Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was hesitant to order this product given the very mixed reviews, but I wanted a dimmer on my bedroom lamp enough to take the risk. The dimmer itself is fine. It works as advertised. But how well it works depends which bulb you are dimming with it. This dimmer was bought specifically to dim the lamp on my bedside table, which currently has an LED installed. I tried the dimmer with a CFL bulb installed in the lamp, and it caused the bulb to hum or buzz. Yuck. But I'm getting rid of my CFLs anyway. I've been on something of an LED adventure recently. LED is finally coming around, but there's still a lot of variation in the quality of the bulbs. First I tried this dimmer with a couple of those Cree LEDs you can find at Home Depot (they are listed as dimmable). The bulbs hummed when dimmed, and as others have said the dimming range was narrow. You could only dim to about 50% of full output. This was a lousy result and I was about to send the dimmer back to Amazon, but I did some research on Google and it turns out not all LEDs are created equal. To elaborate on the hum, it's a subtle electrical hum emanating from the bulb itself (not the dimmer). I hate noise. I think electrical hums are one of the great nuisances of modern life. We're all accustomed to light fixtures humming or buzzing in the workplace and school, like those ghastly, ubiquitous fluorescent ceiling panels - but when I'm at home I like to have peace and quiet. Next, I bought a Philips LED through Amazon and installed it in the same lamp, with the dimmer. I bought the new bulb specifically because the reviews say it doesn't buzz. Well, the bulb does buzz, but you can only hear it if you put your ear about 4 inches from the bulb. From a foot away or more, it's effectively silent. I'm not sure why this is, but it's good enough for me. The Philips bulb also dims much lower than the Crees; thus, dimming it actually worth the trouble. So, ultimately, this dimmer is good. Just make sure the bulb you're using is up to the task.