34"x7' area which would have been awkward to try and fill with high wattage bulbs. Back then there were no retail cob lights so I made my own. I had a reasonable estimation of how efficient the emitters would be and thus was able to calculate how many par watts I would be able to deliver to the area.
In fact, I started with a goal, light intensity of around 15 par watts per square foot and then designed the lamp around that parameter. I enjoyed the process so much I started a small business based on it.
Why go LED? It's a light right? How much light do you want? If you buy something and that something is a light producing unit the prime consideration is how much light is being produced and how efficiently it is being produced. Watts in and watts out. Secondary consideration is maintenance cost.
LED lamps that deliver less than 42% efficiency are mostly worthless. Why buy a light that can't compete with the best bulbs out there? Unless of course you have an odd space like I did, but even then if you have a choice between a 30% efficient lamp, a 50% efficient lamp, and a lamp with unknown efficiency which would you choose?
Prices have come down but good LED isn't a cheap alternative to bulbs. If you purchase something cheaper than a 1000w bulb rig and expect it to perform as well as a 1000w bulb rig you will be disappointed. Currently LED cost compared to DE bulbs is about break even over a 4-5 year period. Not long ago this was true of SE bulbs. But it depends on several factors, material cost and efficiency. If you pay 2x for an LED that is only 5% more efficient than a DE bulb are you going to recoup that extra money over 5 years? Probably not.
If you're spending money, take the time to know what you're getting. If you want to purchase retail and the vendor/manufacturer doesn't or won't provide the details necessary to quantify how many par watts or PPF you're purchasing that's a good sign their product can't compete with bulbs. If you want to DIY, take the time to learn the basics so you can design the system with a specific PAR wattage goal, plan out a components list that will deliver that goal and then build it.