Question Bargain Used Projector Buys - What are your recommendations?

Tyler Durden

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It's been a while since I last looked at projectors, back then the JVC X3-7-9s were on my list, but things didn't quite work out.

What bargains are there out there now on the used market at under £500?
 
Hi

For that sort of price you could easily find a Sony hw40 or 50 would have thought, both of which will do 1080p. The 50 has an iris so is definitely the better of the two. You’d need a guarantee though as some of these models had issues with the optical block going wrong.

The Sanyo Z3000 you could probably get for something crazy like £300, and although it isn’t the brightest projector it was a superb 1080 unit with great lens shift and the best dust eradication system in history!

You could also look into DLPs but I can’t give you advice on those I’m afraid as I can’t watch them due to the rainbow effect.

Cheers
 
HW40ES is the bargain for the all rounder which can do video gaming with low input lag and excellent motion.
X30 is the bargain for best PQ and contrast levels with the caveat that its input lag is not good at all for gaming.
Panasonic AE8000 is excellent bang for buck with a motorised lens shift AND its really nice small form factor.


IMO those are the 3 best bargains for the <£500
 
Thanks for the input. The x30 seems out of reach for £500. I'll keep my eyes peeled.
 
Thanks for the input. The x30 seems out of reach for £500. I'll keep my eyes peeled.
hold tight. X30 should be well within £500 price range. I've seen plenty go for around that price.

the issue with JVC is the bulb price makes the second hand proposition of one hard to stomach. They're very expensive and will cost you 30% of the projector's price you paid for it.

I have a HW40es for sale in classifields if that would tide you over, could do for under £500.

if ur heart is set on JVC, then make sure to keep an eye on the lamp life and preferably if it comes with another bulb. otherwise you'll see your costs going up very quickly on an old projector.
 
Lamp for JVC is £316 from Ideal AV last I checked.
Depends how dark your room is but even one with 1800 plus hours on it will be bright enough in a dark room for your size screen.
 
I know Epson and Sony lamps are dirt cheap so make sense. I think my mate replaced his Sony for £60 quid or something lamp wise,

I know JVC's are notoriously hard to find cheap replacements for.


I think When your PJ is costing <500 and the replacement lamp is <300 it kind of defeats the purpose of going second hand.
 
No need to replace with an original JVC. I replaced my JVC OEM with a diamond lamp “original lamp inside” for £150 and it’s been great. You can get cheaper aftermarket replacements or even bulb only but I think the diamond lamps offer more peace of mind as they are part of genuine lamp alliance.

I owned a Sony HW40es before. Great all rounder but the JVC is on a completely differently level for blacks and contrast - no comparison and no going back once you’ve experienced it, especially if your room is treated.

I would recommend x35 or later. The x3 and x30 have known issues with early lamp dimming and ballast failure.
 
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I once tried a Diamond lamp and measured its lumens on arrival. Sent it back as it was the same brightness as my 1500 hour JVC lamp. I’m convinced there is no lamp comparable to performance and longevity as genuine.

Early lamp failure was rectified with a newer version of lamp -003 onwards.
 
I measured my diamond lamp with a lux meter and it’s within the spec of OEM. When £300 for OEM is more than half the value of an out of warranty projector a diamond lamp made sense to me.
 
I'm with JamesBaby on this one, every experience I have ever had with Diamond lamps (and Original Inside Lamps) has been very poor. The thought behind the concept is nice but in practice they really are best avoided.

As to the OP's question, before suggesting anything I would want to know what sort of size screen and what environment?
 
All being well, I'm going to stick my X30RW up for sale for £450 next week. I'm replacing it with another JVC, so I would be able to use the new box to ship it. I'll need to check, what the hours are 1200 or 1800h are what's in my head. It's plenty bright in my room, which is why I've not replaced it.

I've also got a brand new OEM lamp that I bought here for £150 which I'll be selling too.
 

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