Just because a web designer’s job isn’t necessarily audio-related, that doesn’t mean that web designers shouldn’t use headphones that are tailored to their needs. Just what are their audio needs? Well, those needs could range from needing active noise cancellation to better concentrate to needing headphones with a decent microphone so that you can chat with your clients.

Here are a few awesome headphones to suit your web-designing needs.

B&O Beoplay H9

The B&O Beoplay H9 headphones are some of the best reviewed headphones we’ve tried over at Lightningcans, and for good reason — for one, they’re super high quality, plus they offer an awesome sound.

One of the coolest things about the Beoplay H9’s is that they offer some really nice noise cancellation — which is perfect for those that sit and a desk working and don’t want to be distracted during that time. Their battery life isn’t amazing, but another good thing about them is that if they do run out of battery, you can simply plug them into your computer via an aux cable.

If there is a downside to the B&O Beoplay H9’s, it’s that they’re a little pricey, sitting at a cool $499. Still, if you can afford them, these are the headphones we recommend for web designers and everyone else alike.

HiFiMan HE400S

Next up on the list are the HiFiMan HE400S’. These are perhaps better suited to the web designers out there who work from home. Why? Because they have an open design, meaning that the sound inside the headphones is more likely to escape, and the sound from outside the headphones is more likely to get in. That’s a good thing — it means that the sound is much more natural and many suggest that open-back headphones in general sound a lot better. Whether that’s true or not, the HiFiMan HE400S’ sound absolutely awesome.

Like the Beoplay H9’s, these cans probably aren’t the best if you’re looking for a pair of headphones to take out and about, but if you just need them for home use, they’re a steal at only $299.

Echobox Finder X1

The HiFiMan HE400S aren’t the best for taking out and about, but the Echobox Finder X1’s are the opposite — because they’re earbuds. One of the coolest things about these is that they’re customizable — you can unscrew the filters on the earbuds and screw new ones in place, resulting in a slightly different sound. That means that you’ll be able to get the sound that best matches your needs.

On top of the customizable sound, the Echobox Finder X1’s have quite a nice design, and one that’s pretty unique. All these features aren’t super cheap though — especially for earbuds. They come in at $229, but if you’re looking for earbud-style headphones and don’t mind spending a bit of cash, we highly recommend these.

Grado SR125e

Grado is a classic name when it comes to headphones, and for good reason. The company builds only quality products, and all of its headphones are hand-built. The SR125e’s are another pair of headphones that have an open-design, so you might only want these if you work at home — but they are quite a bit cheaper than the other open-design headphones on this list, coming in at $150. They’re also a little smaller — they’re on-ear rather than over-ear.

Still, as Grado headphones, the SR125e’s sound like a dream, so if you have a $150 budget but still want an excellent pair of cans, these could be the cans for you.

JLab Audio Omni

On a bit of a budget but still want a decent pair of headphones? That’s where the JLab Audio Omni’s come in. These are Bluetooth headphones, meaning that you can listen without needing pesky wires. On top of that, they’re really quite comfortable, boasting JLab Audio’s “Eco Leather Cloud Foam Cushions.” Sure, that’s mostly marketing lingo, but in the end they deliver on their promise. The best thing about these, however, is their price — they come in at only $99.

Conclusions

There’s a great pair of headphones for everyone, and this list should have plenty to offer for all web designers. Of course, if you need a little more info, head over to HeadphoneReview.com.

Ultrawide monitors are largely considered to be the next big thing in the computer monitor world, and a number of ultrawide monitor models have been released over the past few years – such as the Dell U3415W or the Samsung S34E790C. Still, while most of those monitors offer a resolution of 2,560 x 1,080 or sometimes 3,440 x 1,440, LG wants to take things to the next level. Introducing the LG 38UC99.

So what makes the LG 38UC99 so special? Quite a few things, actually. For example, the monitor offers an eye-burning 3,840 x 1,600 resolution with a 21:9 aspect ratio, a 75Hz refresh rate, and a 38-inch screen. Oh, and did we mention it’s curved?

There’s no denying that the 39UC99 is an absolute beast, but it has a price tag to match. Is it worth the $1,500? We put it through the paces to find out.

This thing ain’t small

Let’s get something out of the way before we look at the monitor’s design. You’re going to need a pretty huge desk. Even LG’s press shots for the monitor don’t really do it justice. If you have a large desk, you’ll probably be good to go, but if you’re unsure, you’re going to want to take a look at it for yourself. For reference, the base of the monitor sits at around 20.5-inches wide, so you’ll need at least that much to really use this monitor at all.

The 38UC99 features LG’s classic white and silver look, which gives it a very sleek and premium feel. The stand follows along with that trend – it’s a smooth metallic silver that looks as modern as the monitor is. Speaking of the stand, you get quite a few options with monitor placement – you can easily adjust the higher and tilt of the monitor simply by moving it to where you want.

