For residential use.

The best of major brands of recessed fixtures is #1 Cooper Iris and #2 Juno Aculux. Cooper owns Halo. #3 Lightolier now has something to compete at this higher level but it is not as nice. You have to order these as almost no one stocks them.

For standard fixtures Juno is generally the best. But this can vary by specific fixture and trim. Halo's H5ICAT is fresh and has some advantages over Juno's older 5" line of housings and trims. And Halo now has 3" housings. Lightolier is OK.

What to use can depend on what is most readily available in your area. Some brands are not well represented in some areas and a stocking distributor can have a price and service advantage versus non stocked items. If you over or under buy they can more easily handle a small order or return. Otherwise you can get stuck having to wait weeks for a below minimum order.

Many good wholesale/retail places tend to carry what they feel is a good brand and a "cheaper" brand which may be an offshore to satisfy both types of clients. If you find a wholesale or retail store that only carries a cheap brand it is not usually by choice. It is normally because they cannot get the better brands due to credit or other problems.

There are many companies making recessed fixtures and some excel at their special niches. It's not possible to lump them all together like this. Professional lighting designers (good ones) keep track of who makes what and match the task to the product and client. There are other good companies not discussed here.

What I know and what I don't know (more of what I DON'T know)...
We're remodeling. Thought we'd go with remodel cans (IC) Halos. DH spoke with an electrician today and he suggested we use Juno "new construction" recessed lights. He said we'd have a more sturdy fixture and the new construction lights cost less than the remodel cans. True?? Our ceilings are 8' I'd like to use 5" air tight (IC) cans. As to the rest of it...I have NO idea. The more I read, the more confused I get. The budget is nearly (ok, it IS) busted. We don't need anything fancy but would like to get the most we can out of our lighting and disperse the light more evenly. Suggestions please? I'm not finding ANY 5" cans at HD or Lowes. I started out going to a lighting store to get better quality help and was willing to pay a bit more. The girl that waiting on us knew LESS than the young man at Lowes :o I'm about ready to order them on-line but need a better understanding of what to order. Could someone please help me figure this out?
Thanks,
Monica

Monica -

I can really empathize with your experience/confusion. I had to smile when you mentioned the busted budget. Yep! Same here!!

I'm still 'churning' trying to decide between Juno and Halo.

Unfortunately, the electrican sub-contractor put in the housings quite a while ago, with no guidance from us. At the moment, it's not clear which brand/manufacturer is installed. I'm concerned that our actual choices may be somewhat limited. We have a meeting tomorrow with the general contractor tomorrow -- hopefully things will be clarified after that.

I've heard conflicting comments from the lighting 'pros' at various showrooms/retail centers. Some say that you have to buy the housing and trim as a package deal. Others say that many housings are surprisingly 'universal' and that you can mix it up (e.g. Juno with Halo), as long as the mounting mechanism (springs vs slots) are compatible and you select the same parameters (IC, remodel, etc).

I don't really have any more insight to offer.

Best regards,
Mary