Sim-Lab VARIO™ Vesa vs TREQ Easy Monitor Alignment Kit
Recently we upgraded one of our sims from a single ultrawide monitor to a 24” triple screen setup. To perfectly align the monitors, using a monitor mounting kit dedicated for this job is practically essential. We already had experience with Sim-Lab’s VARIO™ Vesa adapter kit. A while ago however, TREQ also released their TREQ Easy Alignment Kit. We contacted both Sim-Lab and TREQ, and both were happy to supply us with their kits so we could make a direct comparison. Here’s our short review.
Sim-Lab’s VARIO™ Vesa Adapter Kit is available for €39,00 for one adapter, and €89,00 for a set of three. The price tag of TREQ’s Easy Monitor Alignment Kit is €29,00 for a singular adapter, and €79,00 for a set of three. Packaging wise, both kits are pretty minimalistic. Each of Sim-Lab’s VARIO™ Vesa adapters comes in its own box with its own materials, while TREQ managed to fit all three kits in one singular box. This does mean a lot of materials for assembly and mounting are combined in one bag, instead of being separated.
Assembly
Assembling the Sim-Lab VARIO™ Vesa adapter is more straight-forward and easy than assembling TREQ’s Easy Alignment Kit, which requires more precise attention and can potentially feel a bit fiddly.
Sim-Lab’s VARIO™ Vesa adapter consists of two parts, the monitor-side assembly with most of the adjustment tools, and a bracket which is mounted on your monitor mount’s aluminum profile. The monitor-side assembly is lowered in the bracket, after which adjustments can be made with the screws, which requires allen keys. The whole assembly is pretty compact and sleek looking, and is placed directly in front of the aluminum profile, so that the profile is roughly in the center of your monitor.
TREQ’s Easy Alignment kit is fully assembled monitor-side, and then placed on top of the aluminum profile. This works well, but has a small potential downside. TREQ’s own aluminum profiles, as like many others, are black anodized and exactly 4 centimeters wide. The setup on which we are mounting the kits consists of black powder coated profiles, which are about 0.3mm thicker. We can place the Easy Alignment Kit on this profile, but it is a very tight fit that requires a bit more force, and moving it sideways is no longer a possibility, while the kit can move freely on an anodized profile such as TREQ’s. For us, it carries a risk of damaging the powder coated profile. Having the monitor mounted on top of the aluminum profile, instead of in front of it, means the monitor mount should be lowered in our case.
Adjustments
In terms of adjustment possibilities, there are some differences between the kits. Sim-Lab’s VARIO™ Vesa allows to adjust horizontal and vertical position, rotation/leveling, and tilt in one direction. TREQ’s Easy Alignment kit allows to adjust horizontal position by sliding the mount over the profile, vertical position and rotation/leveling, axial rotation, tilt in both directions, and allows to adjust the angle of the monitor compared to the monitor next to it. This is a big plus when you are striving for a perfect 60 degrees angle for your monitor, for instance. Apart from height and rotation/leveling, making adjustments with TREQ’s kit doesn’t require tools.
All in all, both kits have their strengths and weaknesses. Sim-Lab’s VARIO™ Vesa Adapter Kit looks a lot more sleek, is easier to assemble, and especially useful to perfectly align a singular monitor. A triple setup can be done, but might require more adjustments to your monitor stand/mount to adjust angles. If your monitor mount arms are leaning forward, this can be corrected by tilting the monitor backwards. TREQ’s Easy Monitor Alignment Kit does not look as sleek to us, but is very easy to adjust without tools, and especially the axial rotation and angle adjustments are superb. We don’t necessarily love how it mounts on top of the aluminum profile, but we can see how it’s needed to provide the necessary adjustments.
Do we have a favorite kit between the two? No, we don’t. Both are great alignment kits that serve their purpose well. Most of the decision comes down to aesthetic preference and (non) existence of specific needs. Regardless of your kit of choice, we have discounts available on our discounts page.
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