Asus MZ27AQ Ultra slim 27" WQHD IPS Monitor

Asus MZ27AQ Ultra slim 27" WQHD IPS Monitor

Asus MZ27AQ WQHD (2560 x 1440) 27-inch ultraslim frameless design monitor has extraordinary viewing angel of 178° & 5ms (Gray to Gray) response time ideal for work and entertainment. Its eye care TÜV Rheinland-certified feature includes flicker-free and low blue light technologies to ensure a comfortable viewing experience and less eye fatigue while viewing for longer period. This spectacular 7mm-thin chassis design has powerful 2.1-channel audio with two 6W stereo speakers and an external 5W subwoofer co-developed with Harman Kardon for enjoying smooth sound effect. 

Asus MZ27AQ Monitor Review

The Asus MZ27AQ presents tremendous value to consumers who want a high-quality screen with neat and practical features which are perfect for entertainment. This model is part of the Designo family which focuses on a premium and stylish package laced with effective performance. The Asus MZ27AQ and its unique speaker layout break design barriers for people who want all the essentials in a single, and streamlined package.

Performance

The Asus MZ27AQ sports a 27-inch IPS panel with a 2560 x 1440 resolution, a 60Hz refresh rate, and 5ms response time. A maximum backlight output of 350cd/m2 is also specified, along with 1000:1 contrast ratio. These aren’t gaming-grade specs, but there is some value in the package for casual gamers thanks to the size, resolution, and discrete audio solution.

Our colorimeter reveals exciting results from the Asus MZ27AQ when it comes to imaging quality. The screen is capable of producing 99% volume of the sRGB gamut or around 77% of the Adobe RGB spectrum. Once calibrated, the Asus MZ27AQ reaches reasonable accuracy with Delta E and Gamma landing at the ideal 2.2 which is excellent for a mix-use monitor.

Pixel response is a bit slower than what we’re used to so some blurring or ghosting can be expected, especially since this is a 60Hz monitor. Thankfully, the Asus MZ27AQ includes an Overdrive feature which will help if these issues are prevalent during your use. As always, we recommend that you don’t use too much acceleration since advanced ghosting or overshoot might occur.

We enjoyed gaming on the Asus MZ27AQ so long as you don’t compare it to a 144Hz variant. Games like the Witcher 3 appear crisp and correctly saturated on the IPS panel since the 27-inch size holds 1440p images perfectly. AMD users also get to utilize FreeSync with a functional range of 40Hz to 60Hz which will still help in smoothening out tears despite the short limits.

We also like the extras included in the Asus MZ27AQ, despite its middle-class package and rated capabilities. The joystick-controlled OSD comprises nifty add-ons such as an Eye Test which presents you with optical charts and a QuickFit scaling feature for anticipating print sizes. Asus’ standard SPLENDID features are also in tow to provide users with color filters and an LBL mode for eye-safety.

We’re guessing you are more curious as to how the Asus MZ27AQ’s Harman Kardon-tuned audio package compares to a separate set. We have to say that the 6-Watt pair of drivers on the chassis is what sounded great, providing enough frequency coverage which helps to avoid clipping or gurgling. It’s surprising for us to admit that an in-built pair is good enough but better than the usual performance can always be expected from the tuner and provider of this audio suite.

On the other hand, the cup-sized mini woofer’s performance is questionable since there are few conditions to make the most out of it. Users have to find a surface that has a perfect balance between hardness and sound absorption. Plastics and metal tabletops vibrate too much due to the bass, but a wood table kind of muffles the sound.

Overall, the sound can be compared to an entry-level set of speakers from Logitech or Creative. Of course, a midrange set would be entirely better, but we have to admit that the Harman Kardon 2.1 speaker set in the Asus MZ27AQ is plenty for essential entertainment purposes such as casual gaming or movie watching.