RELIABLE UBERLIGHT FRAME QUICKIE REVIEW

Reliable Uberlight Frame is a lamp that has been designed specifically to fit onto your HiFi rack and over your record player. It’s got variable brightness and temperature, lots of ways to fit to your rack, and even a rechargeable remote control. Is this lamp something you never knew you needed?

Well, I never thought I’d be reviewing a light here on HiFi PiG, but that’s exactly what I’m doing here. When we got a message asking us if we could be sent (without commitment to a review) a free lamp aimed specifically at the HiFi market, I said “Why not?” To be honest, I’ve not given much thought to lamps for HiFi, but then thinking back over the different setups we’ve had over the years, some kind of illumination has always been included, but nothing has been “absolutely” ideal. With the current set-up, I initially had a pair of IKEA lights positioned on a shelf above the main rack until we put some room treatment up and the lamps lost their position on the wall I’ve made do with the light on the 1200G for cueing records. On the DJ set-up, I’ve got a couple of IKEA lamps that handily just slot under the main body of the Technics 1200Mk7s but are too low to allow for lids (not a problem on the DJ set up but definitely an issue on the main spinner).  Long story short, I’ve used whatever fits and doesn’t get in the way – lifting the lid on the 1200G precludes the use of some (if not all) of the lamps we have at home. 

Lamps aren’t a new thing to Hifi setups and I’ve seen some folk rebrand very cheap Chinese products, slap a sticker on them, massively inflate the price, and call it audiophile to justify the cost – there’s a lot of it about. I did do a bit of searching and I have seen that the RELIABLE UBERLIGHT FLEX has been reviewed by a number of folk in the audio world. The previous model (The Flex) had a bendy neck whereas this one has (as the name suggests) more a solid frame feel to it. There is a helpful short promotional video telling us that the UBERLIGHT FRAME lamp has been designed from the ground up and built up from what the team’s ideal product would be. Interestingly the original use for the UBERLIGHT FLEX was to help folk seeing whilst sewing. 

The base of the lamp clamps to your rack (you can attach it directly, screw it on, or have it attached to a heavy base), and there’s an upside-down L space with the LED part of the lamp being underneath the bit that sticks out above your record player – handily, this allows (almost millimetre perfectly) for the record player lid to be lifted without hitting the lamp – I’ll assume this is by design rather than a happy accident. I did ask and Robert at Reliable said “The height of the light was very much on purpose. It helps that the design company we worked with has also designed turntables.” So now you know that rarely do clever things happen by accident! The LEDs are within their own little bit of the lamp that you can tilt ever so slightly to give you more directional light. You can also change the brightness, and colour (three settings), or turn the lamp on or off from the touch-sensitive panel on the lamp – you also get a dinky little remote control that I’m likely to lose eventually. This remote also has a torch function ( a pair of white LEDs) that allows you to inspect your cartridge – or whatever you want to inspect with it. The remote handily slots into the underside of the lamp so you can charge it, which I thought was quite a cool feature and may well ensure I don’t eventually misplace the remote – clever stuff. The touch panel on top of the lamp is a really nice way to dim the lamp and interact with the other controls should you weary of the remote – there are six brightness settings and three colour (temperature) settings. 

The UBERLIGHT FRAME comes in a fancy box with loads of accessories including a USB plug and lots of options for the plug to fit wherever in the world you are, the remote, and the various ways of attaching the lamp to the base or your rack. Putting it together with the clamp attachment was a 30 second job. 

You can get it in black (as supplied) or white. What to do with the box and the accessories you are never going use is a question that springs to mind.

THOUGHTS

OK, so it’s a light that handily fits over your record player or whatever other kit you want to place it over. The fitting options are really cool and it’s very simple to put together. The dimming options are useful and I liked being able to turn the lamp off from the listening position when listening to records. The light is well bright enough to allow for easy cueing up of records and whatnot and the bit of flexibility you get in angling the actual light unit could be useful. The light does highlight dust very well. From an aesthetic perspective, the FRAME does exactly what it says on the tin, frames your HiFi (turntable in this case) very nicely, and illuminates it well – job done. 

