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Best Arm Options For New 27" iMac
- Thread starter bobob
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Ergomart
I'm planning on purchasing the SAA4229 since it seems to be what I'm looking for, I just have a couple of questions I hope you could help me answer. What mounting kit did you choose for your wall? I'm thinking of getting the HD wall mount kit D, but I'm looking at options, although it definitely needs to be a wall mount. Also, I read you had to have your arm "customized" in order to get the functionality you were looking for, so I am wondering if the arm they are selling now has the workability of yours. I would of course choose the HD spring tilter, but I don't seen any other options as to making the arm handle more load efficiently. Hope you can help me out, since at almost $800 ( I have to pay tax since I'm from TX
) it is kind of a pricey item, although it seems to be worth it!
I'm planning on purchasing the SAA4229 since it seems to be what I'm looking for, I just have a couple of questions I hope you could help me answer. What mounting kit did you choose for your wall? I'm thinking of getting the HD wall mount kit D, but I'm looking at options, although it definitely needs to be a wall mount. Also, I read you had to have your arm "customized" in order to get the functionality you were looking for, so I am wondering if the arm they are selling now has the workability of yours. I would of course choose the HD spring tilter, but I don't seen any other options as to making the arm handle more load efficiently. Hope you can help me out, since at almost $800 ( I have to pay tax since I'm from TX
) it is kind of a pricey item, although it seems to be worth it!
I'm planning on purchasing the SAA4229 since it seems to be what I'm looking for, I just have a couple of questions I hope you could help me answer. What mounting kit did you choose for your wall? I'm thinking of getting the HD wall mount kit D, but I'm looking at options, although it definitely needs to be a wall mount. Also, I read you had to have your arm "customized" in order to get the functionality you were looking for, so I am wondering if the arm they are selling now has the workability of yours. I would of course choose the HD spring tilter, but I don't seen any other options as to making the arm handle more load efficiently. Hope you can help me out, since at almost $800 ( I have to pay tax since I'm from TX
Well, I actually mounted my arm to a wooden window divider, by first mounting a metal track and then using the *track mount* for the arm - both the track and the track mount I bought from Ergomart. I posted pictures of the setup in post #276 in this thread - one of them has a closeup of the track and mount.
Regarding the tilter modification Ergomart did for me, I believe they've incorporated that into their newest spring tilters for that arm (and perhaps even improved upon it compared to my model).
I would recommend that you call Ergomart and ask for Mike, he's the most technically knowledgeable person there, and he worked with me and their engineering to get me the best setup and solution. Ask him about the tilter and options and any other questions you may have. Great guy.
Obviously, I've used the arm now for over a year, and continue to be satisfied. However, I do have one issue, and it's with the gas cylinder. When I spoke to Innovative, their guy told me that this arm uses the biggest cylinder on the market, but at that weight of computer and arm length, it's working at the very edge of its capability. He thought that meant that there is a danger that with time, the cylinder will lose power. Apparently all cylinders lose power, but at a slow rate of maybe 1% a year or so. If the demands on the cylinder however are modest, you'll never feel that loss of power (until maybe decades later), but if you're already at the edge, you may start feeling it sooner. Well, guess what, I am feeling it. When I got it, it was so springy, that I had to loosen it. A couple of months ago, the arm started to slowly lose position (sag) when I lifted it, so I had to tighten it. Now it's good again. But I'm aware that this will continue to be an issue and I'll have to keep tightening it. Which means it may not last decades like other arms can - realistically, I expect it won't last more than 10 years at best. Of course, you can always get a new cylinder and swap it out, but I figure in a few years, I'll just buy another arm... who knows, maybe they'll make the iMac lighter by then, or the arm lighter and stronger
... So, just a heads up on the cylinder issue - but maybe I just got unlucky.Good luck!
It definitely has no problem supporting the weight of the iMac. You have to turn down the tension quite a bit just to keep it from flinging the imac upwards.
