A few months back I looked into getting a proper monitor light bar to replace the DIY setup I built out of photography panel lights. Fast forward to this day, I actually forgot the damn project until Quntis reached out to offer one of their units for testing.
Now what he have here is the Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow, and after a few weeks of using it in place of my janky panel light rig, I’ve got some thoughts on whether it’s worth ditching the DIY route for good.
Disclosure: Quntis sent the Monitor Light Bar Glow for review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely of my own.
Technical Specifications
The light bar we got here is technically the Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow 51 cm (20.1 inch) Grey. This comes with a standard two tone LED light, along with a dimmable single tone LED back light that you could bounce off to a wall. Illuminance is not specified, but I am hoping to see at least 800 lx. This light bar is designed for wide and large screens, and even claims compatibility with ultrawide displays.
| Light Bar | |
|---|---|
| Light Source | 88x Front LED, 48x Rear LED |
| Color Rendering Index | ≥95 Ra |
| Illuminance | N/A |
| Color Temperature | 3000-6500K |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 510.03 mm |
| Width | 19.81 mm |
| Height | 19.81 mm |
| Weight | 930 g |
Packaging and Accessories
The Quntis Monitor Light Bar comes in a slim boxed packaging. I am not a fan of its internal molded plastic, but it gets the job done.
The packaging should come with the following items inside:
- Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow
- Smart remote puck
- Clip-on bar clamp
- 3x AA batteries
- USB Type-C to Type-A cable
- Documentation
Design, Build and Connectivity
The Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow we have here is the 51 cm version in a sleek metallic gray finish. It comes with essentials like the smart remote puck and the adjustable clip-on bar clamp. This slim light bar is perfect if you want something that blends in with your desk so it doesn’t draw much of attention.
The smart remote puck runs on three AA batteries and lacks any kind of analog switch, so it’s always on, though in a low-power state. What I really like though are the responsive capacitive buttons that feel intuitive right away. There’s hardly anything to figure out.
The lightbar runs on a USB Type-C port, sipping just about 7.5 W of power at its maximum based on specs, so even a power bank can keep it going. The back also shows that it is equipped with diffused LEDs for the toggleable backlighting.
Ergonomics
The Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow is clearly designed for large display panels, as shown on a 34-inch ultrawide monitor. I intentionally let it light up the screen slightly for a dramatic touch, though it’s not really advisable. Fortunately, it includes an extendable clip-on bar clamp, plus a bit of angle adjustment and an asymmetrical lighting pattern to fine-tune the output to your liking.
The smart remote puck offers four levels of brightness and color temperature. While it’s not exactly precise because of the limited range, I’m pretty satisfied with how it works. For example, my room’s lighting is rated to display a color temperature range of 2700K to 6500K, so it blends in perfectly well.
The backlighting works, but it’s not quite bright enough to offer great bias lighting. Plus, it’s non-adjustable, so you’re stuck with just one tone and brightness level. Definitely better than nothing though.
Luminance
The luminance of the Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow has been tested at 60 cm height. At 90º, luminance climbed in a fairly linear pattern as brightness increases. At 45º, the numbers drop off significantly since my iPhone’s sensor is catching less of the direct light spread.
The gap between the two angles measured shows how directional the light bar’s output is. At 100% brightness, the 90º reading is over 7x higher than the 45º reading, so most of the usable light is concentrated in the direct downward throw rather than spreading evenly across the desk surface.
Color Temperature
Both angles trend from warm to cool as the color temperature setting increases. This confirms the light bar’s color temperature dial does what it’s supposed to, shifting the output from warm to cool tones across its range.
The gap between 90º and 45º is fairly small compared to the luminance results. At the 25% and 50% settings, the 45º reading actually reads slightly higher in Kelvin than the 90º reading, but by the 75-100% settings the two angles converge. This suggests the perceived color temperature stays fairly consistent across viewing angles, unlike luminance output which drops off sharply at 45º.
Power
With just the task light, power consumption scaled from 0.74 W to 5.81 W at 100%. Adding the bias light on top pushed those numbers up across the board. The bias light’s power draw isn’t constant, it actually shrinks as a share of the total the higher you push the brightness. At 25%, the bias light adds roughly 0.94 W on top of the task light, more than doubling the draw. But by 100%, the gap narrows to about 0.45 W, a relatively small bump over the task light’s own 5.81 W.
Overall, even at full blast with both lights running, you’re still only looking at just over 6 W total, which is negligible on a monthly electricity bill even with heavy daily use.
Final Thoughts
After weeks of using the Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow, I’m convinced it’s a strong pick for anyone working off a large or ultrawide monitor. The build quality feels solid, the capacitive remote is intuitive from the first use, and power draw is low enough that you could run it off a power bank without worry.
The luminance numbers back up what you’d expect from a directional light bar, featuring a strong, linear output at 90º, with a steep drop-off at 45º. The color temperature range also holds up well across viewing angles, so you’re not fighting inconsistent tones as you adjust brightness.
It’s not without limitations. The four-step brightness and color temperature adjustment is coarse rather than precise, and the single-tone and or level backlight can’t be tuned to match the task light’s setup. But for the price point and what it’s meant to do, the Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow gets the fundamentals right.
Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow $56.99
Product Name: Monitor Light Bar Glow
Product Description: The Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow is a 51 cm light bar built for large and ultrawide monitors, offering two-tone front lighting and a dimmable single-tone backlight.
Brand: Quntis
Summary
The Quntis Monitor Light Bar Glow delivers solid build quality, low power draw, and consistent color temperature across viewing angles, making it a strong option for large or ultrawide monitor setups.
Pros
- Solid build quality with a clean, low-profile metallic gray finish
- Responsive, intuitive capacitive remote controls
- Low power draw, tops out at just over 6 W
- Consistent color temperature across viewing angles
- Compatible with large and ultrawide monitors
- Extendable clamp with angle adjustment for fine-tuning
Cons
- Backlight is single-tone and isn’t bright enough
