Dough Spectrum Black 32 review: I feel like a beta tester

Dough (previously Eve) isn’t the primary model that involves thoughts once you’re speaking about the perfect gaming displays. Infamously overambitious, the community-driven model has discovered itself in scorching water over the previous few years with unfulfilled buyer orders and a scarcity of communication with its group. The Spectrum Black 32, Dough’s second OLED show, is a monument to the subsequent period of the corporate.

The times of strife appeared to have handed for Dough, with its displays now obtainable on Amazon and seemingly within the fingers of consumers.

The Spectrum Black 32 faces different issues, nonetheless. Regardless of showcasing promising options, a ton of customization choices, and an envy-inducing third-gen WOLED panel, the Spectrum Black 32 nonetheless wants a number of work earlier than it might sustain with finest OLED displays in the marketplace.

Dough Spectrum Black specs

Design

You can stack up the Dough Spectrum Black up in opposition to the Eve (Dough’s earlier identify) Spectrum from a couple of years in the past and barely discover a distinction in design. It’s a black rectangle, however that’s not a foul factor. Even with no branding and a minimal design, the Dough Spectrum Black feels premium, much more so than one thing just like the MSI MPG321URX.

A giant cause for that’s the dark-gray end that wraps across the again aspect of the monitor, which is constructed absolutely of steel. Like comparable OLEDs I’ve reviewed, such because the Sony InZone M10S, the panel itself could be very skinny. Dough stuffs your whole connections and the center of the monitor in a raised part in the back of the show. It’s fully out of view, which makes the monitor really feel a lot thinner than it really is when seen from the entrance.

It’s a great-looking show, however the huge factor that stands out from a design perspective is the stand. Dough doesn’t embody a stand by default. You’ll have to spend an additional $99 to get the stand. It’s a pleasant stand, constructed absolutely of steel and with a cable routing channel by way of the middle to maintain your cable litter at bay. However it’s an additional that you simply’ll should pay for, whereas practically each different monitor you should purchase features a stand within the field.

The shortage of a stand by default may very well be good or dangerous relying in your state of affairs. For starters, Dough solely makes use of one stand. In case you have a earlier model of the Spectrum, you possibly can swap over the stand. As well as, the stand mount makes use of a typical 100mm x 100mm VESA mount, so you possibly can throw the monitor up on an arm in order for you. If you have already got a monitor arm, you’re saving cash, and that’s nice.

Then again, in the event you simply need a monitor with all the regular conveniences (like a stand), you’ll find yourself spending greater than the competitors. As somebody who has a number of monitor arms I’ve acquired through the years, I in the end like the choice to separate the stand out. Nonetheless, it’s one thing you’ll want to remember when buying round when you’ve got nothing to prop the Spectrum Black up on.

Options

Should you’re questioning if the Dough Spectrum Black has a specific function you may want, there’s a superb likelihood the reply is sure. It’s packed to the brim with extras. The standout function is the twin refresh fee, permitting you to change between 4K at 240Hz and 1080p at 480Hz. Just like the LG UltraGear Twin Mode OLED, there’s a devoted button beneath the entrance lip of the monitor that adjustments between the 2 modes (you possibly can rebind the command of this button, as nicely).

That’s the standout, however there’s much more right here. For starters, you get Black Body Insertion, or BFI. I’ve seen this function earlier than on displays just like the Asus ROG Swift 32 QD-OLED, which halves the refresh fee and inserts a black body in between every refresh. You don’t really see these black frames. As a substitute, you get extra steady frames throughout every refresh.

Should you’re, for instance, enjoying video games locked at 60 frames per second (fps) on a console, you’ll see movement blur between two frames. BFI supplies higher movement readability by blacking out the display screen between every body so that you don’t get any unusual transitions the place a number of frames present up on the display screen without delay. It’s an excellent function for consoles, although you’ll should considerably sacrifice the brightness of the show in an effort to use it.

Along with BFI, Dough contains clamping for well-liked colour areas like DCI-P3 and AdobeRGB, in addition to an anti-flicker setting for the variable refresh fee (VRR) within the show. The latter will increase the decrease certain of the VRR vary, stopping flicker on content material working at a low body fee. Lastly, Dough helps two inputs without delay, both by way of break up display screen or picture-in-picture mode.

My favourite function is display screen emulation, although. The Spectrum Black contains pixel-perfect scaling, and it lets you emulate a 27-inch, 25-inch, or 21-inch monitor. That’s extraordinarily helpful for aggressive players who’re used to enjoying on a smaller 1080p show, particularly contemplating the 480Hz refresh fee possibility.

Ports and menu

It’s uncommon to discover a monitor with customization choices, however that’s precisely what Dough gives with the Spectrum Black. You may decide up the monitor with or with no USB hub, and with totally different DisplayPort requirements. Getting the barebones mannequin will prevent some huge cash in comparison with the competitors, and all with the identical picture high quality.

