By Rebecca Freed

Eizo Nanao FlexScan L685

The FlexScan L685 received the highest scores we've seen for both text and graphics in our subjective judging of display quality. Judges noted its exceptional brightness on photos and an all-white screen, and text in a Microsoft Word document looked extremely clear. This model was judged against its competitors using its digital interface, but when we looked at it using the VGA interface, type still looked very clear, and photos showed saturated, natural-looking colors and good detail. Should you need to adjust the display's colors, the on-screen controls offer 14 preset choices for color temperature. With a height-adjustable base and a panel that tilts, swivels, and pivots, the FlexScan L685 is nicely adaptable for comfortable viewing. The thin, low-profile base appears deceptively light--it's actually quite heavy, ensuring that the monitor won't tip over, regardless of how you position it. A wire "gate" on the back of the neck corrals cables to keep them out of sight. The FlexScan L685's bezel is just three-quarters of an inch wide, which means there's less frame to interfere with the image when you view one screen tiled across two side-by-side monitors. The FlexScan L685's LCD panel uses in-plane switching, and Eizo Nanao measures its viewing angle at a wide 170 degrees both horizontally and vertically. In our informal assessment the L685's image stayed bright through a very usable range of view; the drop-off in brightness was more noticeable vertically than horizontally.
At a staggering $1899, the FlexScan L685 is the most expensive 18-inch LCD monitor we've tested recently. And Eizo Nanao's tech support operates on bankers' hours, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. If you're working overtime, that may not meet your needs.
An Eizo speaker unit, the $109 I-Sound L2, attaches to the bottom of the screen and is powered via a proprietary connection to the monitor. It has two speakers, a headphone jack, and a volume wheel. The fidelity and resonance from these speakers is fine for medium-volume office listening, but they can't provide the volume or rich tones you'd get from a basic set of desktop PC speakers. This model has two power switches--one a toggle on the back of the panel, and one a button on the front bezel in line with the other seven control buttons. If the one on the back isn't turned on, you can't power up the monitor using the front button. That doesn't present an inconvenience if you leave the rear switch on all the time, but it could confuse a new user. The front control buttons lie flush with and blend into the matte-black bezel, contributing to the monitor's sleek look. (The monitor also comes in gray; the matching gray I-Sound speaker unit costs only $89.) One button lets you switch between two signal inputs, so if you have two computers connected to the L685, you don't have to dive into the on-screen menu to switch between them. Both of the video connectors on this unit are digital, but it comes with a cable that has a digital connector on one end and a VGA-style connector on the other for attaching to your PC's VGA (analog) video input.To complement this model and a few others, Eizo Nanao offers optional network administration software called Screen Administrator. The software costs $375 for an administrator and 10 clients. It allows a network administrator to remotely configure, manage, and keep track of monitors over the network. In our informal tests, the software was easy to install and use, but the administration component worked only on Windows 2000.
Its modern, minimalist style and head-turning image quality make the FlexScan L685 a monitor to covet. But possessing it will cost you dearly.

Buying Information

Eizo Nanao FlexScan L685 18.1-inch screen, 1280 by 1024 native resolution, 15.7 by 8 by 15.9 inches, 17.6 pounds, active-matrix TFT panel, dual digital inputs with an analog adapter cable, TCO'95 compliant. Three-year warranty (including backlight); 8-hour weekday toll-free support. $ 1899 18.1-inch screen, 1280 by 1024 native resolution, 15.7 by 8 by 15.9 inches, 17.6 pounds, active-matrix TFT panel, dual digital inputs with an analog adapter cable, TCO'95 compliant. Three-year warranty (including backlight); 8-hour weekday toll-free support. http://www.eizo.com 800/800-5202