Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro Dolby Atmos Projector Review: Big, Brilliant
The first person perspective used in F1: The movieenables exciting home cinema, especially up close on a 100-inch screen, enveloped in precise spatial sound. Sinners was also engaging, although I was impressed by the sound effects more than the soundtrack, with the music a little too bassy in places. This is a very minor gripe, however, given that most portable projectors lack bass.
Photography: Chris Haslam
This is all impressive, and since I can put the speakers away again and move the X1 Pro into a corner, it’s surprisingly convenient. Without the technical know-how, installation costs, or interior design disruption of a dedicated cinema room. A smart dealmaker might argue that this makes the X1 Pro excellent value for money, if you’re lucky enough to have the space to hide it and a screen when you don’t need it.
Liquid cooled
Despite the beer fridge’s dimensions, the Nebula X1 Pro is remarkably quiet. This is thanks to a liquid cooling system, first used on the X1, which replaces a traditional fan. This is brilliantly effective and means you don’t need to turn up the volume to hide the machines.
The brand claims it reduces noise to just 26 decibels (most portable projectors are rated between 30 and 35 decibels), which isn’t a huge difference, but trust me, the noise it produces isn’t as distracting as a fan. There’s a little whirring sound as the lens settles, but even at moderate volume (not movie night volume) it’s barely audible.
Why do I want one?
Creating a serious home theater usually means precise positioning of the projector, power cables, speaker cables, measuring distances between seats, adjusting channel levels, correcting lip sync delays, adjusting keystone distortion and focus, and juggling multiple remotes and inputs. Portable projectors offer a watered-down, effortless version of this.
With its wireless satellite speakers and rumbling subwoofer, the Nebula X1 Pro brings you tantalizingly closer to the complete home theater package that people work so hard to achieve. In just a few minutes, and without any technical knowledge, you can enjoy premium Dolby Atmos sound and 4K picture quality, all served through the simplicity of Google TV and your favorite streaming platform.
