Paulmann LED Panel Amaris reviewed: Ceiling lamp with colour option

Fabian has mounted the LED panel Philips Hue Aurelle in his kitchen – you can find his test report here. Today, I would like to introduce a competing product to you, namely the LED panel Amaris by Paulmann. The biggest difference: the Paulmann model offers different white tones as well as colours.

A short comparison: Amaris vs Aurelle

• Lumen: 4100 vs 4200
• Size: 52 x 1195 x 295 vs 46 x 1200 x 300 mm (HBD)
• Lifetime: 30,000 vs 25,000 hours
• Power consumption: 35 vs 55 watts
• Colour temperature: 2,700 – 6,500 vs 2,200 – 6,500 Kelvin
• Color: RGBW vs White

Unpacking and assembly

The Paulmann Amaris is quickly unboxed. The scope of delivery includes the LED panel, the bracket, a transformer with controller and material for mounting on the ceiling. Since I have a suspended ceiling on the upper floor I can save the effort of drilling and have fixed the bracket with four drywall screws.

The cables are simply fed through the middle hole. The cables must now be connected to the transformer and the controller behind it. The wires are quickly connected in the correct position (N = blue or grey, L = black or brown) with a small screwdriver. The transformer and the controller can be mounted either under the ceiling or directly on the panel using the supplied 3M adhesive strips.

A big advantage: the connection to the LED panel is comfortably solved. The matching connection cable is integrated into the panel and can be easily connected to the transformer via click adapter. With the Hue Aurelle, the whole setup was much more complicated. Nevertheless, it it becomes easier if a total of four hands are involved in the installation.

The lamp itself is then mounted on the bracket via four suspensions. Here you can screw in the four small screws halfway, hang the lamp and then tighten the screws.

Timeless design and simple control

In terms of aesthetics, the Paulmann is kept in a classic style with a simple white panel. The surface is saturated and the diffusor panel provides a pleasant and planar room light.

Of course you can still control the panel with the light switch. But since ZigBee 3.0 is on board you can also register the lamp at the Hue Bridge. This works really easy with the Hue app: the Amaris is found immediately and is connected within seconds.

While the Hue Aurelle can only display white tones, the Paulmann panel also displays colours. In the app you can choose from 16 million variations. The colour representation is very good, green and blue are displayed beautifully and richly. Of course you can also choose white colours with cold and warm white tones.

Since I have installed the Amaris in the kitchen, I will use mainly white colours. The colour rendering is a great extra, but probably not too often used in the kitchen. In other rooms it may look different again.

In addition to the app controls you can also ask Alexa or the Google Assistant for help. Apples HomeKit is left out. There is also an optional remote control from Paulmann which demands a separate investment of 29.95 euros. Please keep in mind that it cannot be integrated into the Hue app. Of course you can also control the Amaris with Hue accessories like the dimmer switch or a smart button.

Very good illumination

Prior to the Paulmann Amaris, I had a lamp with 5 spots in use. Needless to say that these spots illuminated more selectively. With the Paulmann Amaris I can now illuminate my kitchen in a large area. At 4.100 lumen, the lamp is also very bright.

The Hue Aurelle, which can only display white colours, is sold for 199.99 euros. The Paulmann LED Panel Amaris, which is not only equal but also easier to mount, can even display colours and is a bit cheaper. The price at Paulmann is 189 Euro, those who order at Amazon get it for about 160 euros.