New dedicated room - Epson 9400 or second hand JVC?

Smurfin

Distinguished Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
22,501
Reaction score
5,420
Points
4,193
Hi all

I bought a 77" OLED last year to try and sate my desire for the big screen experience. No surprise that I've got used to the size and I miss that projected image. I've just bought a house so finally I can have a dedicated room again, which will be in a converted single garage. It will be a batcave, with acoustic fabric panels, and no reflective surfaces anywhere. The question is, what projector route to go down?

My budget is really no more than £2k, but I was thinking of the Epson TW-9400, having been impressed with a friend's 7400 a while back (yes I know black levels aren't the best but I was super impressed for the money).

My question is, what's the best route to go down? The JVC models are just confusing, there's so many when taking into account second hand models, and the 9400 looks to have been out for quite a while, but curious to know what the experts on here would recommend (or choose themselves if you were in my shoes).

One point which is essential for me: whisper quiet operation. I lived with a Benq cheap DLP projector for a few years which worked really well, but ultimately scenes in movies such as A Quiet Place were somewhat spoiled by the ever present fan above my head.

Welcome any advice :)
 
My question is, what's the best route to go down? The JVC models are just confusing, there's so many when taking into account second hand models, and the 9400 looks to have been out for quite a while, but curious to know what the experts on here would recommend (or choose themselves if you were in my shoes).
basically x5000-x7000-x9000 and later ... so x5500-x7500-x9500 or x5900-x7900-9900 will do...there was stuff all between them and you'd want a pro calibration to get best from them'

what is tough is finding one ... someone will let go... and buying one in good nick...no warranty to fall back on..

they are all stunning projectors though especially once calibrated...

where 9400 comes in ..is likely picking up one on special and its a known quantity being new with warranty....

and yes id spend the 100s in getting the 9400 calibrated too given the 1000s spending on it, its worth the additional expense...
 
I think the lack of warranty for such an expensive item is what puts me off looking for a JVC. How often do these go wrong though?
 
luck plays a part with second hand stuff and how many hours it's done and how many hours you are going to put on it.

The Epson is the safe bet if you want a, punchy & sharp lcd image the blacks won't be great and there is always the thread of dust blobs with any LCD pj. But to counter that you have the protection of a 5yr warranty.Bulbs are cheap to replace too if you are going to use the pj lots.

The JVC as you know can't be beaten for black levels in a dedicated room and have the more filmic look. Bulbs cost a fair bit and if anything goes wrong think upwards of £400 a fix.

Difficult choice because like alebonau says there are good ones about but it's finding one.

I bought a used 2 yr old X35 a few years back with about 200hrs on it and still have it its only done around 1k hours by now and never put a foot wrong so used ones can be ok.
 
Just to throw something else into the mix, take a look at the viewsonic x100-4k. Super spec with LED lighting (good for 30,000 hours) and great value.
 
luck plays a part with second hand stuff and how many hours it's done and how many hours you are going to put on it.

The Epson is the safe bet if you want a, punchy & sharp lcd image the blacks won't be great and there is always the thread of dust blobs with any LCD pj. But to counter that you have the protection of a 5yr warranty.Bulbs are cheap to replace too if you are going to use the pj lots.

The JVC as you know can't be beaten for black levels in a dedicated room and have the more filmic look. Bulbs cost a fair bit and if anything goes wrong think upwards of £400 a fix.

Difficult choice because like alebonau says there are good ones about but it's finding one.

I bought a used 2 yr old X35 a few years back with about 200hrs on it and still have it its only done around 1k hours by now and never put a foot wrong so used ones can be ok.

Question is....how often do the JVCs go wrong?

Any idea how the X5500 compares to the X7000? Looking at two on the classifieds, but I'm not sure the X5500 is available now.
 
Question is....how often do the JVCs go wrong?
I thought I answered that, no one can give a categoric answer, it depends on luck and how old the pj is and how many hours does it have on it and how often and length of sessions you intend to use it.

JVC are not particularly known for going faulty regularly but when they do and need fixing by the repair centre they can be costly repairs which could range from £200/300 for something fairly basic to £600/800+ at the top end for something more serious.

As I said with my X35 I have had it over 5 years and put about 800hrs on it and not had to put a new bulb in or had any faults to report. There again I am not a heavy user and would watch 2-3 movies a week although over the last 2 years my usage is perhaps 2-3 movies a month.

So what sort of viewing/usage do you envisage.
 
Probably the same usage as you....2-3 movies a week I guess :)
 
In that case if you can find a used JVC 5xxx/7xxx model with no more than 2/2.5k hrs on it for £2000/2500 it is probably worth taking a risk. Hopefully the max you might need to do would be a new bulb (£300 approx) by the time it gets to 4k hours.
 
Probably the same usage as you....2-3 movies a week I guess :)

With that sort of use (similar to mine) wouldn’t need to worry about a lamp for next decade !

Could look at something as suggested upto 2000 hours or so. I’d get a 7000 series (owned one myself 4 or so years) lovely machines. I’d get a new bulb (jvc not oem) pop in keep old one as spare … get calibrated in 200 hours and then kick back and enjoy till bulb needs a refresh in say 10 years time :D 5 if really push it beyond current expected use …
 
It’s probably also worth thinking about how much time you’ve got - if you’re doing a room conversion that may take a few weeks, and in that time Epson might finally, finally announce a new PJ. It’s bound to bring a lot for the money and will bring down the price of the 9400. Also keep an eye out on dealer clearances - you may well get a good opportunity for a cheaper JVC if that’s what you’d rather go for, but you’d still get some form of warranty.
 
I've just had my JVC x9500 repaired luckily under warranty and the bill was £1600 for a new lens and main process board.

If you plan on a batcave I'd try and get your hands on a 2nd hand x7900.

I had a 9300 and moved to a JVC x5500, before my current x9500 and much preferred the JVCs.
 
What did you think to do the X5500? And how much is an X7900 likely to cost?
 
What did you think to do the X5500? And how much is an X7900 likely to cost?
It was excellent, I only had it for a few months couldn't resist an ex demo x9500 at a bargain price.

I think you should be able to find a x7900 for around £2.5k
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom