Given my room, is a step up to an Epson 9400 worth it?

JamesP1701

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Hi all,

Have posted a similar thread in the Mmebers display area so apologies if am breaking the rules for double post (not sure the best place to have it).

Essentially, I'm trying to ascertain whether upgrading to an Epson 9400 would make a big difference in the limitations of my room.
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The ONLY thing I’m now having second thoughts about is whether I should have gone for a better projector. The absolute top of my budget would enable me to go for an Epson 9400 but I’m wondering whether it would make a difference in the space and it’s limitations? I also recognise that coming from an OLED nothing is going to match it for blacks!

would welcome your thoughts!
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i'd go for the 9400. beter blacks and has lumens to fight that ambient light
 
You can see in one of the pics that the ceiling gets lit up by bright scenes, which is then scattered back on to the screen and will greatly reduce contrast/black levels.

I thought the contrast/black levels on my old projector were truly terrible until I did something about the ceiling. I didn't want a permanently black ceiling - too oppressive with no scattered light during other use, so I put thin white wires a foot either side of the screen coming out across the room (not too intrusive), I then draped some thin black cloth over them so that you're basically pulling a curtain over the ceiling that can just be folded back up to the screen. Also having a couple of foot hanging over the sides of the wires (like a pelmet) helps to catch more reflected light (you could go back to the light fitting). I also added a black curtain to an opposite blank wall.

Even if you just darkened 3-4 feet of ceiling in front of the screen (by any means) it would probably make a bigger difference than any projector upgrade. Maybe get navy curtains as well behind your seat. If you take care of the ceiling you'll be able to see how good your projector actually is, mine felt like it doubled in value. A very nice room ripe for tinkering!
 
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I just recently upgraded from an Epson HC3500 to a 6040ub and the upgrade is very noticeable, especially the black levels. My room color is similar to yours except my ceiling color is a dark grey. The light bounce from your ceiling/door on the left might mitigate some of the black levels you'll be gaining, as mentioned by @Spigot above using curtains or even cardboard panels covered in a black velvet tacked up would be beneficial even if not upgrading the projector.
 
There will always be a difference when upgrading from any lower level projector in any room. The only time where this becomes difficult is when they're from the same level.

So, upgrading from the Epson EH-TW9400 to the Epson EH-TW6*00 unit, the differences should be easy to see even if you sacrifice a little on the black detail. For one, the sharpness shouold stand out because of the differing lenses should be enough for you to experience the upgrade, then you will have everything else that'll come from that unit.

The only issue I can see is you look to have the projector mounted quite close to the wall and the 9400 is quite a bit larger than the Epson you already own and could present some issues when mounting it due to the overhang (if you are unable to correctly balance the weight)

In reality, if you want to see more black level, a white ceiling can remove about 50% of the contrast in the worst scenario and white walls/doors will do even more damage.

You can do things by use paint which isn't reflective like eggshell/matt or anti-reflective pain to help reduce some of the lost contrast. Some companies like Tikkurila Anti-Reflex White claim to be good (although I've not used it), you could maybe contact them and ask for a sample if you feel the upgraded projector doesn't give you what you expected.

To do a simple check of the maximum black level of your room, switch the projector on, make sure its background is set to black not blue and walk over to the screen and simple place your hand in front of the screen so you can see the silhouette of it. This will tell you what the achievable black is that room without altering anything. If you cannot see the silhouette of your hand, then you need to sort the room out. But if you can, then you have scope for improvement with a better projector
 

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