Monitor recommendations

[Siege]

I'm hoping to get some recommendations for a good and trusty computer monitor. I've been on an iMac for the past few years and have loved the reliability and trueness the monitor provides for editing photos. All of my prints have come out exactly as the screen produced with no third party color calibration needed.
Now I'm in the process of shopping for the best computer upgrade options, which will require me to buy a stand alone monitor. And since I've enjoyed Apples monitor so much I was leaning towards the 27 inch Thunderbolt Display but the reviews I've read are very mixed. Most of the bad reviews mentions it's short life span, and for a $1K display, I'm now considering other brands.

Anybody have any recommendations? I'm hesitant to spend less and end up with a display that I'm unhappy with or one that is difficult to calibrate.
I would appreciate any input on your experience with specific brands and models that I should look into.

 

[JustMeOregon]

If you can wait, the folks at Apple are past-due at bringing out a new monitor that will likely be a 4K Thunderbolt.

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Displays

I'm looking to upgrade my iMac also. My crystal ball says September for new Apple iMac & monitor options...

 

[dcm]

I'm considering the new HP DreamColor displays for my Mac. The Z24x has a reasonable price. No problems with my previous HP high def displays.

 

[CaiLeDao]

I am using a Mac Pro and a Dell 3014Q monitor. I am really pleased with screen now, I do calibrate screens and have the full RGB display so photos look fantastic. It was quite a journey to get there and I don't think this is just Dell.
When I first connected the monitor it was quite washed out, I realised it was defaulting to a TV colour mode but spent quite a lot of time finding this as a solution.
http//:www.ireckon.net/2013/03/force-rgb-mode-in-mac-os-x-to-fix-the-picture-quality-of-an-external-monitor
This allowed the screen to work much better and in a 2560x 1600 resolution and I was quite happy. I then by chance saw an article about DP1.2 cables so decided to buy one only about £10, although I was using the cable that came with the monitor.

It made a significant difference and I was able to get the RGB colour space, I have no explanation as to why but the effect on the monitor was very pronounced I had to drop the brightness by 10% which was about a third of the settings. The colours are really rich now an this is one of the best monitors I have seen.

So the point is there are some great monitors out there don't assume they will just play nicely. The monitor works just fine with a mac book Air, so my issues may be related to the mac pro hardware and OSX still growing up.

 

[LookingThroughMyLens81]

Just save your money for now. Next year will bring many 4K monitors along with new hardware sporting DisplayPort 1.3 and HDMI 2.0.

 

[dgatwood]

If you can wait, the folks at Apple are past-due at bringing out a new monitor that will likely be a 4K Thunderbolt.

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Displays

I'm looking to upgrade my iMac also. My crystal ball says September for new Apple iMac & monitor options...

I kind of wish Apple would get out of the monitor business entirely. Their monitors have always struck me as overpriced, yet years behind the major monitor vendors in terms of resolution, dimensions, etc. Yes, Apple cuts fewer corners in terms of color accuracy, but that and three bucks will buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Frankly, I'd rather see them work with a major monitor vendor to build an Apple-quality monitor that matches the design of the Apple hardware, so that the guts will be built (and regularly updated) by a company that considers monitors to be a critical part of their business plan, while the case is designed by a company that considers design to be a critical part of their business plan.