Built on the foundation of the HORIZON Ultra 4K , XGIMI has expanded its premium long-throw home projector offerings with the new HORIZON S Pro and S Max models. With these products, the company offers an improved design with more high-end features but the same Android TV experience.
After extensively testing the XGIMI HORIZON S Max projector for over a month, here’s the good, the bad, and the in-between for one of XGIMI’s top home projectors of 2024.
XGIMI HORIZON S Max specs
Specification
Details
Product Classification
Home Projector
Light Source
Dual Light 2.0
Expected Lamp Life
20,000 Hours
Display Technique
DLP
3D Support
Yes, Frame Packing & Side by Side
Supported Formats
HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, IMAX Enhanced
Latency
Game Mode ≤ 20ms (AK off)
MEMC
Yes
Brightness
3100 ISO Lumens
Standard Resolution
3840 x 2160 pixels
Color Gamut
BT.2020 110%
Contrast Ratio
Dynamic 1000000:1
Lens
High Light Transmission Coated Lens
Eye Protection
Yes
Setup
Auto Keystone Correction
Focus
ISA 5.0 Auto Focus
Intelligent Screen Alignment
Yes
Intelligent Obstacle Avoidance
Yes
Optical Zoom
/
Digital Zoom
Yes
Throw Ratio
1.2:1
Aspect Ratio
16:9/4:3
Projection Method
Front, Rear, Front Ceiling, Rear Ceiling
Image Size
40” – 200”
CPU
Cortex-A55
GPU
Mali-G52
RAM
2GB
Storage
64GB
System
Android TV™ 11.0
Mirroring Display
DLNA/GoogleCast
Speaker
2 x 12W Harman/Kardon
DTS-Virtual
Yes
DTS-HD
Yes
Dolby Audio
Yes
Dolby Digital (DD)
Yes
Dolby Digital Plus (DD+)
Yes
WiFi
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.1
Input Ports
DC x 1, HDMI (eARC Supported) x 1, USB x 2
Output Ports
/
Noise Level
<28dB @ 1m
Power Dissipation
<300W
Power
AC 100-240V, 50/60Hz
Product Size (H x W x D)
234 x 273 x 174 mm
Product Weight
4.81 kg
Package Size (H x W x D)
245 x 393 x 310 mm
Design, connectivity, and where to put it
It’s only been six months since I reviewed the XGIMI HORIZON Ultra 4K projector . Still, the new HORIZON S Max feels like a natural upgrade over its predecessor. The design is similar to the HORIZON Ultra, which mixes eco-friendly PU leather and flow cover fabric. It looks like a beautiful piece of furniture and blends well with the environment.
XGIMI was able to make this device half the size of its predecessor while adding an adjustable stand. This change was important to help users find a good place for the projector.
However, while reviewing the XGIMI HORIZON S Max, I discovered that XGIMI removed the optical zoom feature, which was great for making the image fit my wall without losing quality. Therefore, I can only use this projector with Digital Zoom now, which cuts off the perfect optical image I used to love (more on that later).
The company explained that it removed the optical zoom to make the projector smaller. It believes the adjustable stand gives more flexibility and possibilities for home users, so the trade-off was worth it.
It’s important to note that XGIMI also made some other compromises on the connectivity side. Wi-Fi supports Wi-Fi 5 instead of 6, and the Bluetooth standard is 5.1 instead of 5.2. To be honest, these compromises didn’t disturb my experience with the projector, but it’s weird to see XGIMI improving some areas but downgrading others.
Image quality
Despite the lack of optical zoom, I can’t say I had a worse experience. With a 4K projection with HDR10 and Dolby Vision support, XGIMI also added iMAX Enhanced certification for the HORIZON S Max, a first for projectors.
What I think made the most difference during the XGIMI HORIZON S Max review was the new Dual Light 2.0 technology, which combines a tri-color laser and LED for a brighter, more accurate image. This new tech also increases the ISO lumens to 3,100, 30% more than the previous generation.
This change is important to make images stand out even with some ambient light. While this home projector works best in full darkness or at night, closing the windows or even having a bit of ambient light didn’t interrupt a cinematic-like experience.
The XGIMI HORIZON S Max offers the brightest home projection I have ever experienced, and I still think this is one of the best options for those who want a giant image projected on their walls. The IMAX Enhanced certification feels like a cherry on top of this well-crafted product.
Sound quality
The XGIMI HORIZON S Max keeps the same combo of two 12W Harman/Kardon speakers as its predecessor. In this review, I feel this home projector’s sound quality is as good as its image quality. Watching Queen Rock Montreal at Disney+ in iMAX Enhanced was a beautiful experience.
It was also amazing to check out my favorite music clips on YouTube. While I’d previously preferred the Apple TV + HomePod mini combo in my bedroom, I often switch to XGIMI’s built-in speakers because they’re impressive. Even with the projector being smaller than before, XGIMI still delivers superb sound quality.
Keeping Android TV was a big letdown
In my XGIMI HORIZON Ultra 4K review, as the Android TV experience. It was clunky, the remote wouldn’t respond as quickly, and I’d often rely on the Apple TV 4K.
And guess what? Even though the MoGo My only letdown inPro is one of the company’s budget projectors, it was so nice using Google TV. Setting up and finding my favorite apps was a piece of cake. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about the Android TV 11 experience with the XGIMI HORIZON S Max in this review.
Even though the company upgraded the projector with a better processor and 64GB of storage, it maintains 2GB of RAM, which feels like the bare minimum for Android TV to run. While the HORIZON S Max offers impressive image and sound quality, the navigation is just bad.
Still, I often find myself switching from my first-gen Apple TV 4K (to watch Netflix) to XGIMI’s Android TV experience to get the best image quality on Disney+, Max, and Apple TV+.
XGIMI is a very respected brand that offers premium products. It’s unacceptable that it couldn’t upgrade one of its high-end projectors to Google TV. This missing operating system also means you need to find a workaround to have built-in Netflix support. A premium product shouldn’t work like this. Even though the company says it kept Android TV for better intelligent projector features, such as smart obstacle avoidance, eye protection, auto-focus, and so on, I don’t think that was worth it for customers.
Price and conclusion
To conclude this review, the XGIMI HORIZON S Max projector has a suggested price of $1,899, the same price as a high-end TV. If you like watching your favorite shows in the dark and want the biggest display possible, you should definitely get it.
However, if you usually watch TV in bright environments and don’t have a perfect spot for the projector, you’ll save yourself time by buying a television instead. I would still recommend a connected Apple TV for both of your choices.
That said, don’t get intimidated by the fear of not making the projector work. As long as you have a white wall, some space, and time to set everything up, you’ll have a far superior experience watching your favorite movies, shows, and music clips. While I still think XGIMI needs to offer better software with the next iteration, I can’t complain about what it aims to do, which is to offer the best image and sound experience available at this home projection category and price point.
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