For last Mother's Day, I bought a MAG Innovision 18" LCD monitor for my wife. I purchased the monitor at Best Buy for $450, and I received two $50 rebates via mail since. I spent quite a bit of time trying to find the "perfect" monitor for her, and I hit the jackpot with this 18" beauty. I hesitated slightly, since the price seemed low at the time for an 18" monitor. Others started at $500, with most being in the $600 to $700 range. Yet many didn't seem to perform as well as the MAG.
To begin with, the overall styling of this black monitor is very nice. The controls may not be among the easiest to use, but nonetheless are not difficult. The monitor has built in speakers, which provide acceptable sound comparable to a good sound system on a laptop computer. But don't expect high fidelity here. The unit is also wall mountable.
The response time for this monitor is not provided, but it is more than acceptable for average use. I checked MAG's site, but they only list the specs for the LT865s, not the LT865b. The LT865s lists a response time of 30ms - click here (http://www.maginnovision.com/Products/LT865s.asp). Honestly, I have no idea how it would perform with games. However, I have not had any problems with ghosting, and the colors always remain vibrant. The native resolution is 1280x1024, which is excellent for the monitor's size. This model only provides an analog connection, yet still delivers a gorgeous picture. Graphics are as good as it gets, and text remains sharp across the board.
Viewing angle is not an issue. Under anything even close to normal viewing, it maintains a true picture. I've looked at it from every angle, and have no complaints. The specs list the viewing angle at 160 degrees. The contrast is 400:1, and the brightness is 220nits.
For about the last couple years, I've been using an NEC MultiSync LCD 1700M+ monitor for my system. As the name implies, it's a 17" monitor, and it too has built in speakers. I paid about $800 for this monitor, and I've been very pleased with it. However, I would not hesitate to replace this monitor with a MAG LT865b if the need arose.
In all, it is easy to recommend this *excellent* monitor. I definitely got my money's worth, and my wife could not be more pleased.
DISCUSS HERE (http://www.poasters.com/forum/index.php?board=20;action=display;threadid=5968;start=0)