Ever since I had my first monitor light bar during the first of the many COVID lockdowns in Melbourne back in 2020, they have been a core part of my desk setup. The good people over at Quntis offered me their Monitor Light Bar Pro+ to review, and I was happy to oblige.
I have previously reviewed the Quntis ScreenLinear LED Monitor Light for PC about eighteen months ago, which was a great unit with one particular flaw that I have lived with. That is the controls being on the light bar itself and you can inadvertently move it when you adjust your settings.
tl;dr
The Quntis Monitor Light Bar Pro+ builds on its predecessor with easier setup, wider light coverage, and a slick wireless puck controller. It’s a thoughtful upgrade for those chasing comfort, clarity, and less eye strain at their desk.
An Upgraded LED Bar
The Quntis Monitor Light Bar Pro+ has seen some key upgrades over my old unit.
Where the ScreenLinear requires some assembly – inserting the LED bar into the monitor clip and counter balance, the Monitor Light Bar Pro+ is a single piece. No assembly required, unless you need one of the inserts to ensure the mount suits the thickness of your monitor.
There are no controls on the bar itself. This is all delegated to a separate puck that is powered by a two AAA batteries. The cover to the battery compartment is held close by magnets, making it a breeze for when you do need to change the batteries.got 95
The size of the light itself has also been upgraded to 550mm in length, enough to span the width of my monitor. The ScreenLinear only covered about three-quarters.
In Use
Getting the Monitor Light Bar Pro+ online was simple. It was a swap in and out with the ScreenLinear. It is still powered by USB.
With the unit coming in a single piece, it feel much more sturdy when I placed it on the monitor. There was no need to insert an adjustment piece this time, and once it is in place, there is no need to touch it again. Although, muscle memory kicks in and I still try to turn it on at the light itself.
The puck controls all aspects of the Monitor Light Bar Pro+’s operation. I find the design of particular interest. It sits on your desk with a single marking on the surface of it. Operation takes a little getting used to.
Pressing down on the top of the puck turns on the light bar on and off.
The top plate of the puck can spin counter clockwise and clockwise to change the colour temperature. Counter clockwise for warmer to 3000K, and clockwise for cold to 6500K.
Similarly, the housing of the puck can be used to change the brightness of the LED. Counter clockwise for dimmer, clockwise for brighter.
The top button hides a couple of extra functions.
Double-tapping it turns on photosensitive mode to auto adjust the brightness.
Long pressing it for 5 seconds turns on a two hour timer. The light bar will blink once to confirm.
The Good
I have covered the benefits I have found from using a monitor light bar in my previous reviews, and they still hold true now.
My eyesight is not the same now with age, particularly when the ambient light is insufficient. Even on the bigger monitors I sometimes struggle to accurately read numbers such as 4, 6 and 8. The additional light cast by the Monitor Light Bar Pro+ certainly has helped with clarity and reducing eye strain.
It takes a little getting used to switching over to the puck for controls, but it works well and avoids the problem of me tilting the light bar when pressing the buttons on it.
The not so good
If you tap on the top of the puck to toggle the on off state of the Monitor Light Bar Pro+ too quickly, the second tap will not response. You have to give it a few seconds before toggling it again for effect.
This is not an issue if you have been in the on or off state for a period of time.
Final Thoughts
Did I really need to upgrade from the ScreenLinear LED Monitor Light for PC to the Monitor Light Bar Pro+? Not really. The ScreenLinear is a perfectly capable device for the right sized screen.
But on the other hand, I really love having the puck on my desk instead of the controls being on the unit itself. The slightly longer light bar gives a better coverage for my monitor which I am appreciative of now that I have experienced it.
The hands down, best change from the ScreenLinear? No more bright blue LED indicator at eye level telling me that it is on. That is the one feature that still annoys me 18 months on when I see it. The Monitor Light Bar Pro+ does away with it thankfully.
The Quntis Monitor Light Bar Pro+ is available from Amazon for A$119.99, but at time of publishing, there is a limited time deal at $79.99.
DRN would like to thank Quntis for providing the review unit.