On the back of the curved monitor, you actually get quite a few port options. You’ll find two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, two USB 3.0 ports, and even a USB-C port. If that isn’t enough, the monitor has Bluetooth connectivity, so you can quickly and easily connect Bluetooth peripherals to it. For example, you can connect your phone to the monitor to wirelessly stream music to the monitor’s speakers. As an audio buff (and editor-in-chief of HeadphoneReview.com), those speakers don’t sound amazing, but they’re certainly not bad and should suit most day-to-day purposes.

Those extra ports are pretty nice, and they turn the monitor into something of a content hub – you can charge your devices straight from your monitor, which isn’t a necessary feature, but an added bonus nonetheless.

On the bottom, LG has taken an interesting approach to the monitor’s controls. Instead of a D-Pad or simply a series of buttons, there’s a joystick, which is extremely easy to control. Simple press on the joystick to turn the monitor on and off, then follow the on-screen prompts to control the monitor. Quick settings you can change with that joystick include things like Brightness, Contrast, Volume, Screen Off, and Bluetooth Audio. Screen Off is a little confusing, but it basically turns the display off when the monitor is connected to a Bluetooth audio source.

Instead of having to tweak all those settings yourself to find what you like, you’ll also get access to a number of presets – which include two “Dark Room” presets, and a few options for gaming.

Setup

We should take a moment to mention that this monitor is a super high performer, so don’t expect every computer to work well with it. For example, while the monitor worked well on most computers we tested with, my slightly aging 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina Display didn’t fare so well – it could only handle the 3,840 x 1,440 resolution at around a 25Hz refresh rate, which is far less than ideal. In the end for the MacBook Pro we switched over to a 2,560 x 1,066 resolution, which offered a much nicer (but still not amazing) 47Hz refresh rate. None of this could be done through Apple’s stock display settings, so instead we had to use SwitchResX to build a custom resolution.

Things were a little easier on the Windows side of things, so if you’re a gamer that will be good to hear. A little more about gaming later.

Great, but how does it perform?

The LG 38UC99 doesn’t just look great on the outside – the actual screen is pretty darn beautiful too. In fact, it looks great out-of-the-box, so you don’t really need to do all that much to make it look good.

While super high, the resolution isn’t perfect does take some getting used to. Because the MacBook Pro with Retina Display has a pixel density of 226ppi, the 110ppi on the LG monitor looks a little blurry, especially when you first set up the display. You will get used to it eventually, but just something to keep in mind. And, of course, if you’re using the monitor as a primary display rather than a secondary one, or don’t have eyes that are used to the Retina Display, you won’t have any issues with that resolution.

One cool feature about the display is that it offers AMD’s FreeSync technology, along with LG’s self-developed “1ms Motion Blur Reduction.” So what do those do? Well, if you do have a computer that supports the display’s resolution, FreeSync will help boost the normal refresh rate of 60Hz up to a hefty 75Hz. Motion Blur will smooth out that picture even more, and combined the LG 38UC99 will be up to even the most demanding games and videos.

Speaking of gaming, the 38UC99 really has a lot to offer, and that’s partly due to the curve of the screen. Considering how big the display is, plus that curve, gaming on the monitor is really quite an immersive experience.

The contrast on the monitor is quite good at 660:1, but it’s still not on the same level as some other ultrawide monitors, many of which hit the 700:1 mark. Still, while blacks aren’t as dark as they could be, they are pretty dark – and the contrast will be plenty for most people. That’s true of the color accuracy too – colors look pretty damn good, but nothing pops out as much as it could.

In other words, the image quality on this monitor is very similar to other, smaller models. Those models, however, just aren’t as impressive, because as we all know bigger is better. Okay, maybe that’s not always true, but in this case a larger monitor with the same image quality is certainly better.

Warranty

Normally warranty can be covered off in one sentence, but we want to highlight one of the only negatives about the LG 38UC99 – that’s the fact that it only has a 1-year warranty on parts, labor and the backlight.

For a monitor of this price, you really should be getting a longer warranty, and while the short warranty doesn’t outright say that LG doesn’t have faith in its product, it certainly is suggestive.

Conclusions

The LG 38UC99 is an impressive monitor. It offers near 4K resolution, FreeSync and Motion Blur for top-notch gaming experiences, and is stunningly beautiful.

But do you need the LG 38UC99? Probably not, but you certainly might want it – it’s a lot of fun. At a massive $1,500, few people really need this monitor. There are plenty of perfectly good ultrawide options out there for a fraction of the price of this one. But, if you have a pile of cash to spend on a monitor, enjoy the ultrawide form factor, feel like you need something big, and really want the best of the best, then the LG 38UC99 is an excellent – and dare we say the best – choice.

Score: 9.5/10