Best home/lifestyle projector in the low to mid $1000 range?
I currently have the Onoaya Ono3 Pro and Nexigo Nova Mini, but was thinking about bumping it up a notch and investing in something that is a step or two ahead in viewing quality on a 120 inch screen, so it feels more like movie theatre quality. After a few days of researching there are a few that stand out to me: Nexigo Trivision Ultra for $1280 (currently on sale), Valerion Streammaster Plus for $1300 (not on sale), Xgimi Horizon 20 for $1399 (currently on sale), maybe the Xgimi Horizon S Max (if it goes on sale, currently $1520), Xgimi Horizon Ultra for $1300 (currently on sale), or JMGO N1S Ultra for $1250 (currently on sale, 52% discount?!).
I know at least one of these is hybrid, some are 1 laser, and some are 3 laser projectors. Given that the 3 laser tech seems pretty recent, is it something I should consider heavily vs a the 1 laser projectors? I know the Nexigo Trivision Ultra has received some pretty high praise for its price point, but might seem slightly less 'cinematic' than something like the Valerion Streammaster Plus. I have watched most of all the recent videos put out by The Hookup youtube channel as well as a few others, but those videos rarely focus on this narrow of a price range. I'm also aware that some of these projectors are on sale because of the time of year, while others will soon be replaced by newer models, or maybe just don't sell that well (JMGO?)
The room the projector would be going in is 11' by 12' and can be positioned either way. The room is already fairly low light with window curtains closed and I can just get black-out curtains if needed, but I wouldn't want that to be a hard requirement to make a projector worthwhile. I also don't need to watch the projector in a lit room, so it doesn't need a quadtrillion lumens.
For the people who have had their head in this space longer than me, I guess my question is: what would you recommend and why? Any feedback is appreciated! Thank you :)
Posted Nov 5, 2025, 11:53 PM UTC