Secretlab standing desks

The MAGNUS Pro is a cable-management system that happens to raise and lower. The entire top is magnetic steel, so accessories, cable channels and a headphone hanger clip on anywhere without adhesive; a full-length tray runs under the surface and is reachable from above; and mains power is routed up through one leg to a socket built into the desk, so a single cord leaves the desk. Nothing else here does that. The engineering underneath is less remarkable — two-stage legs, 265 lb, 23.6 inches of travel — and the control panel and control box are covered for two years against up to five on the rest. Stability is the thing to check: a few owners and video reviewers showed earlier production, with cutouts in the legs, rocking visibly on a hard floor, and Secretlab revised the legs to a solid reinforced design without announcing it or changing the product name. If you buy secondhand, that is the thing to inspect.

Best for: A setup where cable management is the point, and the desk never needs resizing.

The XL is the same desk with eleven more inches of width and four more of depth — 70 by 31.5 — which is enough for a 42-inch panel and a full-size keyboard without crowding. The magnetic surface, the in-leg power routing and the top-access cable tray all carry over, and so does everything underneath: two-stage legs, the same 25.6 to 49.2-inch travel, and the same 265 lb rating, which includes the weight of the steel top. That is the thing to weigh. A 70-inch unsupported span on two legs is the configuration most likely to move at standing height, and this is a two-leg desk with two years on the electronics at about $1,049. The cable engineering is still the reason to buy it.

Best for: A large single-surface setup where the cable system justifies the price and the desk stays put.