High CRI, dimmable LED downlights

GeX · 15 Nov 2025 at 15:21

Currently working through prep for gutting and redoing the kitchen, and I want to add some more downlights.
There are 8 there at the moment, but they stop short of the end of the kitchen as the ceiling begins to slope. This has been done because the downlights take GU10 bulbs and so require at least that length for mounting depth, that doesn't exist in the slope.

I want 2 extra lights as the hob is going to end up under them, and so am looking at LED units. They need to be dimmable (I have a Samotech Zigbee dimmer that links it all into Hue), have a high CRI because I'm not a monster, and shallow depth.

https://www.downlights.co.uk/aurora-r6-fixed-high-cri-fire-rated-led-downlights-6w.html these are what I've found, and wondered if anyone else has used them or similar.

Not sure on colour temp for kitchen, house is Edwardian so probs warmer colours. 3000K

jpaul · 15 Nov 2025 at 15:58

philips master leds are about all there is for hi-cri bulbs gu10 -
I had bought usa hyperikon brand high cri 4K colour for bathroom&kitchen but that company went to the wall,
philips bulbs are expensive though at £10/shot and I keep waiting for something better value to appear, so am on cheap v-tacs at the moment,
but if you are comparing with sealed units at £12 maybe philips would work for you.

ie https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Expert-5-5w-50w-Equivalent-TheLEDSpecialist/dp/B072PSRM9T
can get cheaper big packs.

[ I'm currently looking for high cri rx7 for uplighters - which don't seem to exist, I'd like to convert my 75W metal halide 6000lumen uplighter. ]

Firegod · 15 Nov 2025 at 16:15

GeX said:
Currently working through prep for gutting and redoing the kitchen, and I want to add some more downlights.
There are 8 there at the moment, but they stop short of the end of the kitchen as the ceiling begins to slope. This has been done because the downlights take GU10 bulbs and so require at least that length for mounting depth, that doesn't exist in the slope.

I want 2 extra lights as the hob is going to end up under them, and so am looking at LED units. They need to be dimmable (I have a Samotech Zigbee dimmer that links it all into Hue), have a high CRI because I'm not a monster, and shallow depth.

https://www.downlights.co.uk/aurora-r6-fixed-high-cri-fire-rated-led-downlights-6w.html these are what I've found, and wondered if anyone else has used them or similar.

Not sure on colour temp for kitchen, house is Edwardian so probs warmer colours. 3000K

Yeah I have Aurora units, think they are the older E6 Pro model. Some of the other rooms have Integral lux units. The Aurora units work really well.

GeX · 15 Nov 2025 at 17:21

jpaul said:
philips master leds are about all there is for hi-cri bulbs gu10 -
I had bought usa hyperikon brand high cri 4K colour for bathroom&kitchen but that company went to the wall,
philips bulbs are expensive though at £10/shot and I keep waiting for something better value to appear, so am on cheap v-tacs at the moment,
but if you are comparing with sealed units at £12 maybe philips would work for you.

ie https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Expert-5-5w-50w-Equivalent-TheLEDSpecialist/dp/B072PSRM9T
can get cheaper big packs.

[ I'm currently looking for high cri rx7 for uplighters - which don't seem to exist, I'd like to convert my 75W metal halide 6000lumen uplighter. ]

We have Philips GU10s in there at the moment, I don’t recall the exact model but they are high CRI.
To be able to fit the new lights in the reduced ceiling void we need to replace them all with small units.
I’ll check out what Philips do in that segment

GeX · 15 Nov 2025 at 17:22

Firegod said:
Yeah I have Aurora units, think they are the older E6 Pro model. Some of the other rooms have Integral lux units. The Aurora units work really well.

