Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Found those new CREE 9.5W A19 LED bulbs (Cree SA19-08127) at my local HarDware store. During the past two years I have tried two versions of CREE bulbs, but found both to be unsatisfactory. In particular, they have very limited dimming range, and generate noticeable buzzing sound when dimmed. This latest version, however, looks like a winner to me. [Physical Appearance] See my uploaded picture for comparison between three generations of CREE A19 LED bulbs. Note that unlike the two earlier versions which have unusual designs, the new Cree bulb now looks exactly like a typical A19 LED bulb in the market today. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it may lead to wider acceptance by the average user. [Power Regulation] I used the EUM-A1 Power Usage Meter to measure the power consumption of this Cree 9.5W bulb. - Initial power consumption: 9.8W - After 30 min: toggles between 9.2 and 9.7W - After 1 hour: stabilizes at 9.3W. - Power Factor is at PF=1.0, which is a good sign. The above shows that the Cree LED bulb has relatively good power regulation. In contrast, the Philips 8.5W LED A19 Light Bulb drops to just 7.5W after it warms up. [Dimming Performance] I compared the following four 60W-equivalent LED bulbs on the same TRIAC-controlled light fixture: - New Cree 9.5W A19 bulb (this product) - Cree 11W A19 4FLOW bulb - Philips 11W A19 'Funnel' bulb - Philips 'Warm Glow' A19 bulb See my uploaded picture for dimming comparison. Note that the new Cree A19 bulb shows better dimming range than the previous '4FLOW' bulb, though still not as good as that of Philips Funnel bulb. More importantly, the new Cree bulb is significantly less noisy than the two previous versions. I can still notice a tiny humming sound from a few inches away, but I consider that level acceptable. [Bottom Line] I'm glad that CREE made significant improvements in the newest dimmable LED bulbs. It dims almost as well as the Philips Funnel bulb, but at a much lower cost. It also maintains much better power regulation than other low-cost bulb I have tested. I consider it a great value. [Update on June 24, 2017] I just tested this 3rd-gen CREE LED bulb in my Chamberlain garage door opener. It does not interfere with the wireless remote. That means its EMI is greatly reduced from that of the 1st-gen CREE bulbs.