From what I understand the tar / magnetic ballasts also can run very hot and even noisey. My electronic ballast is never more than warm and dead quiet too. I was going to buy from captivereefs, but found a vendor only 15mi from my home and I thought that would be best in case I needed to return anything, etc. Very good deal, it was recommended to me by a local reefer.
BTW, you will not look back once you get
MH, the clarity and shimmer is amazing. Here's the link:
http://oceanencounter.com/Merchant2/...ory_Code=EVMHR