Near-perfect image quality comes at a price

After a widely hyped and successful Kickstarter campaign, Valerion’s 4K VisionMaster Max laser projector has finally arrived. It’s the company’s new flagship model in the VisionMaster series, offering better image quality and more convenience than its other models. However, it’s quite expensive and has some stiff competition from Anker’s Nebula X1 and XGIMI’s Horizon 20 Max.

I was eager to see how it compared to those models and if it delivers on Valerion’s promise of “pure cinema.” It does offer better image quality, but the difference isn’t quite enough to justify the big jump in price for most users.

Valerion

Valerion’s VisionMaster Max delivers outstanding image quality thanks to its triple-laser system and dynamic iris. However, it’s not worth the extra money over rival projectors for most people.

Pros

• Category-leading image quality
• Simple automatic setup
• Beautiful design
• Dolby Atmos and DTX support

Cons

• Expensive
• Built-in sound is mediocre

$3,999 at Amazon

Features and design

The VisionMaster Max has a classy squarish design with a glossy black finish up front and chrome fins on the side that house two 12W speakers. It’s smaller and fit my decor better than Nebula’s tall, plasticky X1, though to be fair the latter is also designed for outdoor use. The VisionMaster Max has a similar form factor to XGIMI’s Horizon 20 Max, but that model pivots on its stand, while the Valerion uses a kickstand-like support.

For setup, the VisionMaster Max is quite flexible. It comes with a 0.9-1.5x optical zoom, so it can be installed between 7.8 and 13 feet away for a 120-inch screen size, which covers a wide range of scenarios. It also features a +/- 105 percent vertical shift option that helps you get an optically perfect screen fit without moving the projector or employing digital “keystone” adjustments that affect picture quality.

If that still doesn’t work, you can swap out the included lens with a long-throw 0.9-2.0:1 option once it becomes available. The company has even promised an anamorphic lens for users with CinemaScope screens. Both of those items will be available for purchase separately with the prices yet to be disclosed.

For my space, I placed the VisionMaster Max on a table about 12 feet from my 120-inch screen and centered it horizontally as there’s no horizontal shift option (it can also be ceiling mounted, of course). Then, I went into the auto-alignment setting, made sure that the projected image was larger than my screen and hit “start alignment” to get a perfect fit to my screen. Though it lacks a motorized lens gimbal like the Nebula X1, the lens shift option provides the same flexibility, so setup was just as easy.

For inputs, the VisionMaster Max comes with three HDMI 2.1 ports, including one with eARC for a sound bar, along with S/PDIF optical and 3.5mm audio outputs. Impressively, it includes a gigabit ethernet connection so you can either hardwire it to the internet or connect via Wi-Fi.

The VisionMaster Max lacks liquid cooling like the Nebula X1, but Valerion claims a similar fan noise level of 28db. When I compared them side by side, it was only a touch louder than the X1 and not at all bothersome.

Google TV is built in for streaming and projector control via the high-quality, partially backlit remote. It provides a large library of apps via Google Play along with a familiar interface. You get certified versions of Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+, Max and others, plus Chromecast and AirPlay support, and Google Assistant for voice control. With 4GB of RAM and 128GB of ROM, the software felt a bit more responsive than Google TV on the Nebula X1.

Image quality

The VisionMaster Max has a number of features designed to optimize image quality. It’s one of the few consumer projectors with a dynamic iris and a feature called Enhanced Black Level (EBL) for improved contrast. It uses an RGB triple-laser light source (rated for 25,000 hours) paired with a 0.47-inch DLP chip that projects 1080p natively or 4K video via pixel shifting. This same chip is used on almost every consumer-level 4K projector, but XGIMI’s upcoming Titan Noir Max projector will pack a much larger 0.78-inch DMD chip that should deliver a sharper picture.

The VisionMaster Max also supports every HDR format, including Dolby Vision and Samsung’s HDR10+, along with Valerion’s own tone-mapping HDR setting. You can choose from seven picture modes for SDR, eight for HDR, three for Dolby Vision and four for HDR10+. The projector handled most HDR content well, though it occasionally lost detail in extra-bright shots. However, that can largely be fixed using the extensive manual color controls.