With out the USB hub, you’re getting a typical lineup of ports — two HDMI 2.1 connections and a DisplayPort 1.4 port. You’ll have to make use of the lossless Show Stream Compression (DSC) to realize 4K at 240Hz, however that’s true of even rather more costly displays packing this panel, such because the Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDP. If you wish to flip off DSC at the price of your refresh fee, you possibly can.

This mannequin, which is essentially the most cheap at $900 for a matte coating and $1,100 for a shiny coating, doesn’t have any USB ports. It contains one USB-C connection, however that’s just for firmware updates. If you would like USB ports, you’ll have to spend $1,300 for the highest-end configuration.

Dough makes the highest-end mannequin well worth the cash. You’re getting the shiny Gorilla Glass coating, together with DisplayPort 2.1 so you possibly can have the total decision and refresh fee with out DSC — newer OLED choices just like the HP Omen Transcend 32 are transitioning to DisplayPort 2.1, as nicely. Extra importantly, you get a complete of 4 USB ports (two USB-C and two USB-A), together with a USB-C enter that’s able to 100W of energy supply.

I like the truth that you possibly can ditch the hub and avoid wasting cash. For a ton of customers, a USB hub is extraneous in a monitor, and no different model gives this degree of flexibility. If you wish to go along with the USB hub, you even get a KVM swap, which I like to see.

The menu aspect of issues isn’t as rosy. The on-screen show (OSD) has every thing you want, nevertheless it’s troublesome to navigate. Dough makes some makes an attempt at readability with quick explainers for every of the choices, however I believe a number of customers will nonetheless get misplaced within the OSD. There are a ton of choices, and with solely a four-way joystick to get round, discovering all of them could be a ache.

Picture high quality

Nice design, a ton of options, and a worth that — minus the stand — could be very aggressive with extra mainstream choices? So, what’s the catch with the Dough Spectrum Black? Picture high quality, it seems. I’ve examined the very same panel loads of occasions earlier than, and the outcomes right here don’t line up with what I’d count on. That is nonetheless an OLED monitor, and it nonetheless seems to be nice, however Dough has a number of work to do.

Gamut efficiency, which you’ll be able to see beneath, units the stage for why. In SDR, the gamut is spot on. I’ve seen some QD-OLED panels just like the Alienware 32 QD-OLED crack above 90% of AdobeRGB, however for the latest WOLED choices, the gamut right here is correct. By default, the monitor sticks to DCI-P3, nevertheless it has choices to clamp the gamut to totally different colour areas, as nicely.

After which HDR comes into the image. These outcomes are all off, however that’s as a result of the tone mapping for SDR content material is all off. You get that horrific grayed-out look that was conversant in HDR displays a couple of years in the past. HDR content material seems to be good, however making an attempt to run any SDR content material on the show will throw the colours and distinction means off.

Dough has addressed SDR tone mapping a bit with a brand new firmware replace. Extra on that later on this part.

Colours are a ache level basically, as you possibly can see from my colour accuracy outcomes beneath. This panel must be hitting a colour error of simply over 1, however Dough’s show is hitting a colour error of over 2 when measured in opposition to sRGB. You don’t want any fancy calibration instruments to see that the colour is off, both. Whatever the preset I selected, it appeared like one thing was off. The Show-P3 settings pushes too closely into the greens, for instance, whereas the sRGB mode is just too blue.

The firmware I examined isn’t the ultimate firmware for the monitor, or so Dough tells me. And a firmware replace right here can repair the dearth of correct tone mapping in HDR, in addition to the colour accuracy points. Nonetheless, this can be a truthful evaluation of the show proper now. Dough has been promoting this monitor for some time, and primarily based on the Dough subreddit, there are many customers with the show in-hand.

Fortunately, the colour points don’t bleed into brightness. A few of LG Show’s newest WOLED panels, such because the one on the Asus ROG Swift PG32WCDM, can attain above 1,200 nits, however the brightness efficiency remains to be nice right here. Dough is ready to clear 1,000 nits for highlights with ease, and SDR brightness, though not the perfect I’ve seen, isn’t dangerous.

Finally, that is nonetheless an OLED show. It seems to be nice, notably once you’re enjoying video games or exhibiting correct HDR content material. It’s clear the sliders are off, although, and also you don’t have a ton of choices to convey the picture high quality again in-line with no correct firmware replace. I’d be blissful to advocate the Dough Spectrum Black if it’s in a position to get near what this panel is able to after a firmware replace. Because it stands now, nonetheless, the monitor wants extra work.

A word on firmware updates

I initially examined the Dough Spectrum Black 32 with firmware 1.0.4, which is what the monitor shipped with. Most customers won’t ever carry out a firmware replace on their monitor, and I’d wager a superb chunk don’t even know that displays have firmware. Except there’s some vital change with newer firmware, I like to check how the monitor performs the best way it reveals up — that’s the expertise most customers are going to get.

