Our dream creative setup is a high-power tech haven that will boost productivity while delivering beautiful design, sculpted ergonomics, and unheard of levels of comfort. If you’re tackling 8K video production or 3D rendering then this configuration will help you keep your cool when the going gets tough, and it features the best office chair for back pain to keep you in total comfort.
Check out our guide to the best mid-price setup, and our ultimate budget setup too.
Apple’s MacBook Pros are creative behemoths, and the latest edition is the best yet. Its M5 Pro chip handles video editing and 3D rendering without breaking a sweat, its Liquid Retina XDR Screen offers a great design environment, and its battery will keep going all day.
A high-end investment in long-term health, Herman Miller’s Embody features a Pixelated Support system which isn’t as uncomfortable as it sounds. Quite the opposite, in fact, with support for micro-movements in your body to minimize pressure on your spine and promote blood circulation.
While most sit-to-stand desks stand on two legs, the quadrupedal Spout features four, giving it more strength, quieter operation, and a conventionally aesthetically pleasing design. Neat additional features include built-in USB-C charging ports and an optional integrated storage drawer.
If you’re getting a MacBook Pro, you might as well get a nice monitor to go with it. This BenQ option is purpose-built to use with the Mac ecosystem, so colors look exactly the same on your Pro’s in-built screen and this external monitor. It also includes 90W USB-C power delivery and its Display Pilot 2 software gives you monitor controls directly from your Mac keyboard.
Humanscale’s M/Flex technology makes this the ultimate future-proof monitor arm. It’s a strong and stable support for a single monitor, but its modular design scales up to accommodate up to six 20 lb monitors, giving you room to upgrade. The monitor arm equivalent of buying a people carrier when you’re starting a family.
One of a new generation of keyboards described as “creamy,” IQUNIX’s MQ80 includes a unique gasket mount under the keys, resulting in ultra-smooth operation while reducing finger fatigue. It also looks the part, with a low-profile all-aluminum build, and you can connect it via USB-C, Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless. How creamy!
Yes, this is a gaming mouse — but its minimalist looks will blend right in on a premium work-from-home setup. Its gaming features — custom sensor, optical switches and astonishing 8,000Hz polling — translate wonderfully into the worlds of design and editing, while its minutely tuned weight and feel ensure you can handle long sessions without fatigue.
HIFIMAN has achieved an incredible feat with these premium open-back headphones. Acoustically invisible stealth magnets and nanometer-thickness diaphragms may sound like Mission Impossible-level tech, but they ensure your music sounds rich and detailed, while a suspension headband and beveled earpads mean they don’t outstay their welcome on your noggin.
This little box of tricks is the world’s first lossless DSP, with a custom 104-bit core that gives you advanced equalization adjustment. Which basically means it takes your music and upgrades it to a huge sonic soundstage, giving astonishing new life and depth to both new and old tunes.
ADAM Audio T5Vs’ Unique Accelerated Ribbon Tweeter provides a clean top-end, incredible detail, and accurate mixing results, which are important for anyone working with audio. Yes, there are more expensive speakers out there — but they don’t get much better than these.
TB5 stands for Thunderbolt 5, the newest version of the ubiquitous data and power interface, which you’ll find on recent high-end laptops. The latest upgrade offers 120Gbps bandwidth so you can connect dual 8K monitors. Around the back you’ll find Ethernet and headphone connections, and there’s an SD card reader on the side.
