Oct 27, 2024

JMGO N1S Pro 4K Projector Review: Satisfying Yet Inaccurate Images and Gimbal Design JMGO ups the brightness and sticks with the gimbal for this updated N1S. Geoffrey Morrison Contributor Geoffrey Morrison is a writer/photographer about tech and travel for CNET, The New York Times, and other web and print publications. He's also the Editor-at-Large for The Wirecutter. He has written for Sound&Vision magazine, Home Theater magazine, and was the Editor-in-Chief of Home Entertainment magazine. He is NIST and ISF trained, and has a degree in Television/Radio from Ithaca College. His bestselling novel, Undersea , and its sequel, Undersea Atrophia , are available in paperback and digitally on Amazon. He spends most of the year as a digital nomad, living and working while traveling around the world. You can follow his travels at BaldNomad.com and on his YouTube channel . 6 min read The JMGO N1S Pro 4K is the new little brother of the N1 Ultra we reviewed last year. The N1S Pro boasts a claimed 2400 lumens, less than the Ultra, but it keeps that projector's peculiar gimbaled design. Easy streaming is provided via Google TV. With a list price of $2,000, it's decidedly not cheap, but since it goes on sale for much less, it falls in line with great $1,500-plus projectors we've reviewed like the BenQ X500i . 7.5 Surprisingly good speakers The gimbal design is still weird Overall, performance is a bit mixed. The contrast ratio and brightness are good, but the color is decidedly not accurate. It's overly vibrant, but in a way that's not entirely unpleasant and would likely be fine to less-discerning viewers. The JMGO's speakers are also quite good and better than many projectors this size. The lack of zoom or lens shift means the unit requires very specific placement, which is arguably why it has a gimbaled design. If that limitation doesn't bother you, and you can find it on sale, it can project images in ways other projectors can't. Not sure that's hugely useful, but maybe I'm missing something. Specs and such You can pivot the body up and down, and rotate it on a base that's like a Lazy Susan. Geoffrey Morrison/CNET Lamp life: Not specified, but it's 3 lasers so a while When I reviewed the N1S Pro's predecessor last year, I couldn't quite figure out why it was gimbaled like a spotlight that you'd find at a rave. Well, it's been a year and I still don't get it. The pivoting up and down I get, as not everyone has the permanent space for a projector. Being able to quickly place the projector and aim it at a flat surface likely makes a parent's life a little easier. But the spin? There's a disc on the bottom like a Lazy Susan to let you spin the projector. Can't you just… do that manually with any projector? Do people really need to shine on a variety of walls so often and so rapidly that this is necessary? I'm clearly missing something since not only has JMGO stuck with the design, I've seen more projectors hit the market with a similar "feature." I guess I'll just have to live with not understanding who needs a projector with this much freedom of movement. I'll note I didn't take points off for this design, as it doesn't seem to add much to the price compared to its performance (mostly, which I'll discuss below). JMGO rates the N1S Pro at 2,400 lumens and in its most accurate mode I measured approximately 1,198. With its Ultra Brightness setting active the image was visibly greenish, but I was able to get 1,581 lumens. That's a fair amount off the claimed spec, but such optimism is fairly common from projector companies. The contrast is better than average: I measured 926:1. This is less than some recent BenQ projectors  and a bit less than the N1 Ultra, but it's more than several recent (and similarly high-priced) models from Xgimi and Anker. The speakers, positioned on the sides, allow for clearer sound when you're sitting alongside the projector, which is a common situation for larger images/screens. Geoffrey Morrison/CNET One notably missing feature was any kind of optical zoom, and while you can digitally zoom in, this is merely cropping the image and so you're losing resolution. The lack of physical zoom is a serious negative in my book for a projector that costs this much. Given that JMGO clearly wants the N1S Pro to work in as wide a variety of settings as possible, this is a strange oversight. Creating a 100-inch image places the projector at around 9 feet from the screen, which is closer than a typical projector but farther than a short throw projector. An odd middle-ground. The autofocus is fairly fast, which is good. The automatic keystone adjustment is speedy too, but you shouldn't