UBERLIGHT FRAME FROM RELIABLE

A light for audiophiles? Paul Rigby switches on, sits back and zones out with illuminated vibes from the UberLight Frame

The UberLight Frame. It’s a light on a stand. That’s it, really. 

Which sounds simple. Basic, even. The so-called UberLight Frame won’t be for everyone, that’s for sure but it does offer a design and styling ethic that will attract some of you out there. 

And why do you need it? Maybe “need” is too strong a word. Let’s instead ask, “Why would this light be a nice addition to your listening room?”

It would be useful if you like to listen to your music in low-light surroundings. Or even with the room light switched off entirely. 

The UberLight Frame can then be used to illuminate record changes, flipping over the vinyl side, allowing you to carefully place the cartridge on the vinyl surface…that kind of thing. 

That is, the UberLight Frame is a useful device if room ambience is your bag or if your HiFi is positioned in a dark corner of the room or if you are listening to your HiFi in a room where the sun is setting but you don’t want to turn on the room lights just yet. 

It’s one of those mood accessories. 

DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS

Made by a Canadian company called Reliable, an industrial outfit who started up in the 50s looking after both the sewing and steam-cleaning industries, this new product sits on a choice of stands, either: a desk clamp with a rotary collar to tighten the clamp to your desk, a weighted base or table mount plus screws (included) to fix the stand to the surface.  While the lamp itself receives power via a USB-C (plug included) hanging off a six foot (183cm) lead.

Weighing in at 2.6kg or 5.7pounds the UberLight Frame is principally made from a cast aluminium frame. The light frame itself can be rotated 360 degrees while the head of the light can be partially swivelled or tilted by 30 degrees. 

During illumination, the light offers a reported 100 settings which means a mash up of six brightness settings, six individual touch zones and three colour temperatures (i.e. a warm light, the so called ‘ultra bright’ option plus a daylight choice). I liked the warm light for room ambience and the daylight option when I wanted to do detail work. I also liked the brightness level choices for the same reasons.

Pumping out 600 lumens, the light itself can be operated in one of two ways. There is a touch panel on top of the head of the lamp. Just slide your fingers across this pad to increase or decrease the light intensity or to illuminate all of part of the horizontal arm. That is, you can light up the entire light or just one of the zones that make up the entire light strip. 

The UberLight Frame also arrives with a remote control which I found the best option in control terms. Controlling from a natural sitting or standing position being easier than reaching and searching for on-lamp controls, etc. 

That remote also arrives with a simple, built-in torch so you can check your stylus if you suspect any dust build up. That remote can also be stored in the head of the lamp where it will recharge. 

IN USE

This UberLight Frame does everything it is supposed to do. There’s a host of features, while the lamp uses a few neat tricks such as the ability to store the remote under the illuminated lamp bar. While here, the remote also charges.

Obviously, for most of you out there, the major issue with the UberLight Frame is that price point. I know, yes, it’s high, there’s no getting away with that. This product is aimed at the luxury market, though. It’s a high-end piece of kit. 

Now look, I haven’t lived with this product for a long time so I obviously cannot be sure but sometimes you do get a feel from a product when you’ve used it for a least a little while. As such? I just can’t see this light breaking down two weeks after you’ve bought it or suffering from flickering because the internal electrics have suffered from a dry joint or the dimming switch just broke, I can’t see the stand bending, cracking or snapping, the chassis suffering from tarnishing or discolouration. Even if something did happen to the light, even if bits did break down, Reliable are offering to service the thing. At this point, having lived with the light for a few weeks, at least, it does feel like a solid item. 

VALUE FOR MONEY?

On the other hand, do I think it looks and feels like a £308 (converted to my currency) item? No. I don’t think it does. I expected a greater sense of luxury, a level of opulence that might justify the price, with more features to boot. I expected the light to be able to valet my car, fix the roof and rummage up a bacon roll or two. More specifically perhaps? I would have liked to have seen a quality – possible micro-clicking tension joint at the right angle of the frame plus another swish gimbal joint just behind the light strip. And then possibly an extension piece on the vertical part of the frame (which not only rises but also lowers even further than the current height). Super smooth, of course. 

Then again, if that cost translates into a longer, hassle-free user life? Then that’s where I would see the cost funnelling. And on that basis? Sure, I can understand the price tag. I once bought a very cheap, no-name integrated ‘hifi’ amplifier off Aliexpress to review on this site which spent all of its time dangerously over-heating. I binned it. Looked great, though.

Another example, I have been long-term testing Reliable’s lower-cost UberLight Flex on my office desk for several months now and am very happy with it. No problems, no issues, no hassle. It just works. 

Of course, you might prefer something from IKEA or some similar home interior company or even some very low-cost item from Aliexpress and I’ve seen similar, square-framed lights from the latter for a fiver or less providing dimmable, three colour options, multi-angle positioning and colour tones. The problem is, they look like low-cost lights while one or two colleagues of mine have variations of the things in their homes. Some of which look and feel a little tacky (sorry guys).

And that’s fine for many people. And good luck to you if you would rather go in that direction. 

Thing is, though, there are users out there where that isn’t fine at all. Those people might very well dismiss the UberLight Frame too but those people should at least investigate this lamp. 

UBERLIGHT FRAME LED DESK/AUDIO LIGHT

Price: $399

Website: reliablecorporation.com

GOOD: remote control, interface, build, lighting options

BAD: price

RATING: 7