Ergomart
Thanks for your reply OldCorpse, I actually talked to another rep since Mike apparently wasn't available, but this person was also really helpful.. He did tell me that it is normal for the loss of power overtime by using the iMac, and that it will probably happen to me also.. This because, like you said, the arm is working at the edge of its capacity.. Although he did recommend another arm which wouldn't have this issue, I decided to get this one and deal with the loss of power but gain the extra length in extension. But yeah, most likely we will see changes in the iMac over the years since they're constantly updating their products, lets just hope it's for the better! Imagine if they would make it faster but at the cost of being heavier.. that would just suck for us. Anyways, I'll post pictures of the setup along with a review when it's done, because I probably won't be the last person looking for a good long reach arm that fits the iMac.. Cheers!
Thanks for your reply OldCorpse, I actually talked to another rep since Mike apparently wasn't available, but this person was also really helpful.. He did tell me that it is normal for the loss of power overtime by using the iMac, and that it will probably happen to me also.. This because, like you said, the arm is working at the edge of its capacity.. Although he did recommend another arm which wouldn't have this issue, I decided to get this one and deal with the loss of power but gain the extra length in extension. But yeah, most likely we will see changes in the iMac over the years since they're constantly updating their products, lets just hope it's for the better! Imagine if they would make it faster but at the cost of being heavier.. that would just suck for us
. Anyways, I'll post pictures of the setup along with a review when it's done, because I probably won't be the last person looking for a good long reach arm that fits the iMac.. Cheers! 
Sorry for the delay, but from what I remember, it uses 3 screws in a one centered (high I think) and two lower screws. The separation of the two side by side was small enough that all three screws are in one stud. And it is solid. The white wings you see on the wall plate are plastic covers and they just hide where the mount attached to the wall plate. The screws for the wall plate are more down the center. It is a good design.
Instead of an arm supporting your 27" iMac, the HoverBar is a smaller arm which connects to your iMac and supports your iPad.
Here's a review with detailed installation pictures, another more detailed unboxing/installation video, and the company's (Twelve South) own promotional video, which even shows a dual HoverBar set-up:
As you can see in this picture:
...it is intended to connect to the iMac's support stand, however the attachment clamp appears to be thin enough, that for iMac arm users, it appears that there may be enough clearance that it could be connected to side of the Apple VESA adapter:
(Now all we need is an even tinier arm to attach our iPhones to the HoverBar! )
Here's a review with detailed installation pictures, another more detailed unboxing/installation video, and the company's (Twelve South) own promotional video, which even shows a dual HoverBar set-up:
As you can see in this picture:
...it is intended to connect to the iMac's support stand, however the attachment clamp appears to be thin enough, that for iMac arm users, it appears that there may be enough clearance that it could be connected to side of the Apple VESA adapter:
(Now all we need is an even tinier arm to attach our iPhones to the HoverBar!
)
Instead of an arm supporting your 27" iMac, the HoverBar is a smaller arm which connects to your iMac and supports your iPad.
Here's a review with detailed installation pictures, another more detailed unboxing/installation video, and the company's (Twelve South) own promotional video, which even shows a dual HoverBar set-up:
As you can see in this picture:
...it is intended to connect to the iMac's support stand, however the attachment clamp appears to be thin enough, that for iMac arm users, it appears that there may be enough clearance that it could be connected to side of the Apple VESA adapter:
(Now all we need is an even tinier arm to attach our iPhones to the HoverBar!
While this looks gimmicky, as a developer I'm very intrigued. Device management is becoming tricky with 2 iPads and several iPods.
Just my opinion, but I would not recommend mounting the 27" on an adjustable arm. With all the cables and attachments on the iMac, you're never going to fully utilize the a desk arm. If anything get a wall mount that moves forward and backwards, looks 10x cleaner and a lot more stable.
Sorry to hear the idea of an arm doesn't work for you.
I'm happy with mine - - the only connection I have is the power cable, which I can't even see from my chair, running out the base of the arm and over the side of my desk - - personally, I can't imagine a cleaner desktop set-up.
Not all wall joists are in good positions for mounting and a lack of height adjustability can be a problem in households like mine where there are adults and children using the same machine. With proper cable management a wall mounting option is no better and no worse than an arm mounted solution. I have seen tidy and un-tidy implementations of both. It's a matter of wether the user can be bothered to make it tidy and also wether the user cares.
It's a broad church in this group and we welcome either option, although it's fair to say that your opinion is in the minority here.