Good to hear re Aurora, they seem to tick the right boxes but as I’m not in the trade I don’t know who the big names are so user feedback is very helpful

jpaul · 15 Nov 2025 at 21:57

Meeting high cri at lower K's is much easier because of the high red content, which is where the likes of hue bulbs can make such cri claims,
I want 4K in the kitchen to see what I'm doing in nearer to daylight emulation, also good for the home office and bathroom.
I had bought some 6K bulbs at one point point which were useless as you could no longer see the hob gas flames, which I attributed to those being a poor CRI

jpaul · 22 Nov 2025 at 11:43

motivated me to pull finger out - will try out these £5/shot cri90 gu10s with varilight dimmer and also,
finally convert uplighter (only 2K lumens and not cri90 but, mftrs edicted we save the planet)

Tom_ed1987 · 22 Nov 2025 at 14:21

I must have spent something like £200 buying & trying various options trying to find the answer to this about 3 years ago.

The answer was: Philips Master ExpertColour GU10's in cheap Aurora fire rated downlights, which work great on a dimmer.

GeX · 22 Nov 2025 at 19:24

Right.. but as I said, I don’t have the depth for GU10

jpaul · 23 Nov 2025 at 11:19

can you get ceiling embeds with gu10 that descend say 20mm to allow a gu10 with limited depth above ceiling board
- my google is on only showing me tube ones where the whole body is beneath the ceiling.

even the cri90's i bought, above you can feel the difference in the kitchen, am experimenting using them as a dimmable tv backlight too.

GeX · 23 Nov 2025 at 11:35

The ones I linked in the opening post are CRI 90, and shallower than GU10s

jpaul · 24 Nov 2025 at 08:20

yes I realise that - but gu10's, if a socket is available, may be lower lifetime cost ;
v-tec/hyperikon gu10s I mostly use last 3/4 years, so a £5 bulb when that occurs is cheaper than a complete unit.
( - distress due to poor heat dissipation is what seems to kill mine)

Demon · 24 Nov 2025 at 15:09

GeX said:
Currently working through prep for gutting and redoing the kitchen, and I want to add some more downlights.
There are 8 there at the moment, but they stop short of the end of the kitchen as the ceiling begins to slope. This has been done because the downlights take GU10 bulbs and so require at least that length for mounting depth, that doesn't exist in the slope.

I want 2 extra lights as the hob is going to end up under them, and so am looking at LED units. They need to be dimmable (I have a Samotech Zigbee dimmer that links it all into Hue), have a high CRI because I'm not a monster, and shallow depth.

https://www.downlights.co.uk/aurora-r6-fixed-high-cri-fire-rated-led-downlights-6w.html these are what I've found, and wondered if anyone else has used them or similar.

Not sure on colour temp for kitchen, house is Edwardian so probs warmer colours. 3000K

They are fine, I would recommend their colour adjustable / output adjustable versions, still CRI: 90 but you can select from 3 colour temps and 2 light outputs..

We thought we wanted 3000K, but actually with some experimentation ended up with 4000K because ours are all adjustable, we have a mix of KSR and Aurora adjustable downlighters, the KSR are 84CRI and still really good, the Aurora look no different from a CRI perspective, which is to say they are very good, certainly leagues better than any cheapo things you get off amazon..

Here's the aurora ones we have:

Aurora R6 4W/6W Dimmable IP65 CCT Fast Fix Downlight 3000/4000/5700K - White - AU-R62CWSFFH

Introducing the R6™CWS CRI90 Adjustable 4-6W Colour & Wattage Switchable Fire Rated Downlight by Aurora, designed for easy installation and versatility. Equipped with a FastRFix™ connector, it allows quick setup and circuit testing, fitting perfectly in shallow ceiling voids at just 63mm high...

www.ledbulbs.co.uk

And

Aurora R6 4W/6W/8W Dimmable IP65 CCT Downlight 3000/4000/5700K - White - AU-R6CWS

The Aurora R6™CWS is a fire-rated downlight with switchable colour temperatures (3000K, 4000K, 5700K) and wattage options (4W, 6W, 8W). Its low 50mm profile makes it perfect for shallow ceilings, while the detachable driver ensures easy installation. It’s tested for fire, acoustic, and air...

www.ledbulbs.co.uk

I have them dimmed using a Shelly Gen 3 Dimmer module in the switch and once calibrated they work fine, as did the basic dimmer our sparky left when he installed them..

