LED downlights and dimmer for home theater

mcnels1

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I would like replace the incandescent can lighting in our basement with LEDs. We mainly use the room as a home theater so good dimming is mandatory. The current lighting is seven 6" ceiling cans with 65W BR30 bulbs and a Lutron TG-603P dimmer, designed only for incandescents. I bought a Cree 65W equivalent BR30, but while it dims smoothly it doesn't get nearly dim enough, with a perceived brightness at minimum of around 1/3 of full brightness. I also tried a Switch Infinia 60W equivalent and a Philips AmbientLED 60W equivalent on the same fixture and neither of them dimmed any lower. I don't own any dimmer designed for use with LEDs to experiment with.

Can anyone recommend suitable LED bulbs for the existing cans plus a dimmer? I'm leaning toward the Cree CR6 if it can be dimmed low enough based on the 90+ CRI, good reviews, long expected life, and low price if I buy the EcoSmart version. I found http://www.environmentallights.com/files/documents/dimmer_compatibility.pdf showing the dimmability of various bulb/dimmer combinations but it doesn't include the CR6. That chart also says that perceived dimming is the square root of measured dimming. Cree claims that the CR6 can be dimmed down to 5%, but if that is measured dimming it will be perceived as 22%, which will be too bright. Color temperature needs to stay near 2700K (my wife dislikes anything bluer).

The dimmer needs to fit in a standard single switch box and must be 3-way. The Lutron -153P dimmers seem to be widely compatible with various LEDs and also should work with my existing incandescents if I end up sticking with them.
 

made in china

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In our home theater, we've found that the Leviton Sureslide R70-06631-1LW perform very well with CREE and Philips LED lighting. We have CREE A19 bulbs elsewhere in our home with these dimmers, and I can get the CREE's nearly as dim as incans, just a faint glow.


In our HT, we ended up replacing all of the LED downlights with ECO Halogen PAR38 lamps. We also set the sockets in the 6" cans deeper to recess the PAR38 Halogens another 1.5". Our cans have black baffles, so this improves the theater effect for us. We removed the LED bulbs from this application because when we dimmed the LEDs, the color temp didn't change like incans do. SO that was a negative strike against them. Additionally, our 2700K LEDs are only 83 CRI, and our HT is in the basement. This being the primary light source, we felt that 83 CRI is not good enough. Basically 2 strikes there.

Lastly, when I decided to get the CREE CR6 retrofits, they had just become unavailable at all of our local Home Depots. So, since we generally run our lighting between 5%-80% dimmed in the HT, I gave up trying to find LEDs that satisfy us. For us, it is really important that the color temp changes as the lighting is dimmed to replicate that authentic theater effect. Recently, we've found it difficult to track down high CRI retrofits. 2-3 years ago they were more common, WTH?
 

mcnels1

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I ended up getting a Lutron -153P dimmer and replacing all the bulbs with 625 lumen 90 CRI Cree CR6s. They were only $2 more expensive each than the EcoSmart equivalent, which I thought worth paying for the extra 50 lumens and longer warranty. If I adjust the dimmer to allow the maximum dimming range then the bulbs noticeably flicker, but the dimming range is sufficient when adjusted to avoid flicker.

I agree with made in china that the color change when dimming incandescents give a better theater atmosphere, but I'd rather have the energy savings.
 

SemiMan

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I preferred PAR in the home theater. BR bulbs and CR6 bring similar spray light around too much which ends up on the screen.
 

RandomFlyer

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Has anyone tried the Soraa PAR38 2700k bulb with 95 CRI?

These are listed on their site but I haven't seen any in stock anywhere yet.
 

MattPete

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Has anyone tried the Soraa PAR38 2700k bulb with 95 CRI?

These are listed on their site but I haven't seen any in stock anywhere yet.


I almost pulled the trigger on a Soraa PAR30/38, but their widest beam spread is 60°, which i thought might be too narrow. I stopped by Lowes and bought a Sylvania Par30 halogen with a 50° beam spread (the closest cheap match I could find with similar lumens). Sure enough, 50° was too narrow for my application (I think standard Br30s are around 60°, but it's hard to find printed specs, and some of the newer infrared-reflecting ones have given me weird beam patterns).

Anyway, if Soraa came out with 90° versions, I'd buy a cartload in a heartbeat. They can even keep the shorter PAR (vs. BR) form factor. In fact, I like that the Lighting Science Ecosmart Br40s are shorter than the Br40 form factor.

BTW: I think the Soraa Par30Ls and Par38 are identical, except that the Par38 has a collar attached so that the bulbs technically have the same length and width as a Par38 (even thought they are just a Par30 in drag).
 
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greenearth2018

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In my home theater, my found that the GE-05036 was very perfect because it brought me comfortable movie experience.

Color temperature[/B]


The lighting color temperature can have a direct impact on the quality of home theater video. If the color temperature is off, it can affect the color fidelity of the image on screen. Color temperature can be manipulated with LEDs to create the perfect home theater viewing experience.

Lighting zones


It's a good idea to zone your lighting, so you can dim the main overhead lights and still have separate control of lighting in other areas of the room. Even though you will want no light on the theater screen, you may want light in other areas of the room for ambiance, or for a wet bar, etc.
 
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scout24

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I approved your post since it may have relevant opinion even in a four year old thread. I removed your advertising link... Please refer to CPF's advertising policies. Thanks!
 
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