Nixeus NX-VUE27 27" Monitor: High Resolution for the Masses
by Chris Heinonen on September 20, 2012 6:10 PM ESTColor Quality
I didn’t have a driver CD or anything else to use for a default ICC profile for the Nixeus, so the initial measurements were done at 200 nits in standard mode, as it was the closest to the D65 white point of the sRGB standard.
Straight out of the box the results are about par for a 27” display. With an average dE across the Gretag Macbeth chart of 7.85, this falls in as worse than the NEC and DoubleSight models I saw, but better than the HP that has been my favorite 27” to this point for its balance of price and performance.
The main issue with the uncalibrated performance is the grayscale numbers. Most of us have white backgrounds on webpages, Word, Excel, email, and all our other programs, so an error here is more visible that a shade of blue might be. This isn’t any worse than most other displays I have reviewed, but I wish it were better.
Once calibrated, the numbers really fall into line with everyone else. The average dE is 1.78, which is almost identical to the HP ZR2740w that scored 1.76. The grayscale error comes down to be between 1.0 and 1.5 across the whole scale, so you really won’t be able to notice a color tint at all. The errors all occur in those shades of blue that are always troublesome, but the rest of the numbers really fall into line here. This is impressive considering this display costs $300 less than its competitors.
With print work the numbers aren’t quite as good. Set for 100 nits, we get a dE of 1.90 that begins to lag behind the HP, and really lags behind the far more expensive NEC PA271W. Nothing here is horrible, but it does fall a little behind the competition here. Most likely it won’t be noticeable in real world use, but for professionals that often want a dE of 1.0 or less, having a dE of closer to 2 might not cut it.
The coverage of the Nixeus panel is really no surprise at all. Since all 27" displays seem to be using a panel from LG with either LED or CCFL backlighting, it's the backlighting that determines the color gamut. Here we are incredibly close to the same coverage as the HP, both of which are covering virtually the entire sRGB gamut. As before, if you want a larger gamut, you'll need to get a CCFL or RGB-LED backlight; either one will push the cost up significantly right now, as well as the power consumption (and in the case of CCFL, the size).
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Scannall - Thursday, September 20, 2012 - link
It seems to me that $500 is really too high for that. Microcenter often has the Auria 2560x1440 IPS in stock for $400, with the warranty and all that.I'm one of those that went the Korean monitor route. My budget was $300, and I ended up spending $295 delivered. I do acknowledge there is a little risk there. But mine arrived and works perfectly. And it looks far better than anything else I could have bought for the same money.
piroroadkill - Friday, September 21, 2012 - link
I agree. Either you go dirt cheap and you take a risk, or you buy a Dell U2711.I don't see the point spending more than the cheapest and getting something which is barely better, and still has a slightly cheap appearance.
If I'm going to spend money on a monitor, it better look the part too (I have a Dell U2410).
PubFiction - Friday, September 21, 2012 - link
I went the Korean way but I heard alot of people cry about the warranty. So I think they will have a niche. Also the Auria seems to be hit or miss for availability. In fact even searching for it on the website is hit or miss, sometimes in the same day I can find it one minute and not the next.Also Korean monitors can be had for under $300, and $400 will get you the much better crossover stand.
DigitalFreak - Friday, September 21, 2012 - link
That Auria you say Microcenter has isn't on their website, and I've never seen it in my local store. Where are you located?Octavean - Saturday, September 22, 2012 - link
The $399.99 AURIA EQ276W from Microcenter appears to be virtually identical to the the Nixeus NX-VUE27 reviewed here. The only difference appears to be the stand (no rotation or hight adjust) and the ~$30 to ~$100 markup.I don't see the point in paying more for the NX-VUE27 or taking a risk on the Korean single input solutions.
jhoff80 - Wednesday, September 26, 2012 - link
Yeah, I don't care what Nixeus has said, but this is definitely a rebrand of the Auria (or whatever initial product the Auria came from).Even the OSD is identical.
lowlymarine - Thursday, September 20, 2012 - link
I find it strange that you wouldn't include the measurements taken from the Korean panels (http://www.anandtech.com/show/5885/the-achieva-shi... especially since they're the most obvious competitor here.That said, I have (had?) a Catleap Q270 and can't recommend the experience either. Due to a questionable design decision (the side panel where you connect both the DC power plug and the DL-DVI panel was made of a conductive metal), it shorted out, causing sparks to erupt from the DVI cable when it touched the metal surface of the connector - mercifully, my video card was not damaged, even though that was the end of the DVI I was plugging in when it happened. So I contacted the eBay seller, who offered to pay for return shipping to Korea and to send out a replacement unit. That was a month ago today, and I still haven't received the replacement unit, although the seller did finally acknowledge receipt of the defective one and his intent to ship out the replacement "as soon as possible" on Tuesday morning. And of course, even when/if I do receive a replacement, it's likely to have the same potential for disaster.
TheJian - Friday, September 28, 2012 - link
Yet, Ryan tried to argue these are a popular thing in the forums last month...LOL. I debated it, and his 660TI remarks & conclusions in their 660TI launch review comments sections, until they (ryan and Jarred Walton) were reduced to insinuating I was an Ahole and uninformed etc...LOL. They really couldn't argue with my data :) EBay monitors...Jeez. If I'm that cheap or plain poor, I don't risk my money on some dude from Korea...ROFLMygaffer - Friday, June 7, 2013 - link
Its funny, you do you come off as an ahole.lowlymarine - Saturday, October 20, 2012 - link
Since I happened to come across this post again while looking for the name of this display, I figure I'll update on what happened with my Catleap Q270. I did finally receive the replacement from Korea on the 18th of October (so just shy of two months without my display), and it DOES NOT have the same design flaw as the original unit. The side panel is now plastic, which should alleviate the path for arcing between the power jack and DVI port. Furthermore, color accuracy and backlight bleed on the replacement unit are much improved. Sadly, it does have a single stuck green subpixel in the top right quadrant, but it's hardly noticeable.I'd still say spending the little extra for a display where your warranty service (if necessary) will take a week instead of two months is probably worth it. But if you can't swing an extra $200 - not an insignificant sum, to be sure - there's a lot less chance of the same disaster I experienced befalling you, hopefully.