With all those features, the VisionMaster Max can output 4K 60 fps video at up to 3,500 ANSI lumens with a 50,000:1 contrast ratio, easily besting its main rivals. On top of that, it promises an impressive 110 percent of the Rec.2020 HDR color spectrum, with a delta E (color accuracy) value of less than 0.8 straight out of the box (any delta E less than 2 is undetectable by the human eye). Another key feature is reduction of the rainbow effect that can occur with DLP projectors.

After some fine-tuning that’s typically required with new projectors, I was highly impressed with the image quality. Brightness was high enough in “standard” mode to watch content like sports or TV shows without lowering the blinds, and can be increased if you don’t mind compromising color accuracy.

When used in ideal conditions like a darkened room, the VisionMaster Max’s image quality is the best of any projector I’ve tested to date. In Filmmaker mode (with the EBL setting enabled), contrast levels are outstanding, with true blacks showing in dark-lit scenes instead of the washed-out greys seen on most projectors. However, I kept the EBL mode at the minimum setting as I noticed it caused some color shifting at the other levels. Dynamic iris projectors can cause excessive “pumping” or sudden changes in light levels, but after adjusting the iris to a medium setting, I saw no signs of that.

Color accuracy is outstanding straight out of the box both in HDR and non-HDR modes, particularly, again in Filmmaker mode. Visually, I couldn’t detect any anomalies when looking at color bars or other charts, though my Calibrite Color Checker told me that the gamut of hues was slightly less than what Valerion claims (under 100 percent of BT.2020).

Still, the Max’s high color accuracy allowed me to see TV series and movies exactly as the filmmakers intended for a range of HDR and non-HDR movies including White Lotus season 3, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Andor and Dune 2. The projector’s excellent dynamic range and contrast revealed shadow details in Game of Thrones’ Night King battle, which has famously dark scenes that are difficult to see on some TVs.

I have a slight amount of sensitivity to the “rainbow” effect, but the RBE Reduction feature effectively eliminated that visual artifact for me. However, it also introduced a slight amount of noise, so I disabled it. The feature might be a godsend for some users who are particularly susceptible, but it still needs a bit more refinement.

Audio and gaming

Of all the luxury projectors I’ve tested to date, the VisionMaster Max is the best for gaming — even compared to some dedicated models. It delivers latency as low as 4ms and a refresh rate up to 240Hz at 1080p, and 15ms for 4K at 60Hz. I tested a couple of PC titles including Cyberpunk 2077 and Hollow Knight: Silksong and found them to be as responsive as I’ve seen on any TV, but with far more immersion thanks to the huge, bright and color-accurate image.

You can output audio via the S/PDIF optical output, 3.5mm headphone jack, HDMI 2.1 ports and even USB 3.0 Type A ports. The built-in 12W stereo speakers work well and are fairly loud, so you can use them in a pinch. However, since it supports both DTS:X and Dolby Atmos, you’ll ideally want to connect it to a nice home theater audio system with support for at least 5.1 surround sound.

In comparison, the Nebula X1 doesn’t have Dolby Atmos support, but it does give you the option to purchase and easily connect stereo Bluetooth speakers at a relatively cheap price. For around the same cost as the Valerion Max, Anker is also offering the Nebula X1 Pro that comes with a giant outdoor sound system and does support Dolby Atmos.

Wrap-up

The Valerion VisionMaster Max is a highly capable indoor projector that offers the best image quality I’ve seen thanks to the dynamic iris and Enhanced Black Level features. However, it’s also a lot more expensive than rival models at $5,000. It’s pretty hard to justify that extra money, unless you’re really fussy about picture accuracy and gaming performance, or need other features like the 1Gbps ethernet port.

Most buyers would be better off spending a lot less on Valerion’s own $2,699 VisionMaster Pro2, Anker’s $2,999 Nebula X1 or the $2,999 XGIMI Horizon 20 Max. Again, the difference in picture quality is too slight to justify the huge price jump to the VisionMaster Max. You might also want to wait to see how much XGIMI’s incoming Titan Noir Max 4K costs, as it also offers a dynamic iris but has a much bigger DLP chip.