Philips Momentum 55″ 4K HDR Ambiglow 120Hz Gaming Monitor

How Much Does it Cost?

At the time of writing, the Philips Momentum 558M1RY 55-Inch 4K, 120 Hz, FreeSync Console/PC Gaming Monitor was actually out of stock on Amazon. However, it’s showing as stock on the way, and the list price is still set at “£1199.99”. That puts it about the same price as a similarly sized Samsung QLED TV, or LG NanoCell ThinQ. However, Philips has them thrashed when it comes to refresh rate and most importantly, response time, and sound quality.

Overview

Compared to most TVs, this may seem expensive. However, if you’re picking through the latest models from 2020, and you want a 55″ panel, then £1000-1500 is easily spent in a hurry for a TV. However, Philips has really stepped up to make this a lean, mean, gaming focused machine, without compromising on anything else. The quality of the panel is by far the nicest I’ve tinkered with in years. If you want blacker black, OLED is the only next-step from this. That being said, hitting HDR1000 peak brightness, and having no burn-in risk while still having some of the best contrast on the market means Philips Momentum never feels like second best.

Gaming

I hate this monitor, I really do. Why? Because it’s too good. I may have to go back to my normal TV and it’ll takes ages to adjust again. The response times are just incredible, and while I know console games are often “inferior” to their PC counterparts, there’s more fault in the TV your using than I realised. Stick an Xbox One on a gaming monitor and the difference is night and day.

The HDR brings out the best in Forza Horizon and Gear of War Ultimate. The black levels are awesome, the brightness is dazzling, but the whole time everything maintains balance and superb colour reproduction. Having the future-proofing to game in 4K at up to 120 Hz is also a huge bonus. However, you get the added benefit of still being able to use 120 Hz modes at both 1080p and 1440p too. It would make a fine PC gaming monitor if you have the desk to accommodate it. However, it makes a truly remarkable console gaming monitor too.

Entertainment

Gaming was a breeze for the Momentum, it promised to take my gaming to the next level and it didn’t disappoint. However, it was everything else that impressed me most of all. It’s a fantastic panel for media consumption. If you love HDR movies, SDR movies, SD, HD, 4K, it doesn’t matter, the panel deals with them all really well right out of the box. The colour profiles, the contrast, the flawless motion processing, all of them add up to a great movie night. That being said, I’ve been watching old-school Simpsons all day between writing this review on Disney+, so it’s not just a great display for the big hitters, but also daily content and YouTube videos, etc.

Sound

The Bowers & Wilkins were like bringing a knife to a gunfight, as I’ve got a fairly decent 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup here, so compared to that, yeah it was a bit flat and lacking bass. However, compared to the pathetic speakers on my LG TV, it’s pretty ripping. I don’t know how loud it goes, I didn’t dare scare the neighbours. Playing Halo with the volume at 45/100 was LOOOUUUUUD! It’s not completely lacking bass either, it’s a good punchy sound, albeit a line out for a subwoofer channel would be a great upgrade on a future model.

Should I Buy One?

Do you want the absolute best gaming televi….urm, I mean monitor money can buy? Well, then this is certainly the option for you. It ticks all the right boxes for a great gaming display, but still packs enough features to make everything from Movie night to Halo night a great experience. It’s a little expensive, but good quality, low-latency, high-refresh rates and huge HDR 4K panels don’t come cheap. Trade the bloated firmware and processing and high input times of modern TVs for one of these! Worth every penny.