Was upgrading your light actually worth the money?

Genuinely curious what you all experienced here. I ran a cheap blurple for almost two years and figured it was fine since i didn't know any better. Finally bit the bullet last spring and grabbed a decent quantum board setup, and yeah, my last run looked noticeably better. Denser buds, better color, plants just seemed happier overall. But i also changed a couple other things that run so i can't say the light alone did it.

That's the part that bugs me. It's hard to isolate one variable when you're only running a tent or two and your grows are months apart. Could've been the light, could've been i finally dialed in my VPD, could've been dumb luck.

Anyone feel like they ran a clean enough comparison to actually credit the light upgrade? Or did you just accept the W and move on? Wondering if the jump from mid-tier to something nicer matters as much as going from a blurple to anything decent.