use it . HDMI, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and more Two HDMI inputs are good to have, as is the headphone output. Geoffrey Morrison/CNET Internet: Wi-Fi Remote: Backlit Two HDMI inputs should cover you if you want to use a Roku instead of the built-in Google TV plus a game console. Or two game consoles. Or two Rokus. Whatever you want, I'm not your chaperone. Any cables will certainly make the pivot and spin of the design less spinnable and pivotable, but I think it's safe to assume most people considering the N1S Pro 4K aren't expecting to regularly connect an external source. The speakers are surprisingly good, with 20 watts of claimed power. There's a decent amount of bass for such a small cabinet. JMGO claims it goes down to 45 Hz, though at what volume they don't specify. The speakers are on the sides of the projector, which is far more logical placement compared to the similar Xgimi Horizon S Max (review forthcoming). Since the JMGO's throw distance is somewhere between a short throw and a "regular" projector, you'll likely be sitting near or alongside the projector so it can create a large image. As such, the speakers are facing you. As with any projector, though, a soundbar or a receiver and speakers will provide far better sound. The simple remote has everything you need. Geoffrey Morrison/CNET The remote isn't backlit but does have dedicated buttons for YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, which is convenient. It also has a dedicated button to change inputs, something I once thought was a given for a remote . Picture quality comparisons The Xgimi Horizon S Max is a new variation on the Horizon Ultra we reviewed earlier this year. It has that projector's overall aesthetic but shares the JMGO's gimbaled design. MSRPs are within $100, though the JMGO varies a lot in price. The BenQ X500i is a recent favorite. It lists for a bit less and is a short-throw projector (so it has to be closer to the screen than the JMGO). I connected all three to a Monoprice 1x4 distribution amplifier and viewed them side-by-side on a 102-inch 1.0-gain screen. All three projectors are, as their specs suggest, quite bright. The BenQ is 20-30% dimmer, while the Xgimi is brightest, but they all have plenty of brightness for a 100+ inch screen. Beyond that, and despite their relatively close prices, they all perform quite differently. No zoom, though the autofocus is fast and accurate. Geoffrey Morrison/CNET In terms of color, the BenQ looks far more natural, its colors far closer to accurate. Caucasian skin tones are a bit reddish but not overly so. The JMGO looks more oversaturated and less natural. It doesn't look bad, just overly colorful. The Xgimi's color is definitely the worst of the bunch. Not so bad that you'd think it looked weird on its own but far from the pleasing accuracy of the BenQ or the acceptable inaccuracy of the JMGO. Contrast ratio, by far the most important aspect of image quality is, again, all over the place. The BenQ is out ahead of the others here, with an extremely punchy image. Watching 2.35:1 movies, the letterbox bars disappear more compared to the others. Though keep in mind no projector comes close to what you'd get with an OLED or local dimming LED LCD. The JMGO, with roughly half the BenQ's contrast, holds its own surprisingly well. It's still better than average in this crucial test. Enough so that its overall brightness and color do make for a watchable, if not entirely accurate, image. The Xgimi, dead last here with 30% worse contrast than the JMGO, doesn't do great. It doesn't look washed out, it's only a little worse than average, but it lacks the punch and depth of the BenQ or even the JMGO. Gimbaled Geoffrey Morrison/CNET If we judge the JMGO N1S Pro 4K strictly on its performance, it's an above-average projector. It's fairly bright, has a decent contrast ratio and though its colors aren't accurate, they're not cartoonish to look at. The speakers are good too, better than the Xgimi or BenQ. So for something you can just place down on a flat surface, plug in and watch, it does a decent job. The BenQ X500i offers superior performance for less money, though, and can sit closer to the screen (or wall). The JMGO is largely better than the Xgimi Horizon S Max, which is sort of like its mirror universe version. The Xgimi has better color but worse contrast and speakers. The N1 Ultra outperformed it in terms of color, contrast and brightness, but it also costs hundreds more. So if you really want a gimbaled projector, without spending above $2,000, this is the one to get… I suppose. Maybe someone will figure out what they're for eventually.