Better dimmer module than a Varilight V-Pro?

[tux850]

The Varilight V-Pro has always been my (and many others, it seems) 'go-to' dimmer and despite the rather quirky programming sequences I've always had great success with them... Until now. And, just as my luck would have it, it is with a bulb ( Philips Master in ST64 format) that has finally ticked all the boxes for me in terms of dim-to-warm functionality, good colour rendition and the right aesthetics.

The main issue is getting the bulbs to fire up at a low brightness level. The dimmer can take the bulbs down really low if fired up at a reasonable brightness, and the V-Pro provides a configurable 'drive function' feature that help bulbs get started at low levels by giving them a bit of a kick before dropping back down to the set minimum, but I can't seem to enable it.

I've raised a support ticket with Varilight to see if they can help. I'm hoping they tell me my module simply doesn't support it and I need to buy a new one. But in case I hit a dead end, and a 'well it should work, you'll just need to use different bulbs' outcome, I was wondering what other ('better') dimmer modules might be out there and if anyone has any suggestions?

Edited by tux850 on Monday 24th November 21:52