I'm aiming to get about 120" image on a wall (no screen but maybe some special projector paint) - seating about 3.5m away (have some flexibility there.
firstly spending this sort of cash on serious projector like this... I would get a screen... people underestimate just how important screens are ! not sure the motivation not to get a screen if its saving cash its a false economy ... really not going to get the best from projectors looking at, at this level and there are quite affordable but decent screen options that will do a lot better than no screen or painted on screen.
I was going for the Epson 9400, but was offered the Sony 270ES for about £4k (new) which on paper sounds like a good deal. They are both rather old models from 2018. My main use if films (4k, HDR if I can get it) from streaming service, won't have a BDP instead an apple TV. Also gaming (PS5 when I can actually get one
the key here is 120" there are some pros and cons with each. i'll start with the pros of the 270es to get that out the way ...as there are genuine pros
pros of 270es
4k native... this does make a difference ... having gone from e-shift to 4k native there is a clarity, clean stable nature to the picture you dont get with the shift...plus there is genuine beyond 2k res to be benefitted from. then there is smoother look to the picture with much finer pixels. this is a significant pro for the sony vs the pixel shifting epson. sitting within THX spec for immersion you will notice this.
contrast - the epson wont compete with the sony for contrast.
Interpixel gap - is far better on sony here vs the epson - the epson is using still the same 1080p dark basis from nearly 10 years ago.... with the pixels placed further apart and larger inter pixel gap... the image from projectors like sony with a finer interpixel gap - combined with the native 4k picture looks much smoother - sitting at within THX spec for immersion with 120" from 2.5m you will notice this. think of it as join the dots... closer and greater the dots the smoother the lines and transitions look.
pros of the epson 9400
luminance - this will have enough luminance on low - med lamp to do SDR ~14FL/50nits and HDR 30FL/100nits. the sony will be fine with 100-120" with SDR, but wont be able to manage 50FL/100 nits on a 100" let alone 120" without being on high lamp. keep in mind the epson on higher lamp settings colours go all whacko and once calibrated looses some of this luminance advantage but greatly it will have more luminance up sleeve as lamp ages and this lumaince helps not only for HDR but for colour volume for WCG
iris - the epson has both a manual and dynamic iris, something the sony lacks. so on the epson you can set the peak luminance accurately - and also it will dynamically adjust iris for contrast - this is a little bit of an equaliser vs the sony contrast wise
WCG - wide colour gamut is one of key aspects of 4k uhd spec. the epson has wCG filter and with its higher peak luminance will deliver 100% colour space for 4k uhd. the sony doesnt have a WCG filter and cant deliver even 80% to meet 4k uhd spec
physical size - the epson is a more compact projector vs sony being a native 4k jobbie is physically larger - both still require a decent mount like the peerless PRG-UNV
Price - the epson is very significantly cheaper but i believe in pure picture quality terms and once both projectors are pro calibrated which i would also suggest the sony as long as working within its limits will win for pure picture quality and why paying more.
hey are both rather old models from 2018
actually they go way further back then that.... the 9400 is basically the 9300 with full bandwidth hdmi that for some reason they never fit on the 9300 limiting it not able to support 4k 50/60 which is far more common today. at the base of it though... the epson though actually is quite an old platform now going further back nearly 10 years to the original 9000 series and the 9400 still uses the same dark chip basis just adding pixel shift, the wcg filter, hdmi 2.0 and a bit more luminance for 4k uhd support. the sony was released in 2018...however it too goes way back to 2013 would you beleive... the 500 series just adds a more powerful lamp and dynamic iris, current models full bandwidth hdmi support. regardless of all that. i wouldn't see 270es as "old" its current 290es replacement doesnt add much if anything to be honest over what 270es had...