Both reasons.I had a headlight go out a few weeks ago so so I replace the bad one with an old one and it seems that one of my bright headlight is higher than the other is there a reason for this or is it because they're two different brand bulbs and one older than the other
This applies to fluorescent and HID lighting as well. Lamps will change color over their lifetime due to chemical changes within and different manufacturers will have a slightly different compositions to start with.
Just to make sure, you do mean "brightness" vs. physical level?
(For those who are picky :1poke: I put the quotes in because different colors do not really equate to different light outputs)