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The X27 X1 has many picture options, including a full set of color gamuts that cover most industry standards. It ships in Standard mode, which is reasonably accurate out of the box.
Grayscale and Gamma Tracking
The first grayscale chart is reasonably close to the mark for gamma but shows a slight purple tint in the steps above 40% brightness. It’s hard to see in content, but the error is visible. When I calibrated the RGB sliders, I noted that Acer included gain and bias controls, something that’s common on televisions but rare for computer monitors. I tweaked both points to improve tracking significantly, but gamma accuracy suffered. It’s now lighter in the brighter parts of the image, and highlight detail is a little less clear. It’s a compromise that will come down to user preference. I liked the calibrated image better, but you may disagree. I recommend trying both ways to see which you prefer.
The sRGB gamut selection is actually closer to the BT.709 spec because it uses BT.1886 gamma rather than 2.2 power. This is fine for SDR content and video. Grayscale is a little warm and cannot be adjusted in this mode.
Comparisons
The X27 X1 needs a bit of help in the grayscale department with a 4.32dE out-of-box result. In practice, it looks OK, but there is room for improvement. With calibration, the number drops to a pro-level 0.75dE, but gamma is compromised. The final result was more than 6% off the 2.2 reference (2.05 actual), with a large value range of 0.59 from lowest to highest.
Color Gamut Accuracy
Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.
The gamma issues I noted above don’t negatively affect the X27 X1’s color gamut accuracy. It starts at an excellent 2.11dE and goes down to a reference level 1.12dE after calibration. The visual difference is small, but the improved hue tracking is the reason I prefer it, even with the altered gamma. You can see the Quantum Dot layer in action here in the fully covered green and oversaturated red primaries.
Red is also a bit over in the sRGB test. The other colors are on point, and the error is still below visual at 2.16dE. This is excellent performance. I noted that grayscale cannot be adjusted in this mode and the gamma is fixed at BT.1886.
Comparisons
The X27 X1’s color gamut accuracy is excellent whether you calibrate or not. OLEDs in general are very accurate, so the 1.12dE score shown here is about average for the category. If you use the Standard mode, it’s 2.16dE, also excellent. There are no visible color errors here.
In the volume test, the X27 X1 is about average among the other 4K QD-OLEDs I’ve reviewed. Some QHD screens, like the Alienware AW2725D, render over 110%. But the Acer monitor’s 103% is still very colorful with deep reds and vivid greens. For color-critical tasks, these color volumes are ideal when working in the P3 or sRGB realms. This is excellent performance.
Test Takeaway: The X27 X1 has very accurate color but has room for improvement in the grayscale and gamma tests. Calibration improves grayscale to reference-level but compromises gamma in the process. Adjustment requires compromise, but for me, it looks better in the User mode. It has a two-point white balance, which is a nice touch. It also has ideal color volume for critical applications.
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