Sylvania 58920 300-Watt 120-Volt Tungsten Halogen Double-Ended T3 Quartz Lamp with Clear Finish

After going with the cheaper halogen bulbs for a while, I tried this one. A couple of big differences:

- Long bulb life. The cheaper brands last for a few months if that. This bulb looks a little different form other halogens of this size (although it fits fine in the lamp), with a thicker filament by the look of it, which may account for the difference in bulb lifetime.

- No buzz! The plague of halogen lamps is that, while they have a dimmer, the lamp buzzes annoyingly if the dimmer is turned down. With this bulb, there is almost no buzz, even with the lamp almost off. (You can hear a little buzz if you're right on top of the lamp, but move a couple of feet away and it's unaudible.)

Quality German engineering for the win.

Much, much brighter than the Phillips bulbs you will see at your local Lowes/Home Depot

We had a hard time finding a good bulb for our torchiere, but this has been perfect. It's bright enough to light the entire living room from above (we have no overhead lights, so this is important!) and it's absolutely silent. It makes a very soft buzz if the dimmer switch is turned almost all the way down, but other than that, you can sit under it to read without being disturbed.


The smallest items really do make a big difference!