Given my outcomes, I reached out to Dough, and it advised me it had a firmware replace virtually prepared that addressed among the points I observed. What was speculated to be a delay of some days ended up being shut to 2 weeks. The firmware replace regularly failed, even after I resorted to scouring the Dough subreddit for a handful of ideas that different customers had provide you with to get a firmware replace to stay.

I finally up to date to firmware 1.0.7, which is the present firmware on the time of publishing. With out the gory particulars, belief me after I say that it was a ache to even flash the replace on the monitor — one thing different Dough customers are already speaking about within the firm’s subreddit. This replace does, certainly, tackle some issues. However it introduces simply as many.

As an example, the SDR tone mapping with HDR turned on is significantly better. It’s not good, however that’s a major level of enchancment. Then again, the firmware introduces a difficulty the place the colours will considerably shift inexperienced with a full-screen software, and the one option to take away the inexperienced tint is to toggle HDR on and off.

It’d be one factor if there was some main difficulty with the monitor that Dough mounted with a single firmware replace. It occurs. However at this level, it’s beneficiant to label any of those firmware updates as 1.0.x. It’s commendable that Dough needs to handle group suggestions with firmware updates, however at this level, these updates solely serve to get the Spectrum Black 32 as much as par with different OLEDs that price the identical worth.

Gaming

A variety of what you’ll want to learn about gaming on the Dough Spectrum Black has been coated up so far. You’re getting flicker-free VRR, BFI for console gaming, and the mainly prompt response occasions of an OLED panel. Add on a 480Hz refresh fee, emulation for a number of display screen sizes, and pixel-perfect scaling for retro video games, and you’ve got a monitor that may deal with nearly any gaming situation you possibly can throw at it.

In gentle of the present picture high quality, it’s arduous to say it’s an excellent gaming monitor, nonetheless. That is an OLED show, and video games look good on it, however a wide range of displays from Asus, MSI, Alienware, and extra have higher colour efficiency out of the field. It’s not too distracting on the Dough Spectrum Black, nevertheless it largely comes all the way down to the video games you play. In some titles and with some show settings, the colours don’t look fairly proper.

That doesn’t imply it’s unusable. I used to be in a position to have an satisfying gaming expertise with Particular Okay, which I used to inject HDR into video games with better management over the output. These sorts of instruments can counteract among the points baked into the present firmware, and in the event you don’t thoughts getting your fingers soiled, you’re left with a strong gaming expertise. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t should resort to third-party instruments, particularly when Dough is asking for simply as a lot because the mainstream competitors.

Guarantee and burn-in

The Spectrum Black has a ton of burn-in mitigation options — too many, the truth is. You get pixel shifting, pixel refresh, a display screen saver, static factor detection, and brand detection, however Dough goes a lot additional. You’ll discover settings like temporal peak luminance management, temporal goal curve, and convex energy management — and people are only a few of the choices.

Should you’re a show nerd, you may acknowledge a few of these settings or their related acronyms, however I’d wager that most individuals received’t. I don’t suppose Dough must eliminate these settings, nevertheless it’d be useful to both higher clarify them with the tooltips within the OSD or to cover them in a complicated menu so informal customers know which burn-in prevention settings are crucial.

That’s a suggestion, as Dough is clearly nonetheless engaged on some facets of this monitor. The guarantee is a criticism. Dough gives a two-year guarantee that covers burn-in, matching LG, however falling behind most different monitor manufacturers. The going timeframe for an OLED guarantee is three years. I don’t suppose you’ll develop burn-in inside three years usually, a lot much less two years, however Dough remains to be behind the competitors right here.

Dough doesn’t have an excellent popularity for customer support, both. There’s a subreddit devoted particularly to horror tales with the model, notably preorders that by no means shipped. The official Dough subreddit reveals that clients are getting displays, however there are nonetheless a ton of threads asking about the place orders are.

You shouldn’t have points ordering a monitor — they’re obtainable and transport from Amazon now, which is the route I’d recommend going with in the event you’re inquisitive about choosing one up — however the guarantee doesn’t encourage a number of confidence. Given Dough’s historical past, I hoped for a clearer dedication to customer support with its OLED launch.

It wants extra time

I need to just like the Dough Spectrum Black. I like the design, and I respect Dough’s method to customization choices. The wealth of options even manages to assist the Spectrum Black stand out from the handfuls of different OLED displays which have flooded the market. Nonetheless, it looks like a monitor that’s in beta testing.

I can respect the arduous work that goes into optimizing a product after it’s obtainable, in addition to the communication Dough has with its group on-line after a tumultuous few years. However when the Spectrum Black prices simply as a lot — and typically much more — than the competitors, it’s arduous to justify. There’s not sufficient meat on the bone right here, and in some areas, equivalent to picture high quality, you’re spending the identical worth for a worse show.