If you have already made effort to deck your desk setup with RGB lights, then the ULTi Aura is the monitor arm that you should be getting to complete the look. The ULTi Aura RGB Monitor Arm retails for S$99.99.
Unboxing
In the box, you will find the following items:
Build quality
The ULTi Aura monitor arm is what I’d call a “boom arm” design compared to a “pole” style seen on the PRSIM+ Arc Stealth Pro. The monitor arm has a modern grey finish to it, and feels sturdy and well-built contributed by the heavy use of aluminum. The ULTi Aura is backed by 3 years warranty by ULTi as well.
Depending on the thickness of your desk, you can install the ULTi Aura by grommet mounting or C-clamp. Both methods support desk thickness up to 8.5cm. Most people will likely install the arm by clamping it to their desk, so this review will cover installation via clamping it to my desk top.
Once you’re done assembling the ULTi Aura, the last step is to attach the provided VESA plate to the back of your monitor. The VESA plate supports both 75x75mm and 100x100mm mounting. I really like the quick release VESA plate from the ULTi Aura as it only requires a simple rotation of the switch to lock the mounting in place. Other monitor arms uses a screw release or a press-to-release lever which can be rather awkward and hard to access especially if you are trying to remove the monitor.
Range of motion – Tilt, swivel, rotate, extend
ULTi Aura can support monitors up to 9kg. Range of adjustments are -40° to +40° tilt, 180° swivel and 360° rotation. This means you can easily use your monitor in portrait orientation, and can even tilt the angle at 40° if you need such viewing angles.
ULTi Aura offers a max extension of 55cm from its mounting point, and about 10-15cm at a minimum distance if you intending to keep the monitor flushed back. Height adjustments range from minimum of 10cm from the table top to~37cm at the highest.
The spring gauge is easily adjusted with the supplied allen key to accommodate monitors of different weights. The spring-assisted mechanism was smooth when performing adjustments. There wasn’t any art that felt overly rigid or required extra effort to move. ULTi Aura feels like a high quality monitor arm.
RGB light
The main highlight of the ULTi Aura is its RGB lighting and they are located (1) at the base to offer a ring light, and (2) along the arm. I like how the lighting areas are designed as they well diffused and look blended in with the arm.
There is a touch sensitive button on the clamp of the monitor arm which allows you to switch between the 20 different lighting modes. Here are a quick summary of the button function:
- On/Off: Press and hold for 2 seconds
- Light Mode switch: Single tap
- Random colour mode: Quick double tap
- Memory setting: The system stores the last used light mode automatically
Do note that there is no way to increase/decrease the brightness or turn off a certain section of the RGB lights.
Cable management
The ULTi Aura houses some plastic shell along its arm to provide cable storage to aid cable management. You have a cable management bracket at the clamp so that you can consolidate all the wires at the bottom then start distributing them along the arms.
You can then route the cables along the arm joints, and store them in the plastic housing to hide it out of sight.
User experience
Moving and adjusting my monitor using the ULTi Aura has been really good so far. The use of aluminium in its construction adds to the overall sturdiness, and the spring-assisted mechanism is well-tension for easy adjustments. It is easy to bring the monitor closer to me or rotating it 180º to view my PDF documents.
The RGB lighting certain add to the overall feel of any setup. If you have already invested in lighting products such as lightstrips and Nanoleaf in your setup, I think the ULTi Aura will surely blend in well, adding another layer in your lighting. It would have been nice to be able to set the brightness of the lighting as there are times where I want the lighting to be more subtle.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a unique monitor arm then the ULTi Aura with its RGB lighting is something that can provide a seamless blend to your RGB gaming setup. If you want added features such as USB ports on the arm then the ULTi Aura does not offer that. It is simply monitor with RGB lighting effects. Having said that, I do find the lighting cutouts on the ULTi Aura to be one of the nicer ones on the market as it seems to be more blended in with the overall aesthetic of the monitor arm. The ULTi Aura retails for S$99, which is quite price competitive amongst the monitor arm offerings in Singapore.