EDIT: I think if you had read the title of the thread, actually read what bobob, oldcorpse and the other contributors of this thread have been through for the rest of us, you would probably quietly and meekly remove your post and close the church door behind you. But that's just my opinion and me being perhaps a little un-kind.
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Well, to each his own. Didn't mean to get your panties in a bunch. I'm sorry you have to share your Mac with kids, but you don't have to take it out on me. The fact that you are sharing your mac with kids and other users gives me a little insight on how that Mac is being utilized and maybe a desk mounted arm is better suited for you, just not me. I was just giving my opinion and I didn't think it would be scrutinized by the VESA police force. I read what the other contributors had to say and it was all very informative (thanks guys). I'll take deleting my previous post into consideration, if you can consider taking that desk mounted arm of yours, turn it sideways, and stick it up your.. wall.
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That sounds pretty cool, I'll have to go back and check your setup. It's not that it didn't work out for me, it was just a personal preference of having my iMac on a wall and semi-stationary and my cinema display on the desk arm where it would be more feasible to rotate, extend, and what not. But glad to hear you are enjoying yours, cheers.
Your back-track and more considered response brought a smile to my face. Just happy to have pulled your strings into making you actually think about what and how you post. You'll deny it of course but that's to be expected. Please feel free to have the last word in this exchange and really go for it this time.
Can't find good tilt solution
I am fortunate enough to have multiple iMac 27's and Apple Thunderbolt displays in my company. So far we have purchased the Innovative 7500-1500HD and the Humanscale M8. While both arms work pretty well (other than the stiffness of joints), neither does a very good job of TILT.
The M8 has a ball-and-socket arrangement with a screw to adjust it so that it can be moved with two hands, but will not move by itself. This is somewhat successful, although the monitor can move down pretty easily by accidental touch. Because of the forward-biased weight of the Apple monitors, the force needed to tilt down is far less than needed to tilt up.
The Innovative arm, which is the "HD" model, should have been the answer to tilting nirvana, but alas the spring is so weak as to render the tilting mechanism pretty much identical to the M8 (which has no spring at all). The setscrew needs to be so tight to prevent accidental movement that it has to be positioned by both hands, forcefully. Plus, it shares the proclivity of the M8 to tilt down rather than tilt up.
I heard the spring had been beefed up with the HD model, but I honestly can't sense any spring pressure at all in mine.
What am I missing? Are we forever doomed to iMac mounts that tilt down but not up? Or using both hands to force a tight joint to tilt at all? My other experience with monitor arms is with Ergotron LX arms which are beautifully counter-sprung by comparison.
I am fortunate enough to have multiple iMac 27's and Apple Thunderbolt displays in my company. So far we have purchased the Innovative 7500-1500HD and the Humanscale M8. While both arms work pretty well (other than the stiffness of joints), neither does a very good job of TILT.
The M8 has a ball-and-socket arrangement with a screw to adjust it so that it can be moved with two hands, but will not move by itself. This is somewhat successful, although the monitor can move down pretty easily by accidental touch. Because of the forward-biased weight of the Apple monitors, the force needed to tilt down is far less than needed to tilt up.
The Innovative arm, which is the "HD" model, should have been the answer to tilting nirvana, but alas the spring is so weak as to render the tilting mechanism pretty much identical to the M8 (which has no spring at all). The setscrew needs to be so tight to prevent accidental movement that it has to be positioned by both hands, forcefully. Plus, it shares the proclivity of the M8 to tilt down rather than tilt up.
I heard the spring had been beefed up with the HD model, but I honestly can't sense any spring pressure at all in mine.
What am I missing? Are we forever doomed to iMac mounts that tilt down but not up? Or using both hands to force a tight joint to tilt at all? My other experience with monitor arms is with Ergotron LX arms which are beautifully counter-sprung by comparison.
