Secretlab MAGNUS Pro XL
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.
Who this desk fits
estimated, not measured
Reaching 25.6″ at the bottom and 49.2″ at the top, this desk can hit both a sitting and a standing elbow height for people roughly 5′4″ to 6′7″ tall.
How the height is quoted: Working-surface height with the fixed steel top; identical travel to the standard MAGNUS Pro, only the surface is larger.
Enter your height — 5'11", 71 or 180cm all work.
What ~$1,049 buys: Complete 70×31.5 desk with the magnetic steel top and integrated power column; the sum of Secretlab's two shipping boxes.
Specifications
At a glance
Features
- 70×31.5 in magnetic steel surface
- In-leg mains routing to a built-in socket
- Full-length top-access cable tray
- 265 lb rated load, including the steel top
- Two-stage legs, 25.6–49.2 in
In its favour
- Enough surface for a 42-inch display and a full keyboard without crowding
- The magnetic top and in-leg power are as good here as on the smaller model
- Steel will not swell, chip or sag over a 70-inch span the way particle board does
- Owners describe the packaging and assembly documentation as exceptionally good
Against it
- The 265 lb rating is the same as the smaller desk and includes the steel top itself
- A 70-inch top on two legs is the classic recipe for movement at standing height
- Two years on the control panel and control box for a desk costing about $1,049
- The steel top is heavy enough that moving it is a two-person job
These points draw on the published specification and on what owners of this desk consistently report.
What owners say
Summarised from owner discussions and long-term write-ups, not from anything we tested ourselves.
The XL is the same idea with eleven more inches of width and four more of depth, and the owners who choose it are usually running a large single display and a full-size keyboard that the standard model crowds. The magnetic surface, the tray and the in-leg power all work the same way, and the packaging draws the same praise — one long-form owner review describes the unboxing as reminiscent of Apple.
The warnings scale with the size. The steel top is heavy enough that owners flag moving it as a real task, and a 70-inch unsupported span on two legs is exactly the geometry that produces movement at standing height. The cable system is still the reason to buy it; the frame underneath is not what you are paying for.
What owners like
- Enough surface for a 42-inch panel and a full keyboard without crowding, which owners with large displays specifically wanted
- The magnetic surface, in-leg power routing and top-access cable tray carry over unchanged from the smaller model
- Owners describe the unboxing and documentation as the best they have seen on a desk
- Steel will not sag over a 70-inch span the way particle board does
Common complaints
- Owners note the tabletop is very heavy even knowing it is metal — getting it upstairs is a two-person job in practice
- A 70-inch top on two legs is the configuration most prone to movement at standing height
- The 265 lb rating includes the steel top, so less of it is left for what you put on the desk
- Two years on the electronics at about $1,049
Questions owners ask
Is the XL worth the extra over the standard Pro?
How stable is a 70-inch two-leg desk?
Do I need help assembling it?
Secretlab MAGNUS Pro XL, head-to-head
Desks people look at alongside it
More from Secretlab →
Secretlab
Secretlab MAGNUS Pro
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.
Fits 5′4″ to 6′7″ (est.)
Best for: A setup where cable management is the point, and the desk never needs resizing.
Full spec sheet
Ergonofis
Ergonofis Shift
The Shift is Ergonofis for people who want the look without the solid-wood premium. A different frame from the Sway's, running from about 25¼ to 51 inches at the work surface, with 300 lb of capacity and a ¾-inch soft-touch laminate top, the only surface it is sold with. The design language carries across: clean lines, a discreet handset, and a desk meant to sit in a living space rather than a home office. It still costs more than the mid-market without out-specifying it, which is the consistent story for this brand: about $840, billed in Canadian dollars, for 300 lb of lift and no published noise figure is hard to justify on the spec sheet alone. Buy it because you like it, which is a legitimate reason to buy furniture.
Fits 5′3″ to 6′10″ (est.)
Best for: A living-space desk where design leads and a solid-wood slab is more than the budget allows.
Full spec sheet
Herman Miller
Herman Miller Nevi Sit-to-Stand
The Nevi is Herman Miller's own sit-to-stand table rather than an acquired one, and it is built for the contract market — specified by the hundred for offices, with a twelve-year warranty on the surface and the structure. The extended-range frame reaches 22.5 inches at the bottom, which puts it among the lowest desks here, and 48.5 at the top. The plain frame does not: it starts at 28.5 inches, the height of an ordinary fixed desk, and that is the version quoted in a lot of listings. Getting that distinction right is the whole buying decision. Square legs, a four-position memory switch and a laminate square-edge top make it deliberately unremarkable to look at, which is the point in an office of fifty. For a home buyer the friction is the size range: Herman Miller's own store sells only a 46×23 and a 58×29, the 48 to 72-inch contract sizes go through dealers, and the five-year electronics cover trails the frame by seven.
Fits 4′8″ to 6′6″ (est.)
Best for: An office fit-out, or a home buyer who wants a contract-grade desk in one of the two sizes Herman Miller sells direct.
Full spec sheet