JMGO N3 Ultimate Projector Review: The greatest gimbal projector yet

The JMGO N3 Ultimate is a very impressive 4K projector, with excellent color accuracy, intense brightness, and enough lens adjustment options to accommodate most rooms with ease. These controls include horizontal and vertical lens shift, an impressive zoom range and a motorized gimbal. While I’m still not convinced how important axles are, motorized or otherwise, I’m probably in the minority on this.

But this performance comes at a high price. The list price, as of this writing, is $3,000 — though it regularly sells for around $2,400. Basically, if you can afford it, the JMGO N3 Ultimate is one of the best projectors you can buy. But if you’re just glazing it on the wall or pulling it outside for the occasional movie night, you can save some money With other cheaper projectors.

Specifications

• Resolution: 4K
• Lumen Specifications: 5,800 (claimed)
• Zoom: Yes (0.88-1.7:1)
• Lens Shift: Horizontal: +/-53%, Vertical: +/-130%, also motorized axis
• Light source type: RGB laser

The N3 Ultimate may be the most flexible projector I’ve ever reviewed. Flexible in the sense that you can adjust the image in almost every conceivable way to combat bad placement. To start, as you can see from the pictures, it has a gimbal. Unlike most projectors I’ve reviewed, this one is motorized. If you do not want to use keystone correction (Nor should you), there is a significant horizontal and vertical lens shift to align the image on your screen.

There’s also a convenient zoom feature, allowing you to get several feet closer or farther from your screen while maintaining image size. JMGO claims you can create a 100-inch image from as close as 6.4 feet, or from as far away as 12.3 feet.

Using an RGB laser for light, JMGO claims a brightness of 5800 ISO lumens. I measured it 4,736 in the fan-out green dynamic picture mode. This is a little lower than it claims, but in the ballpark given the different measurement techniques. This is still exceptionally bright, and in its most accurate mode, it still achieves 2,454 lumens, which means it’s second only to Exgeme Horizon 20 Max As the brightest projector I’ve ever measured. The Xgimi projector will feature a lot in this review because it’s very similar. They have the same list price and roughly the same light output ratings, with Xgimi claiming 5,700 lumens ISO and the maximum measured by me of 4,850.

Both of these projectors are so bright that it’s difficult to view them in a dark room on a 100-inch display with a diagonal of 1.0 inches. Fortunately, you can lower its brightness to match your setting.

communication

• HDMI inputs: 2
• USB port: 1
• Audio output: eARC
• Internet: Wi-Fi
• Streaming interface: Google TV
• Remote control: Not backlit

Like most modern projectors, Google TV is built into it for all your streaming needs. Ideally, you will connect a monitor to Speakers or receiverand one of the HDMI inputs has eARC to do this. There are also two 12.5W speakers (25W total). These sound decent, but not particularly loud.

Image quality comparisons

Exgeme Horizon 20 Max

As I mentioned above, the Horizon 20 Max is about the same price and offers similar performance. It’s the brightest projector I’ve ever measured, but honestly, they’re both so bright the difference is practically meaningless. One of the other projectors I recently tested falls into the same category as these two – Valerion Vision Master Pro2 — but since it’s a little faded and has a noticeably less accurate color, it doesn’t seem worth calling it, as it would no doubt have come in last. The Valerion’s chromed design looks the coolest of the three in my opinion, but that’s not what we’re here for. There too Anchor Nebula X1which costs and operates similarly, but does not have two axes. I connected the Xgimi and JMGO to a distribution amplifier and displayed them side by side on a 102-inch monitor with a gain of 1.0.

These projectors look very similar, with their images appearing only a few clicks away from one that is set apart from each other. If you tell me they have the same internals (and to be fair, all DLP projectors share the same range). a lot Of the same interior elements), I wouldn’t be surprised.

The most noticeable difference is how they manage deep shadows/blacks. Xgimi has a slight reddish to black color. It’s not enough to be a problem, but the JMGO’s more neutral blacks are certainly better. Contrast is similar between the two, with a slight edge to JMGO. I measured a rough average of 1,859:1 to the Xgimi’s 1,367, but due to some brightness boost with the N3, this isn’t as accurate a measurement, and thus a comparison, as I’d like. Visually, the N3 appears to have a slightly better contrast ratio than the 20 Max, but not nearly 35% better as the numbers suggest. It’s probably closer to 10% personally. The N3 crushes shadow detail more with HDR content, but I found that this can be easily adjusted in the picture settings.

The color is also very similar between Xgimi and JMGO. Both are highly accurate projectors, with vibrant and vibrant colors regardless of the content. I’ll give a slight edge to JMGO here too, with slightly better skin tones, but it’s so close that it’s basically a tie.

If you haven’t read Horizon’s review, I had to deduct a few points from its score because my sample had some issue with the lens — perhaps dust or something else in the light path — that caused two small circles to appear on the screen. There were no such manufacturing issues with JMGO.

Then there is the sound. The JGMO has more bass, but it’s also booming. The Xgimi sounds better overall and plays noticeably louder. Like all projectors, both deserve at least amplifiers, if not a receiver and speakers, but both are acceptable enough on their own, with the Xgimi being the better-sounding choice of the two.

So, overall, both are good but JMGO is slightly better. Darker parts of the image are more neutrally black, there are no lens/dust issues, and there is a bit more flexibility in lens shift options. However, I don’t think these improvements are worth more than a few hundred dollars, so if it’s a matter of JMGO at list price and Xgimi at sale price, go with the latter.

Finally, a word of warning if you wear glasses. Depending on your prescription and lens materials, you may notice this Chromatic aberration, or color fringingaround bright objects, especially if they are on a dark background (white balances on a black screen or street lights on the street at night, for example). The image will appear to “split” with a monochromatic “ghost” on either side. This is especially noticeable if you’re sitting fairly close, since you’re naturally looking at the corners of the screen through the corners of your glasses, exacerbating the visual problem. This is separate from the DLP rainbows that some people see with certain DLP projectors. This color problem will not affect everyone who wears glasses, and it certainly will not affect those who do not wear glasses. For what it’s worth, I notice this and find it annoying enough that I personally wouldn’t buy an RGB laser projector. verify BenQ W4100iwhich uses LEDs and does not have this problem.

gimballed bone

N3 Ultimate lives up to its name. It will likely be the ultimate gimbal projector. It’s bright, has accurate colors, a great lens, and an amazing contrast ratio. If money isn’t an issue and you’re specifically looking for a gimbaled projector, this one looks great.

However, these two caveats are important. I think the pivot implies that the N3 is not intended for permanent placement, but rather for temporary display in a variety of situations. The gimbal and zoom lens mean it can fit into any space quite easily. So to me, $3,000 for something as casual as this seems excessive when there are smaller, lighter, cheaper options that still work very well. If you are looking for something permanent – the N3 is available in floor and ceiling installations – what is the purpose and cost of a pivot? I don’t have an answer to this question, and given the number of gimbaled projectors on the market, I’m clearly the one who’s missing something.

Like other JMGO projectors I’ve reviewed, the actual cost drops pretty quickly after launch: as of this writing, they’re priced between $2,400 and $2,500. This is right in line with the other projectors I mentioned above, and although their performance is similar, the N3’s lens and motorized gimbal means it will fit more places – if that’s what you’re looking for.