VPL-VW295ES

A used Sony 295 or similar will run around $1K and will get you 4K, HDR, motorized lenses and a similar amount of brightness. My first 4k was a 295.

Open box JVC or Sony will be your best option at that price. They are both true native 4K with 3-chip light engines - so no rainbow effect or pixel shifting. Personally I prefer Sony for their optics and image processing. I actually kept my first Sony 4K in storage after upgrading. It was a demo unit which I got for under $3K.

I went the open box route, got a 4K Sony and never looked back. Sony optics and picture processing are the best available and their projectors are true 3-chip systems and native 4k.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for a replacement (under $6k) for my Sony VPLVW295ES that just went. I’m just having a hard time finding a slam dunk replacement. I have a dedicated home theater space, basically a cave when I want it to be, flat black ceiling, no light coming in etc. My screen is 120”. The primary use is movies with some gaming, but like 75% movies. I just don’t know if I should stick with a ceiling mounted standard throw or go UST. I thought the Samsung LPU9D was the way to go until I read that it hasn’t completely eliminated the rainbow effect and also that it can have a purpleish hue, but it seems like that’s the only native 4K UST under $6k. I read the rainbow effect is even more of a problem on the Hisense USTs. I’ve never experienced the rainbow effect, but I know it would drive me crazy. I also know I’d need to upgrade my screeen, which is another reason I’d like to keep the projector under $6k. The Sony was solid, but I was never blown away by the color, which was probably my fault for not spending enough time on calibration. I’m also wondering if any of the USTs (Epson, Samsung, LG, Hisense etc) would blow my Sony out of the water at this point, because it’s a good 8 years old. Also wondering if I should wait a few months for newer models and price drops on the current ones. Any advice would be appreciated!

Fair pont about the Sony. I guess I’m just still really annoyed that my Sony VPLVW295ES didn’t last longer and that they didn’t make it possible to clean dust off the filter, not that dust fried my hdmi board. Is the fan noise an issue at all like I read? Or is it basically the same as my 8 year old Sony?