Listening room lighting that won't cause problems

120 volt and low volt tungsten halogen produce the most beautiful light, much superior to flickering fluorescent or traditional low color temperature bulbs. I use only tungsten halogen, mostly Lightolier, throughout my home. There are a dozen or more inside or near my listening room and I have no noise problems.

It is possible for some low voltage lighting to produce audible hum from their electronic or mechanical transformer when converting 120 Volt line to 12 volt, or whatever voltage the fixture operates.

What I like most about low voltage lighting is the choice of bulbs available. My fixtures are switchable from 5.5 volt to 12 volt. Osram, GE and Phillips are only a few of the companies that manufacture compact halogen bulbs in these two voltages. They are available in spreads from extreme wide flood to pinpoint spot. The GE Display type bulb burns close to true 3200K color and maintains a 2 degree spread, producing a grapefruit size spot over a 20 foot span. This is particularly useful for highlighting a piece of art or sculpture, or playing across the grill of a speaker to show texture and add interest.

The most beautiful light for software is the Lightolier framers. These are designed for framed art and have an adjustable lens, choice of masks and movable shutters. With these three adjustments you can spread a perfect light onto your LP's (or CD's) and not illuminate shelves, walls or any of your equipment. Perfect for creating a striking look a dark room.

The only negative with some of these is cost. The more exotic Lightolier fixtures are very expensive. If possible arrange your wiring to be controlled by multiple switches. My listening room lighting is controlled by 9 separate switches. Any number may be used separately or together to make the room as dark and dramatic or brightly lit as desired.

If you plan the placement of the wiring and choose combination of fixed and track mounts (as I did), you can position any combination of fixtures and bulbs, producing the ultimate in flexibility to set any mood or light level.

I suggest seeing these fixtures in action at a specialty lighting company if possible. Until you see this type of light in person, you cannot imagine all the possibilities they are capable of.

Cwlondon, the bulbs you are describing are best used in ceiling mount fixtures where the bulb is contained in a can. The face of the bulb is all that shows, making the problems you describe mostly a non issue.

The bulbs you like the look of are called PAR Lamps, and the manufacturer numbers are as follows:

GE Halogen Performance Plus 50 PAR 36 ( I like wide flood in 50 watt and 12 volt)

GE Halogen Performance Plus 50 PAR 36 Display, 50 watt 5.5 volt (The absolute smallest beam spread available, I estimate 2 degrees).

Phillips 50 PAR 36 VNSP Compact. (Very Narrow Spot) this is 50 watt and 12 volt.

Sylvania 50 PAR 50 watt 12 volt 4 degree.

Osram (Germany) AR 111. 50 Watt 12 volt 4 degree, with UV stop.

This Osram German bulb produces the most beautiful color because of it's open architecture No glass face, just a black bar across to hold the filament and peanut capsule with the gas. The glass in other fixtures changes over time, because of the intense heat.

The most flexible fixture for these (in my opinion) is the Lightolier Dramalux museum, switchable from 12 volt to 5.5 volt (uses ALL PAR 36 bulbs) and accepts two accessories, such as filters and scrims.

For your turntable, the color is more beautiful if you scrim the stock bulb with a magenta (heat proof) gel. These are available from Rosco. In fact, their free Super Swatch book contains all the heat resistant filters you might consider, some are large enough to use without having to order a larger size.