CONCLUSION

There are some things you don’t think you need or want until someone comes along and says “you need this to make your life better” and I guess there is a degree of that in the case of the UBERLIGHT FRAME. It’s not something I would necessarily have gone out and searched the internet for, but it works well, looks great, and features like the remote, and flexibility of colour (temperature) and brightness are cool. Will it make records sound better or make the listening experience any more enhanced…of course not, unless you count being able to see your records a bit better! But audiophile people do like to have specific things for specific purposes and if you are looking at a lamp that is flexible (no pun intended) in how it fits (or stands on) to your HiFi rack, looks fab and just works, then this could well be up your street. I also think the remote is a nifty doodad and I like that the FRAME doesn’t get in the way of the record player’s lid. 

I am conscious that the UBERFRAME FRAME comes with a load of accessories you won’t use  – most folk will decide on one method of fixing the lamp to their rack and stick with that. In this sense, there is a good degree of wastage here and I think savings could have been made by giving buyers the option of which fixing method they want from the get-go – likewise the electrical plug adapters for different countries. But then having the extras means you have them should you fancy a change around in the future or you move country or change how you have your kit set up. 

I sent out a request for the price of this lamp when I’d pretty much finished writing up my initial thoughts and was told that in Europe the price would be €499, which I think is steep for a lamp – but then I’ve only really ever looked into buying lamps of the IKEA variety and so I’m not really qualified to comment on whether this is good or bad value n the grand scheme of things – things are worth whatever folk are prepared to pay for them. Given that audiophiles (myself included) will go to great lengths and great expense to get the best from their system, I can’t see why they should balk at how much this costs – though it was significantly more than I was expecting, I confess. It’s also a fair jump from what the FLEX light costs from RELIABLE, though it has more features. I did go online and have a look at what is available that offers similar features and there’s nothing I found quite like the UBERLIGHT, but you can buy similar looking things for less than 100 Euros and others that cost around the same and even more. You can buy lamps with clamps and variable LEDS for as little as €25, but, as I say, I couldn’t find something with exactly the same features.

So, the UBERLIGHT FRAME isn’t going to cure world hunger and it’s not about to unite the varying warring factions around the world, but it serves its purpose, fulfils that purpose very well, and it doesn’t cost a fortune in HiFi terms (though it’s far from cheap in lamp terms), and I can see it being quite popular with folk. 

I’m giving this product our 4 Hearts award. It looks good and works well, and things like the rechargeable remote, brightness control, temperature (colour) control, and the angle-able lamp unit bit is useful. Marks are lost because I just don’t see it as a great value proposition, though that is purely my opinion and others may well see this as being exactly what they have been looking for and as such thoroughly good value for money. With all that said, it does work “ideally” where other “normal” lamps have always been compromised in one way or another.

So, would I buy one? Lamps aren’t really my thing and I find it hard to get excited about them, but the reality is that they are pretty vital when cueing records, inspecting your cartridge etc and the UBERLIGHT FRAME works perfectly. Had the light been a couple of hundred quid I’d have bought another to balance up the rack but at 500 quid…I don’t know. With that said, I am pretty confident that RELIABLE will sell these by the bucketload.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality and Features:

Well built

Lots of accessories 

Cool rechargeable remote – being able to turn it on and off from your seat is a nice thing to be able to do

Variable temperature and brightness

Allows you to list the lid on your turntable (check your specific turntable) without it hitting the lamp

LEDs so low power consumption via USB

Value For Money:

It’s difficult for me to suggest that this is a value product, but it works well, does everything it claims, and looks great. A classic case of how value propositions are different for different people

Elevator Pitch Review: The UBERLIGHT FRAME from RELIABLE is a large upside down L shaped lamp that is designed to fit over your HiFi and specifically your record player. It has a rechargeable remote (clever), touch-sensitive controls (nice), and different brightness and colour settings. The actual lamp part of the whole is slightly tillable to direct light to where you need it. The lamp comes with several ways to fit it to your rack and plug adapters to allow use around the world. 

Price: $399 USD or €499 (including VAT) in Europe.

Stuart Smith