When picking a home projector, you want quality. While you know you’re not going to get the same experience as you would going to an IMAX, you can get pretty close if you have the budget. A projector that’s over a grand can typically give you stunning picture quality, so we’re comparing two projectors today that are over $1,000.
These units are the Epson Home Cinema 3000 and the 3500. Looking at the names, you’re assuming that the 3500 is the newer model, and therefore the better choice. But we’re looking for the better value. Some newer models bring little to the table compared to the previous model, and they usually aren’t worth the money.
We’ve seen that time and time again. So let’s see how the 3500 pits against its predecessor.
The Price
As you’re probably assuming, the 3000 is going to be cheaper than the 3500. As of this article, a new unit goes for about $1,149 on its Amazon page, while the 3500 has a price tag of about $1,499.
Overall, the price difference isn’t too big, but an extra 300 could buy you some good speakers, or a console to play video games on the projector. So let’s see how much of a difference in picture quality the two units have.
The Picture
As you’ve come to expect, these projectors contain full HD support and are able to play 3D. This is typical in most of the higher priced projectors, so let’s look at the lumens and the contrast ratio.
For the 3000, the lumen count goes up to 2,300. The 3500 has a lumen count of 2,500. Some may see value in this difference, while others will say it doesn’t matter too much. Now let’s look at the contrast ratio.
The 3000 unit has a contrast ratio of 60,000, while the 3500 has a ratio of 70,000. Once again, the small difference will either make or break a person’s decision. So let’s look at the bells and whistles.
Other Features
The 3500 unit contains two built-in speakers, while the 3000 is lacking those. For some, this may be a head-scratcher, but the 3500’s speakers are ten watts, making them vastly inferior to external speakers. Having built-in speakers is good if you need more portability, or as a temporary replacement for your externals, but having no built-in speakers doesn’t kill the 3000.
As usual, both units have your standard extra features besides the speaker incident. Both have eco modes that allow you to save energy, and that’s about it.
Which is Better?
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Really, this one boils down to preference. The 3500 costs $300 more than the 3000, and to us, we don’t see too much of a warrant. The lumens and the contrast ratio aren’t too different, and the lack of built-in speakers of the 3000 doesn’t matter when you can use the money you saved to invest in external speakers.
Overall, we have to pick the 3000 as the better value.
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