The Spectrum One is a great DF-recommended gaming monitor, with a 27-inch 4K 144Hz Fast IPS panel and an incredible glossy finish that stands in stark contrast to the matte screens monitors normally come with. The glossy Spectrum One normally retails for $700, but today you can pick it up for $100 less from B&H Photo in the US.
So what’s the deal with that glossy screen? In short, this option delivers more vibrant colour and more impactful HDR than a matte finish, but reflections can be more distracting. With the right setup, you won’t get reflections anyway, and this becomes a straight upgrade that makes games and films look significantly better – but this model is worth avoiding if you’d need to use it in a bright room with strong light falling on the screen.
Get the Dough Spectrum One 27-inch 4K 144Hz for $599.99 (was $699.99)
I’ve been using a (matte) Spectrum as my primary monitor for the past two years, and it’s been a reliable option in that time. Despite testing Mini LED VA monitors that offer better contrast and OLED models that come in larger sizes and look better in games, the Fast IPS panel of the Spectrum has proven my all-around favourite. It doesn’t suffer from the text fringing or burn-in concerns of OLED, nor the slow pixel response times and narrower viewing angles of VA. Instead, you get great pixel response times, wide viewing angles, great colour reproduction and crisp text rendering – all great benefits to both my work and gaming, I’d argue.