Some well-developed computer setups go for quantity in their displays, with three or more, but others stick with a solo screen and go for quality.
And no, with today’s featured setup we’re not talking about a $5,000 Pro Display XDR. We’re talking about a massive, $1,500 OLED display.
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M1 Max Mac Studio drives monster 48-inch LG OLED display
Italian Matteo Ferrari, aka Redditor Taymerica1389, showed off the setup in a post entitled, “Just finished setting up my new setup with the Mac Studio.”
His Mac Studio sports a powerful M1 Max chip, 32GB of unified memory and 512GB of storage. But he also has an older gaming PC hooked up to the same peripherals, which all support multiple-device connectivity. They’re a Keychron K4 mechanical keyboard and a Logitech MX Master 3 wireless mouse.
And while Apple’s top desktop machine is always impressive, the real story here may be what it’s driving — a massive OLED display.
OLED’s deep contrast
In displays, only OLED pixels emit their own light. That allows for perfect, deep blacks and intense colors. And, unlike with other display technologies, OLED pixels can turn off completely and independently. You don’t get the same contrast with other displays.
“How is the LG 48-inch monitor? Is it comfortable to read a PDF and text?” asked a commenter.
“Yeah, I’ve been enjoying it a lot, websites and programs that involve text usually center it leaving empty space on the sides so even in full screen the size isn’t a problem. I keep the scaling at default and it works really well,” Ferrari replied.
“How do you handle the auto dimming?” asked another person.
“Unless I keep an all white window in full screen it doesn’t trigger, so for programs like Word or web pages I just keep them smaller in the center since all the empty space would be wasted anyways,” said Ferrari.
Sound dampening and KEF speakers
For audio, in addition to AirPods, Ferrari has a pair of KEF Q300 bookshelf speakers and a Focusrite Scarlet Solo audio interface used as a digital to analog converter (DAC), along with a Yamaha amplifier.
The KEF speakers aren’t something we’ve seen much in Setups coverage, though there was an example of a different KEF model early last year.
Ferrari’s Q300s feature the company’s Uni-Q driver design, where a 25mm vented tweeter sits in the center of a 165mm aluminium mid-bass unit. We found a near-equivalent, updated version for the gear list, below (Q350).
And with all that sound, maybe all the sound-dampening tiles on the wall aren’t surprising. Except apparently they don’t work too well. A commenter asked if they make much difference.
“I got them from a friend for free as the company he works for was getting rid of them,” Ferrari replied. “I wouldn’t say these made much of a difference, I also have some on the other side of the room and those actually helped with bass reflection.”
Shop these items now:
Computer:
Display:
Input devices:
Audio and video:
- KEF Q300 series bookshelf speakers
- Focusrite Scarlett Solo audio interface/DAC
- AirPods Pro
- Logitech webcam
If you would like to see your setup featured on Cult of Mac, send some high-res pictures to info+setups@cultofmac.com. Please provide a detailed list of your equipment. Tell us what you like or dislike about your setup, and fill us in on any special touches or challenges.