I was at the Ergomart SAA2718 site just last week and could configure the improved heavy duty tilter head although today, strangely it's not listed as an option although they are still showing pics of the three types available. The model by Ergomart is the same 1500 HD model by Innovative, its just a different brand name. I think I read on these forums that Ergomart is the actual manufacturer but I can't be certain. I believe bobob has posted much on this particular arm. The standard tilter head only supports screens of up to 24 lbs, even though the arm is rated for screens up to 33 lbs. You would usually have to configure one of the two heavier options when purchasing from the Ergomart site, I suspect it should have been the same wherever you purchasd from. It could simply be that your supplier just shipped the arm with the standard tilter head. Interestingly the site is showing the correct configurable tilter heads for the next arm up, the SAA2415 although that is a much more expensive arm with an increased weight capacity up to 62 ibs
Can you confirm that you have the standard tilter or do you actually have one of the improved spring tilter mechanisms? I've attached pics of the previously available options that were visible on the ergomart link last week.
Attachments
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Wow, just WoW !
I've been subscribed to this thread for almost a year but somehow I missed these pics. Just wanted to say I'm very impressed with your attention to detail when attaching the components and wiring to the work-tool board (beneath your main desk AND at the back of the filing cabinet.) looks like a printed circuit board. Obviously the speaker placement is a compromise but I'm liking the idea that has been well executed.
An inspired idea and gives a very clean and tidy look, making it much easier to clean beneath the desk with a vacuum cleaner. The first link to your blog is a minefield of useful info. I will try to slavishly copy your ideas on this
I just figured out why I missed this first time around; that was when I bought my first Mac (MBP) so yeah ... I wasn't really looking at threads that week lol
I've been subscribed to this thread for almost a year but somehow I missed these pics. Just wanted to say I'm very impressed with your attention to detail when attaching the components and wiring to the work-tool board (beneath your main desk AND at the back of the filing cabinet.) looks like a printed circuit board. Obviously the speaker placement is a compromise but I'm liking the idea that has been well executed.
An inspired idea and gives a very clean and tidy look, making it much easier to clean beneath the desk with a vacuum cleaner. The first link to your blog is a minefield of useful info. I will try to slavishly copy your ideas on this
I just figured out why I missed this first time around; that was when I bought my first Mac (MBP) so yeah ... I wasn't really looking at threads that week lol
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The pioneering development of articulated arm technology came from the dental/medical technology field and even though their products are unlikely to be economically feasible for domestic applications for the 99%, it may nonetheless be interesting for some to see the solutions they've come up with in computer monitor arms.
Jansen Medicars is a Netherlands based company which produces medical carts and accessories which includes long monitor arms. Beyond cart mounted arms, they also produce wall-mounted and ceiling-mounted articulated arms.
Their arms can support monitors weighing up to 21 kg (46 lbs) to a length of 1.2 meters (4 ft), and monitors weighing up to 12 kg (26.5 lbs) to a length of 1.55 meters (5 ft).
Interestingly, in some configurations they use a gas-spring directly in the wrist joint to aid in balancing their VESA monitor adapter, which may alleviate the perennial stiff and/or droopy wrist issue so often discussed here. (This wrist gas-spring can be seen on the pdf specifications sheet under the downloads tab on this page.)
Here is Medicars' Quick Installation Guide for Medical Monitor Arm YouTube video which shows many of the features and adjustments of their arms.
And their pdf "Product Catalogue Classic Line" (available on their downloads page) provides lots of details on their arms specs starting on page 38.
Jansen Medicars is a Netherlands based company which produces medical carts and accessories which includes long monitor arms. Beyond cart mounted arms, they also produce wall-mounted and ceiling-mounted articulated arms.
Their arms can support monitors weighing up to 21 kg (46 lbs) to a length of 1.2 meters (4 ft), and monitors weighing up to 12 kg (26.5 lbs) to a length of 1.55 meters (5 ft).
Interestingly, in some configurations they use a gas-spring directly in the wrist joint to aid in balancing their VESA monitor adapter, which may alleviate the perennial stiff and/or droopy wrist issue so often discussed here. (This wrist gas-spring can be seen on the pdf specifications sheet under the downloads tab on this page.)
Here is Medicars' Quick Installation Guide for Medical Monitor Arm YouTube video which shows many of the features and adjustments of their arms.
And their pdf "Product Catalogue Classic Line" (available on their downloads page) provides lots of details on their arms specs starting on page 38.
Mine does NOT have the "heavy duty" tilter. I can't tell the difference in the images of the first two, but the model I have definitely does not have the rightmost mechanism. No heavy duty tilter was offered, and I even phoned and asked to make sure it was the "heavy duty one" so as not to fall in this trap.
