Sony VW325ES 4K HDR Home Theater Projector VPL-VW325ES, Black

I replaced an Optoma UHD38 that I used only for 3 months (you get what you pay for). Don’t be misled by the lumens on this Sony projector thinking it is not very bright. They rate it at 1,500 Lumen but the output is very bright. I have control of the lighting in my media room and projecting onto a 100’ Silver Ticket Products STR Series 6 (Amazon ASIN B00HZRM9K0). The colors and contrast are very accurate, and blacks are just that, black. This projector does not have keystone adjustment, but you don’t need it because it has lens shift. You point the project at the screen keeping it level and then use lens-shift for a perfect alignment. Fan noise is very minimal and not a distraction with my project mounted above the seating area.

After purchasing a 4-year-old house that had a custom media room with middle-of-the-road professional equipment (22K install) I had numerous issues with the current installed Epson Pro Cinema 6040UB projector that was not 4K native ready. The main issue was a lack of clear focus and shortly after as moved in things started to go wrong with its optical system. I had started to look for a new 4K projector and came across this new model. My A/V dealer recommended this projector as a base entry to the Sony 4K projectors. I purchased on Amazon thru Gramophone and had it shipped across the country by UPS. Only complaint was that it was not in a protected outbox protecting the factory shipping box. This projector is freaking amazing for the price point. Yes, it’s expensive, but if you want to get into the new current release of Sony 4K projectors, this one is the way to go. Vivid, extremely sharp, and amazing detail. It was less light our point the our old projector, but you would never know by watching on a good basic level screen from 2017 (2K). Now I want to upgrade my screen to a new grey light reflecting 2.35:1 wide angle screen. This projector accepts all screen settings, although I think there is not a memory setting to go from one version to another without scrolling thru the aspect settings. Disney movies, sports, streaming TV and movies, and Nintendo switch games are world class. If your budget is between 5 to 6K, I think this is one of the best projectors currently available. I hooked it up to a new Yamaha Yamaha Aventage RX-A6A. It’s singularly outstanding. Gramaphone was great to deal with and expertly guided me thru the selection and installation process. The proper mounting bracket was another $200 I think and utilized my current ceiling drop pole.

Good buy great projector compared to Epson

Beautiful picture. Black levels are superb

this is my second Sony projector , I have had Runco, Panasonic , and Epson , and this one is the first one that I can say is very close to the Runco’s image quality , but the Runco is much more expensive . If you like warm colors that only a lamp based projector can give then gets this one or wait 2 more months for the laser model

You could get Sonys new VPL-XQ5000ES 4k laser projector that has manual lens adjustment, not as much lens shift, and no 3D. Or you can get its predecessor, the VPL-VW325ES, which has motorized lens adjustment, better lens shift range, 3D, and is a native 4K DCI projector. Sure its not as bright, its DLP so youll have to replace a bulb every now and then but it is more convenient to setup and run on a daily basis. To get some of those missing features back with the new laser projectors you have to go to the 6000ES which is $12k! And to be honest, the picture form the VPL-Vw325es is actually pretty bright enough even in poorly light controlled rooms just make sure to get the right screen material type for your situation.

A superb projector with amazing color, brightness and contrast. Compared to my previous projector, the Epson 5040UB (which was a fantastic projector as well), the 325ES blows it out of the water when it comes to color and contrast. On paper it has a lower lumen output than the 5040, but I have complete light control in my room, with no windows and walls painted black, so it actually looks brighter than the 5040 when both are on low power due to the better HDR processing and contrast. If you dont have complete light control and watching with bright ambient lighting, you may have some trouble getting it bright enough to cut through. The HDR and color on the 325ES appears richer and brighter than the 5040 thanks to the SXRD panels and not needing a color filter which the 5040 uses on some picture presets to improve color accuracy but at the expense of brightness. The native 4K resolution makes UHD content very sharp and crispy, noticeably sharper than the pixel shifting the 5040 uses. As an added bonus, the Reality Creation feature adds some extra enhancement to give things a little more pop and realism. Ive added some off-screen shots to help show the contrast, brightness and color qualities, but of course they cant fully replicate the image quality that you see with your own eyes. The 325ES is pretty pricey, especially when compared to the Epson 5040/5050 which is still a great value projector. But if youre willing to pay a premium price, youll get a premium picture quality thatll be worth it.

Ive had this projector for ~6mos now and have used and fiddled with it extensively. The worst thing about this projector is that you may have to fiddle with it extensively to get the results I describe. The same settings are not appropriate for all content either! But when you get it nailed, I almost cant imagine ever needing or wanting a different projector. First though to have the experiences Im talking about you really want HDR content, and you really want the device driving the projector to be tonemapping. Ive not found any foolproof setup for this, so expect to do some learning and some experimentation. Tonemapping Rec.2020 content down to the Rec.709 gamut is a good start. Let me walk you through the projectors abilities in terms of a couple films (all UHD) Ive watched on it. The Lord of the Rings: The colors are just amazing. Shots of The Shire are such an incredibly vibrant green that I didnt feel like I was in my living room anymore. These movies include a lot of flashes of vision, occasional stabs from the Eye of Sauron, or glimpses of the Lady Galadriel. With no dynamic iris, the projector can go from full dark to full bright in the span of a single frame. Flashes of blinding vision really can be blinding! Scenes lit by fire or candlelight also feel incredibly realistic. Even relatively conservative picture settings like Ref mode at 50% contrast. Jurassic Park: The remaster of this animatronic classic is brilliant for being full-frame 4k, and honestly way scarier than I remember when presented in such a technically immaculate fashion. The movie itself isnt super contrast-y, so its safe and quite desirable to use more aggressive settings like Brt Cine mode at 75% contrast. This makes the bulk of the lighting in the movie feel highly realistic, especially the daytime outdoor scenes which looked decided dim without adjustments. While some highlights may be at the white point I cant say I noticed even a single puddle of solid white anywhere. Dune: This movie is HDR-native and probably the most challenging film Ive attempted to screen. It has both very low-light scenes, and very bright desert scenes. Getting the settings right does involve picking a bit of a balance, and you probably need to sample some of the later scenes to make sure you dont blow out the desert in an attempt to made the low light easier on the eyes. The 4k resolution really shines for this movie.

It took me a while to appreciate 1080 hd over regular tv (yrs ago) but I was able to appreciate the difference between this 4k and 1080p immediately (a few days ago). Not all input is created as HD but when you get high quality video streaming the picture is amazing. IDK if gaming video (i dont game) is ideal due to the 2.0 hdmi input limitations (bandwidth using 8k hdmi cable supposedly allows higher frame rate at 4k if hdmi 2.1 or higher)? For movies and tv i see tremendous improvement so i think it is worth it if you can afford it (prices of top tech today seems to drop pretty quickly so maybe worth reconsidering in a year or two)?

Excellent Projector. In my case the equipment was installed in a dedicated room with total control of the light so the picture quality, brightness and colors are wonderful. The initial set up was very easy.