A series bulbs with high CRI?

N8N

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So it's been a few years since I've bought any LED replacement bulbs... Yesterday two let go and it's time to go shopping again. Looking for 60-75 watt equivalent, preferably dimmable, good CRI. Last ones I bought were Cree dimmables, they are OK but only 85 CRI. Would be nice if they went dimmer too but at least they work unlike the bad old days of CFLs.

Really if I could find something equivalent to the L-Prize bulbs I picked up years ago I'd be happy but it seems there's nothing as good on the market today?

If there were something good I could buy at Lowe's that would help as I have gift cards (apparently my work likes to give out gift cards for good work not bonuses) but that's not necessary.

Thanks for any advice!
 

iamlucky13

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There probably is nothing comparable to the L-Prize bulb. That was a premium bulb that Philips could not manufacture for a competitive price, despite its performance.

The Hyperikon bulbs that can be bought on Amazon and other online sellers is currently one of the more popular brands around here. Pay attention to which you're looking at though - they make both high CRI and standard (~80 CRI) models.

I've got a set of 3000K high CRI Hyperikons in my bathroom. Tint and color rendering do look as expected, but a couple of them blink very briefly every few minutes - something is up with the driver on the batch I got. When I check Amazon's reviews, fortunately, there's almost no other reports of this issue.

I think Lowes still has Feit brand bulbs as their high CRI offering. Feit does not have the best reputation for reliability. I've got a couple Feit PAR20 bulbs in the kitchen that I think came from Lowes that have been doing fine for several years.

I also have a set of high CRI A19 60W equivalents from Feit I got at Costco. CRI did seem to be as expected, but mine had a very slight greenish hue to them. It's not noticeable in isolation, but it is noticeable if you compare directly to more neutral bulbs. All 4 bulbs failed over about two years. Feit does seem to be cooperating with the warranty claim I filed last week, at least.

So I've got one good and one bad experience with Feit.

I've got one of the Cree 85 CRI 3-way bulbs in use currently. As expected, probably not quite as nice looking as the 90+ CRI Hyperikons, but not far behind. This one also replaced one that failed under warranty.

I've got a few Philips LED bulbs that have been working great for years, but they're all standard CRI, non-dimmable.

I guess that makes Hyperikon the best prospect I can suggest so far. They're not rated for fully enclosed fixtures, however.
 

frank70

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There probably is nothing comparable to the L-Prize bulb. That was a premium bulb that Philips could not manufacture for a competitive price, despite its performance.
Yeah, those were (and are) fantastic - box said 92CRI at 940 lumens (see https://www.ebay.com/itm/Philips-L-...514783?hash=item3f9679f59f:g:dIcAAOSwkm9apxKZ). Having snagged 7 of these during 2013 HD clearance, 3 have been in service 5+ years in my kitchen, and 2 in each of two reading lamps. Indestructible. You'll never see another bulb like those. The OP can grab this used one at Ebay, and another 13 used ones at Amazon for $100+ apiece :)
 
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N8N

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Yeah, those were (and are) fantastic - box said 92CRI at 940 lumens (see https://www.ebay.com/itm/Philips-L-...514783?hash=item3f9679f59f:g:dIcAAOSwkm9apxKZ). Having snagged 7 of these during 2013 HD clearance, 3 have been in service 5+ years in my kitchen, and 2 in each of two reading lamps. Indestructible. You'll never see another bulb like those. The OP can grab this used one at Ebay, and another 13 used ones at Amazon for $100+ apiece :)

Yeah, I'll get right on that...
 

N8N

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There probably is nothing comparable to the L-Prize bulb. That was a premium bulb that Philips could not manufacture for a competitive price, despite its performance.

The Hyperikon bulbs that can be bought on Amazon and other online sellers is currently one of the more popular brands around here. Pay attention to which you're looking at though - they make both high CRI and standard (~80 CRI) models.

I've got a set of 3000K high CRI Hyperikons in my bathroom. Tint and color rendering do look as expected, but a couple of them blink very briefly every few minutes - something is up with the driver on the batch I got. When I check Amazon's reviews, fortunately, there's almost no other reports of this issue.

