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Issue 01 · Updated weekly

The desk that has to hold up to a call day.

I run a sales engineering team, so most days I'm at this desk through back-to-back calls. 30 pieces of gear, bought with my own money, run for months before anything got a score. This is what stayed.

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A MacBook on a Roost stand beside a portable second monitor, with a Magic Keyboard, mouse, headphones and a Peak Design pouch on a black desk

Shown above

Roost stand · Magic Keyboard · Arzopa monitor

30
Pieces scored
3 mo
Minimum before a score
$0
Paid placements
9.0
Highest score on site

Daily drivers

What I reach for first

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Audio · $$$$

AirPods Max

What I wear at the desk. The noise cancellation makes an open room disappear, the mic is clean enough for calls, and they are comfortable enough to leave on through three meetings back to back. I use to wear my AirPod Pro's all day, but they got uncomfortable after a while. Plus, sometimes I am recording videos and need a better mic. Not that the AirPod Max's have a studio quality mic, but still better than AirPod's. Another reason I like these is that they have a USB cable that allows me to hard wire in, either for charging if the battery is low, or I also have a USB-C to 3.5mm cable adapter from Apple that allows me to use these as just regular headphones too, which is handy for doing any kind of studio work I will do occasionally, plugging into my Nintendo Switch, etc.

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Keyboards · $$$

Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID

My everyday board, and Touch ID is the whole reason: laptop closed behind dual monitors, a fingertip unlocks the Mac, my password vaults, and website passkeys. I liked it enough to buy a second for the bag, so I get the same closed-lid logins in any coworking space. I know some people love mechanical keyboards, but the TouchID is the most important feature for me personally. My time is my most valuable asset, and this helps me shave a few minutes of my time a day. May not seem like much, but those minutes add up over time that I'd rather be doing something more meaningful.

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The index

Filed by what it does at the desk

7 tested

Keyboards & Mice

The two things your hands touch all day. Worth getting right.
3 tested

Webcams & Lighting

Nobody notices a good webcam. They notice a bad one.
3 tested

Audio

Cut the room out for deep work, and sound clean when it's your turn.
17 tested

Sales Engineer Kit

What goes in the bag on demo days, and what has earned the space.

The month-three test

Nothing gets a score before month three.

A stand that wobbles. A keyboard that's loud on a hot mic. A webcam that hunts for focus in the middle of a sentence. None of that shows up in a ten-minute review, because at ten minutes everything is still on its best behavior. It shows up in month three. I buy this gear with my own money, and a higher commission has never moved a pick up the list. How I rate

The guide

The best desk setup gear for tech professionals

Every category, one top pick, the runner-up, and the reasoning behind both. It gets updated when something beats what's on the list, not on a content calendar.

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The full kit laid out flat: headphones, laptop stand, cables, keyboard, presenter, portable monitor and pouch