Dough Spectrum Black 27-inch OLED gaming monitor review: Pro-level accuracy and premium performance

The Dough Spectrum 27 is a 27-inch OLED gaming monitor with QHD resolution, HDR400, 240 Hz, Adaptive-Sync and wide gamut color.

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Dough Spectrum Black 27
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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I began this review by discussing the precision that today’s OLED monitors are capable of. The screens I’ve seen so far in the past year have been almost universally excellent, with accurate and saturated color, tremendous contrast, superior gaming performance, and premium build quality. The Dough Spectrum Black 27 is the display that finally led me to the one term that describes them all: precise.

(Image credit: Dough)

To be fair, the Spectrum Black 27 is a big ask in price. You can get an equally capable 27-inch QHD 240 Hz OLED monitor like Acer’s X27U for around $800. The Dough is $1,198 with Gorilla Glass and a stand. But the Gorilla Glass is better than what’s found on other OLEDs. It enhances black and is optically superior. It resists fingerprints and reflections with ease and ups the build quality quotient.

Image-wise, the Spectrum Black 27 has all the same attributes as its competition. It’s perfectly accurate out of the box and does not require calibration. It has a usable sRGB mode. It nails HDR with spot-on color and a true 1,000-nit peak. It also has more inputs and USB options than any other OLED I’ve seen with four total USB-C jacks, HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4. The KVM possibilities here are vast.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

My only complaint concerns the color gamut. Quantum Dots have invaded the OLED segment, so every premium display should have this technology. It provides DCI-P3 coverage exceeding 100%, and that is where the Spectrum Black 27 is a bit behind its rivals. Color is extremely accurate and covers 94% of DCI-P3. But if you want the most color possible, MSI’s MPG271QRX brushes the underside of 110%.

I still think the Spectrum Black 27 is worth the price. It delivers a stunning image and stellar gaming performance. It has every option and adjustment there is and sports some of the best build quality and styling I’ve yet seen. If you have the budget for a premium OLED gaming monitor, it should certainly be on your watchlist.

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Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • azcn2503
    This review mentions nothing about actually trying to obtain one of these things. Customers that placed orders literally years ago have not received their product yet, and the company have gone dark with their communications. There is some very shady activity happening with the company filing for various types of insolvency, changing their name, etc. to exploit loopholes that aid protecting them from engaging with and reimbursing very rightfully enraged customers.

    Dough were previously known as Eve. A quick google search for simply "dough eve" will tell you everything you need to know about this network of companies.
    Reply
  • cknobman
    $1100 for a 27 inch OLED!?

    There is a sucker born every second these days.
    Reply
  • Albert.Thomas
    DOUGH is a ponzi scheme scam, DO NOT BUY.
    Reply
  • j99992
    azcn2503 said:
    Dough were previously known as Eve. A quick google search for simply "dough eve" will tell you everything you need to know about this network of companies.
    Even better, consider using DuckDuckGo or Brave Search. Remember, there are multiple search engines available worldwide.
    What baffles me is that OLED is still discussed and priced as if it's a brand-new, cutting-edge technology, despite being around for about 20 years. I was anticipating OLED back in 2003.
    Reply
  • helper800
    j99992 said:
    Even better, consider using DuckDuckGo or Brave Search. Remember, there are multiple search engines available worldwide.
    What baffles me is that OLED is still discussed and priced as if it's a brand-new, cutting-edge technology, despite being around for about 20 years. I was anticipating OLED back in 2003.
    The problem that still exists with OLED is the manufacturing cost. It is a very expensive BOM technology, just because its 20 years old does not automagically make manufacturing it any cheaper, especially at these small screen sizes.
    Reply
  • parkerthon
    If you don’t understand why this monitor is so expensive, you don’t understand why people buy premium monitors.

    I find it humorous when people build a $2000 gaming pc only to spend $200 on a va panel that looks like washed out dog crap or a laggy ips that looks like a blurry slide show when gaming. But then again I notice this stuff because I have always felt the monitor is key to the whole pc gaming experience. I know others could care less. Just understand, this price is justified.
    Reply