I'd have to rate my purchase as less than satisfactory and I don't think I would but another. In face, I have bought three or four more of the M8 arms form my office instead. They don't work any better but they look sleeker!
-- Joe B.
Well, I just ordered one of these: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082806&p_id=8255 along with some hardware to mount it to the support of my Ikea Jerker desk (which will require a bit of work, but it shouldn't be a big deal). Not height-adjustable, but I don't really need that, and the specs indicate that it should be more than sufficient to handle the weight of the iMac. I'll post pics in a month or so once I get it set up.
Here is a new YouTube video demonstrating the Levitate Arm (warning: infomercial style) in action.
The Levitate was first mentioned in this thread way back in 2010 with a launch date of February 2011, and despite a promising looking design with dual spring arms, it has proven quite elusive. I don't believe a single MacRumors Forum member has been able to purchase one yet and report back to us on it's real world performance - - here's a sampling of reactions in this thread:
Interestingly, in this video they mention that they have an iMac specific model which has an adapter to fit directly into the back of the iMac eliminating the VESA adapter kit (though I see no mention of this on their website).
Here is the link to the Levitate website if anyone is interested in doing some pioneering arm work (and hopefully letting us know the scoop)! Also, FWIW, here's the link provided by the YouTube video to Buy.com where it is apparently on sale for $140.99 with free shipping.
{WARNING: the model for sale in the Buy.com link above is for the smaller of the two Levitate models - - it is not strong enough to hold the 27" iMac because it's load capacity is only 19.8 lbs. The larger model, not available at that site, will support 28.6 lbs, making it suitable for the iMac.
To be clear, the model that supports the 27" iMac is called the LH-PB (black) or LH-PW (white). The model on sale at Buy.com is the light duty L-PB/L-PW, which also seems to be the only one available at Amazon.com as well.
So, it appears the quest to find an actual iMac Levitate Arm in the wild continues...}
The Levitate was first mentioned in this thread way back in 2010 with a launch date of February 2011, and despite a promising looking design with dual spring arms, it has proven quite elusive. I don't believe a single MacRumors Forum member has been able to purchase one yet and report back to us on it's real world performance - - here's a sampling of reactions in this thread:
Where is the the freaking Atdec Levitate? Feb 2011? Ok, missed that, but how about an update... I'm starting to think this one isn't going to make it to market.
Interestingly, in this video they mention that they have an iMac specific model which has an adapter to fit directly into the back of the iMac eliminating the VESA adapter kit (though I see no mention of this on their website).
Here is the link to the Levitate website if anyone is interested in doing some pioneering arm work (and hopefully letting us know the scoop)! Also, FWIW, here's the link provided by the YouTube video to Buy.com where it is apparently on sale for $140.99 with free shipping.
{WARNING: the model for sale in the Buy.com link above is for the smaller of the two Levitate models - - it is not strong enough to hold the 27" iMac because it's load capacity is only 19.8 lbs. The larger model, not available at that site, will support 28.6 lbs, making it suitable for the iMac.
To be clear, the model that supports the 27" iMac is called the LH-PB (black) or LH-PW (white). The model on sale at Buy.com is the light duty L-PB/L-PW, which also seems to be the only one available at Amazon.com as well.
So, it appears the quest to find an actual iMac Levitate Arm in the wild continues...}
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Waiting around for an update I saw this from Monoprice. So I wonder if anyone's seen this arm:
Monoprice "Aluminum Full Motion Desk Mount for Apple Displays"
The weight capacity is certainly sufficient, and the tilt hinge looks good. The price is pretty high for Monoprice, but considering the quality stuff they make for crazy cheap, this might be a very high-quality arm indeed.
Monoprice "Aluminum Full Motion Desk Mount for Apple Displays"
The weight capacity is certainly sufficient, and the tilt hinge looks good. The price is pretty high for Monoprice, but considering the quality stuff they make for crazy cheap, this might be a very high-quality arm indeed.
Thanks for lead, Heinous!
I'd love to hear a real world review of this arm - - there are certainly a number of people I know who would love an articulated arm for their iMac, but won't pony up the big bucks for one of the premium models.
A quick Google search shows it seems to regularly go on sale for ~20% off (under $80).