Philips Brilliance 346P1CRH Ultrawide Monitor Review

How Much Does it Cost?

Right now the Philips Brilliance 346P1CRH is on Amazon for £699, which seems way over priced from what I’ve seen elsewhere, and for some reason that also requires about £50 delivery. I’ve seen it around £600 from some retailers although with all this lockdown stuff still going on, stock is erratic, so just keep an eye on the price before you buy.

Overview

I never really liked ultrawide monitors, as I’m still a big fan of 4K and the extra-crisp images they provide me. However, there’s something about the 346P1CRH that really clicked with me, and it’s the first ultra-wide monitor I’ve truly loved and felt that I may even want to own full time. It looked and felt right on my desk. The colour reproduction, the backlight performance, how it felt while gaming, it just clicked with me overall.

Build Quality

It’s certainly a heavy monitor, just on size alone it’s go a lot of raw materials that really add up. Be sure you’ve got a sturdy desk for this one and if you’re wall mounting it, get the extra-long screws. The base is very heavy too and despite the size of the montior, I can adjust the height and angle with one hand and the base doesn’t skid around my desk.

Of course, the inclusion of other premium hardware such as the comprehensive USB hub, the Type-C port, and the KVM switch add to the overall usability.

In the current climate and webcams being out of stock, you need not worry with this monitor, as the camera is built right into the top. It’s even got the extra features needed to work as a Windows Hello secure login camera.

Performance

Out of the box, I was expecting better if I’m honest. Philips calibrated the monitor in the factory but fail to set it to the proper profile? I can only assume someone got their hands on this monitor before me and mucked up the settings. Either way, you need to set the profile in the OSD and change the colour mode to the one they calibrated. The end result was pretty drastic in lowering the Delta-E as it was all over the place when we first setup.

Working on this monitor is superb though, it’s very easy on the eyes and the slight curve makes it easy to focus on the wider panel. Then again, when it comes to movies and gaming, the 21:9 format is truly stunning to behold. Having 100Hz, HDR400, and AdaptiveSync are all very welcome bonuses.

Should I Buy One?

I think this may be my favourite ultrawide monitor so far. Most of the ones I’ve tested in the past cost £1000+ and honestly, that’s just too much. They all often all look a bit too “gamer” and over the top to sit in my office. This one looks stylish, performs great, doesn’t cost the Earth and has some great features. I highly recommend it!