I think Lowes still has Feit brand bulbs as their high CRI offering. Feit does not have the best reputation for reliability. I've got a couple Feit PAR20 bulbs in the kitchen that I think came from Lowes that have been doing fine for several years.

I also have a set of high CRI A19 60W equivalents from Feit I got at Costco. CRI did seem to be as expected, but mine had a very slight greenish hue to them. It's not noticeable in isolation, but it is noticeable if you compare directly to more neutral bulbs. All 4 bulbs failed over about two years. Feit does seem to be cooperating with the warranty claim I filed last week, at least.

So I've got one good and one bad experience with Feit.

I've got one of the Cree 85 CRI 3-way bulbs in use currently. As expected, probably not quite as nice looking as the 90+ CRI Hyperikons, but not far behind. This one also replaced one that failed under warranty.

I've got a few Philips LED bulbs that have been working great for years, but they're all standard CRI, non-dimmable.

I guess that makes Hyperikon the best prospect I can suggest so far. They're not rated for fully enclosed fixtures, however.

The ones that have started failing I believe are the exact same Feit ones you mention, save for one Utilitech 3000K in the kitchen

I can't begrudge the Utilitechs for failing because those are probably 4-5 years old and the last two have been run in can lights.
 

N8N

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Definitely NOT available at Lowes, but I'd be surprised if there exists an LED lamp with better CRI than this:

https://www.soraa.com/products/50-Soraa-VIVID-A19

Any durability reports on these? 95 CRI is impressive, and the price, while high, is not ludicrous ($14 at a certain river themed online retailer) might be worth it for certain locations (e.g. above bathroom mirror etc.)

I did punt and buy another 4-pack of the Crees today because what's her face was coming home from the hospital and I didn't want her to walk into nonfunctional BS. Wish they sold the 75W equivalent at Big Orange, but they don't. I think I may need to pick up some more of the Utilitechs because the kitchen has 8 can lights (why landlord put in can lights without going with LED I don't know, but I didn't make that decision) and 2700K in two cans vs. 3000K in the other six is noticeable. When she moved in I did the light shuffle and she thought 2700K was good everywhere but liked the 3000K in the kitchen even though unknown CRI. I see they are only rated at 5000 hours unlike more expensive bulbs, I guess that's why they sell for a little over a buck apiece, but it's the only way I know to get a slightly higher than warm white color temp without going to a ~5000K "Daylight" color.
 

brickbat

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Any durability reports on these? 95 CRI is impressive, and the price, while high, is not ludicrous ($14 at a certain river themed online retailer) might be worth it for certain locations (e.g. above bathroom mirror etc.)....

Not that I can report. Given how Soraa is positioning themselves in the market, they'd be crazy to offer anything half-assed though. My experience with their MR16 lamps has been good so far.
 

N8N

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Also: any comments on this guy?

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50365728/

CRI is not listed on their web site which IHMO is a big failing, but I've seen reviews where it is stated as 90. I do have a local IKEA so this is an option. The "warm dimming" feature, if it works, would be cool too. I could see those finding a home in the dining room where there is a dimmer, and me shuffling the other bulbs around.
 

iamlucky13

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I think the Soraa bulb might have violet LED's under the phosphor, for enhanced rendering on that end of the spectrum, as well as the enhanced red rendering high CRI bulbs normally offer. If so, 11W for 800 lumens seems pretty reasonable. I suppose they can't be used in enclosed fixtures, and might not have the most omnidirectional beam pattern available, but by the numbers, they should have among the best light quality available today.

Yuji has a 95 CRI bulb, too, using blue LED's under the phosphor, but it's more expensive, especially after factoring in shipping, and the lowest CCT they offer is 3000K. They're more focused on the commercial market.

I looked and didn't find any more information on that Ikea bulb. Some of Ikea's bulbs are high CRI, but I don't think all of them are.

I agree with what's-her-face about 3000K being a nice color temp in the kitchen and other task areas. I've also switched to the same in the bathroom.

Your local Home Depot might have the Philips version of a warm-dimming bulb on display hooked up to a dimmer to play with. I'm pretty sure Philips version is 80 CRI, but it looks basically like you'd expect when dimmed. They have a similar bulb they call "Scene Switch" with three brightness levels controlled by flipping the light switch off and on.
 
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