GeX · 6 Dec 2025 at 15:40

Demon said:
They are fine, I would recommend their colour adjustable / output adjustable versions, still CRI: 90 but you can select from 3 colour temps and 2 light outputs..

We thought we wanted 3000K, but actually with some experimentation ended up with 4000K because ours are all adjustable, we have a mix of KSR and Aurora adjustable downlighters, the KSR are 84CRI and still really good, the Aurora look no different from a CRI perspective, which is to say they are very good, certainly leagues better than any cheapo things you get off amazon..

Here's the aurora ones we have:

Aurora R6 4W/6W Dimmable IP65 CCT Fast Fix Downlight 3000/4000/5700K - White - AU-R62CWSFFH

Introducing the R6™CWS CRI90 Adjustable 4-6W Colour & Wattage Switchable Fire Rated Downlight by Aurora, designed for easy installation and versatility. Equipped with a FastRFix™ connector, it allows quick setup and circuit testing, fitting perfectly in shallow ceiling voids at just 63mm high...

www.ledbulbs.co.uk

And

Aurora R6 4W/6W/8W Dimmable IP65 CCT Downlight 3000/4000/5700K - White - AU-R6CWS

The Aurora R6™CWS is a fire-rated downlight with switchable colour temperatures (3000K, 4000K, 5700K) and wattage options (4W, 6W, 8W). Its low 50mm profile makes it perfect for shallow ceilings, while the detachable driver ensures easy installation. It’s tested for fire, acoustic, and air...

www.ledbulbs.co.uk

I have them dimmed using a Shelly Gen 3 Dimmer module in the switch and once calibrated they work fine, as did the basic dimmer our sparky left when he installed them..

Did you mean https://www.ledbulbs.co.uk/products...-white-au-r6csffh?_pos=2&_fid=daed2b070&_ss=c for the second link, as the ones you''ve got there don't mention CRI (so I assume it's not noteworthy)

Demon · 7 Dec 2025 at 08:17

GeX said:
Did you mean https://www.ledbulbs.co.uk/products...-white-au-r6csffh?_pos=2&_fid=daed2b070&_ss=c for the second link, as the ones you''ve got there don't mention CRI (so I assume it's not noteworthy)

Yep, same series as the adjustable angle ones, They said CRI 90 on the box, I just didn;t realise they did different versions, I just grabbed a link to the first ones I saw online.

jpaul · 8 Dec 2025 at 10:48

they had/have? a 5% code when I bought 3 weeks ago -

e: I'd be intrigued to see the cri at the different colour temperatures but their specs are not as comprehensive as philips,
where there cheaper bulbs only have a high cri at lower temps where it is easier to satisfy and also where hue's are better.
(don't start me on these poor cri xmas lights people have .. a blue xmas)

Demon · 18 Dec 2025 at 13:56

jpaul said:
they had/have? a 5% code when I bought 3 weeks ago -

e: I'd be intrigued to see the cri at the different colour temperatures but their specs are not as comprehensive as philips,
where there cheaper bulbs only have a high cri at lower temps where it is easier to satisfy and also where hue's are better.
(don't start me on these poor cri xmas lights people have .. a blue xmas)

You have to put things in to context.. if you aren't doing any actual colour critical work, I don't think you'd remotely notice.. we have ours set at 4K and can't fault them..

Put it this way, I can set my DSLR to 4K WB and take a photo of my Colour Checker DG and that is close enough across the board for me not to worry.. Sure, analytically, I can distinguish between those and my High CRI lighting in my study if I put them side by side on my calibrated monitor, but its very subtle..

I have some low CRI lighting elsewhere in the house that is so bad, it's comical when you take a picture of the Colourchecker and it's missing entire colours..