KDS VS-7e and ADI E55/E55+

KDS VS-7e

Features and Specifications

17" Flat Square CRT, 16" Viewable
.27 Dot Pitch
120Hz Max Vertical Refresh
28 - 70Khz Horizontal Refresh
1280 x 1024 (@60Hz) Max Resolution
Digital On Screen Controls
3 year Warranty CRT, parts and labor limited
Average Street Price: $170-240

The Good

It's cheap and capable. This monitor should be the bargain shoppers dream. KDS has been around for quite a while, and has a decent reputation overseas as a quality manufacturer. Once again all of the specifications look to be right on the mark for the price range. This tube is also one of the cheaper ones on the list, making it a very attractive choice to the budget-minded consumer.

The Bad

KDS is considered a "semi-generic" brand stateside. Speaking strictly for myself, I find them to be a rather troublesome, failure prone brand after working with a few on the test bench. But then again, what did you expect at this low price? If you have your heart set on a KDS brand monitor however, I would suggest that you dig into your pockets and pull out the extra lint and bills for the Avitron AV-7T which has a Trintron CRT. It's price will run you between $250-$300 however. It is still slightly cheaper than the Sony brand Trinitrons.

Also, the KDS specs about 6hz lower at max resolution as compared to the other CRT's in the roundup, but this won't be noticible to most people unless you take a side-by-side look at the tubes.

Another control gripe

Are we starting to see a pattern here? Ok, so the buttons are right up front and center, this is a good thing, but they are tiny! At least they are spaced out well enough.

ADI Provista E55/55+

E55/55+ Spec Sheet

Features and Specifications

17" Flat Square CRT, 16" Viewable Area
.28 Dot pitch, .26 Dot Pitch for the E55+
125hz Max Vertical Refresh
30 to 69KHz Horizontal Refresh
1280X1024 (@65Hz) Max Resolution
"EasyScreen" Digital On Screen Controls
Invar shadow mask, AR, AG, AS coatings
3 Year Warranty CRT, parts and labor
Average Street Price: $220-$230

The Good

Here we have a nice, well-rounded, inexpensive monitor. Image quality is on par on the rest, falling somewhere between the Acer and KDS. The screen surface is nice and flat utilizing Invar shadow mask technology to make a nice clear output without being overly fuzzy. There are two specific models of this monitor, the E55 and E55+. All of the specifications for both monitors are exactly the same, with a single, albeit important difference: the E55+ has a .26 Dot Pitch compared to the E55's .28 Dot Pitch. Oddly enough, price searches on both models reveal they are in the exact same price range as well. Clearly, we would take the lower dot pitch of the E55+ if it at the same price as the E55.

The Bad

ADI is a relative unknown in the market. If you put an ADI monitor down on a table next to an NEC or an Acer, and even if the ADI looked a little better, a few people may pick the NEC or Acer over the ADI simply because people prefer established companies. The ADI looks very good -that's not in question, but buying a brand name translates into peace of mind after the purchase.

Very much like the Acer but even more so, the ADI has a really large neck. Again, prepare to pull your desk away from the wall to make room for the monitor. If you thought the KDI's buttons were small, the ADI's are microscopic.