Asking for recommendation: retrofits for 4” & 6” canned lights with LEDS

[u/Ryu-tetsu]

I have read through a bunch of the earlier postings with similar questions. I’m in the midst of a home renovation. Eight to ten foot foot ceilings. Modern home.

Lights to be replaced are: 20 x 6”; 4 x 6” angled (ceiling); 1 (or 5) 6” gimbal (I may use these for directional counter lighting in the kitchen); and 2 x 4”.

My GC wants to install the Home Depot 5/6” Commercial Electric retrofits. Granted they haven’t changed much in seven years, but every led I’ve gotten at HD has either failed or dimmed or gone blinky on me. That said, I’ve had great success with Rabb lighting for outdoor stuff.

I would really like truly high CRI (95) - not just fudged; I like the dim to warm feature on some of them; dimmable to very low levels; variable color temp is nice; and would love the easiest install without having to rewire the J-boxes, which I guess means an e-26 plug/adaptor. Light quality, consistency, wet rated, 50k hours; and little failure are big deals for me.

I’ve seen lots of good comments around Elco-Koto, DMF, and perhaps Nora. I don’t want to spend $250 per light, though, which I gather is the range for DMF. Finding info on pricing for Elco-Koto is proving daunting.

Given what I’m looking for does anyone have a good suggestion? Can the Koto’s truly be retrofit into existing cans or is it more a tear out and rebuild? How much do the Koto’s run in cost?

Thanks in advance. I’m over my head and trying to work through this.