Originally Posted by
noglider
Take a look at a B&M or similar European headlight. The use of an LED illustrates that designs for filament bulbs are no longer applicable. The B&M design is brilliant. It might have been expensive to create, but is it expensive to duplicate? I don't know. It's not just the lens, it's the reflector. The B&M has its LED on top, pointing down, and the reflector turns it forward. There are many subtle curves to achieve the beam shape, and the result is that it is brightest at the top. This way, intensity does not diminish along the ground as you get farther from the headlight. It's not just a cutoff.
And maybe I'm giving more credit than necessary, but I can't help being impressed.
I have two B&M headlamps, an Luxos U and an IQ-XS. I agree that they were well designed, but with the automated manufacturing in use today, almost everything is built with high precision compared to decades ago. I think you are giving it more credit than really due.
I could be wrong but I think the main reason that they shine the light down and back to the reflector instead of the classic way with parabolic lens is to avoid non-reflected light from shining forward where it could shine above the cutoff.
Everything to do with LEDs has been amazing over the past decade or so.