Epson EH-LS11000W 4K laser projector review

One-minute review

The Epson EH-LS11000W 4K laser projector is a great pick for those looking to splash some cash on your next home theater upgrade.

Thanks to its crisp 4K image with striking yet natural colors – delivered by its HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG HDR support – you’ll feel immersed in the scenes of films and TV shows that you watch using this device. And with its 120Hz refresh rate, the 4K gamers among you can unleash the full potential of the best consoles out there.

Unfortunately, the contrast is a bit of a letdown, so if you prefer content where things can get very dark (visually speaking) you may struggle to make out some details of the on-screen action. Plus if you’re a gamer that enjoys multiplayer titles the 20ms input lag may hinder your efforts to defeat your competitors.

Adding to its problems is that the Epson EH-LS11000W lacks a TV OS, so if you want to enjoy all the benefits of a smart TV you’ll need to buy a streaming stick and plug it in – using up one of the two HDMI ports you have. 

What’s more, this projector has no built-in speakers. This isn’t uncommon for high-end projectors so they can dedicate their attention to the visual side of things, but if your entire home theater budget is eaten up by the EH-LS11000W’s $3,999 / £4,199 price, then you’ll be left with an incomplete setup.

If you already have one of the best soundbars or a speaker setup you love, this projector will likely be right at home in your personal theater. However, you may want to check out our picks for the best 4k projectors if this AV gadget doesn't quite tick all your boxes.

Epson EH-LS11000W: Price and availability

The Epson EH-LS11000W projector is available to buy in the US and UK for $3,999 / £4,199, and while it's far from what we’d call ‘budget-friendly,’ this projector offers a solid amount of bang for your buck.

If you’re in the UK, you might want to consider the souped-up Epson LS12000 instead. This projector boasts a higher max brightness and better contrast ratio for just £200 more at £4,399 – it’s also available in the US, but the upgrade will cost you $1,000 more, with its MSRP being $4,999. 

• Value score: 3.5/5 

Epson EH-LS11000W: Design and features

• Only two HDMI ports 
• No TV OS 
• No built-in speakers or Bluetooth 

Epson’s EH-LS11000W is a bulky 28lb (12.7kg) machine clad in white plastic. Yet despite its weight and size – the LS11000W measures 20.5 x 17.6 x 7.6-inch (520‎ x 447 x 193 mm) – it's just as versatile as other top-of-the-range projectors. You can use its adjustable feet to angle its aim from a table or other surface or attach it to a ceiling mount (we’d recommend getting a friend to help you set this overhead option up). Like its sibling, the LS12000, this projector also features an electronic cover for the lens – helping protect it from dirt and damage between uses.

We placed this projector in the corner at the back of our main room and found it fairly easy to get the image set up on the white surface it was aimed at. The optical zoom let us resize the image so it was just right – without sacrificing the picture’s details – while the wide horizontal and vertical lens shift range made it easy to get the display centered without having to move the projector. It was also easy to adjust the projector’s focus and use its keystone controls to get the image square.

One way this projector isn’t as easy to use as other options out there is that it lacks any kind of TV OS. This means if you want to enjoy content from one of the best streaming services, you’ll have to connect a streaming stick or other external device – using up one of the limited ports you have at your disposal.

What’s more, while this projector is very capable in the image department – more on that below – it’s not the complete entertainment package you might hope to be getting; that’s because it doesn’t have any built-in speakers. Much like the TV OS issue, this certainly isn’t the end of the world – you can hook up a sound bar using the HDMI eARC port on the back of this projector – but it’s something to note if you’re weighing up your options. If this projector blows your entire home theater setup’s budget, it won’t be a good pick for you, but as part of a larger setup, it’ll be a fine centerpiece.

In terms of ports, this Epson projector has enough to get by, but we wouldn’t have said no to another HDMI input or two. On the back of the LS11000W, you’ll find two USB A ports, a mini USB port, an ethernet port, and two HDMI ports – one of which is an eARC port, as we mentioned above.

Last but not least in this design section is the remote. This handy doodad has all the keys you need to quickly access the projector’s main settings. It’s pretty large because of this, but thanks to its size you’ll struggle to lose this thing down the back of the sofa. The only other thing to note is this remote has a button in the top-right corner that lets you illuminate its keys – making it much easier to use when you’ve turned the lights off to get the best performance out of your projector.

• Design and features score: 3/5 

Epson EH-LS11000W: Picture quality and performance

• 50-inch to 300-inch display size
• 4K 120Hz image with HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG
• Color accuracy is good but the contrast could be better 

The image produced by the EH-LS11000W 4K projector is, in a word, amazing – though not flawless. Thanks to the projector’s 2,500 lumens laser light source, we were able to enjoy its images even with some daylight creeping in through the curtains. But for the best results, we’d recommend using it in as dark a room as possible.

We couldn't try out this projector’s maximum 300-inch screen size (which is roughly 30 times the area of a standard 55-inch TV), but at the more manageable 75-inch to 120-inch range, we were very impressed with color accuracy in bright scenes. Watching Spider-Man: Homecoming, the protagonist’s bright red and blue suit was reproduced by the projector with the richness it deserves – likely thanks to its HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG support – and the natural-looking images helped immerse us in the projected content.

We also found its 4K image crisp with no noticeable artifacts. So if you find the RGB flashes that some projectors can produce annoying, then you’ll be in luck with the EH-LS11000W.

Unfortunately, we found that even when using the projector's brighter modes its contrast wasn’t quite up to snuff in dark scenes. In the Homecoming moments that feature the antagonist Vulture – a villain clad in a dark green, brown, and gray suit – flying around at night it was more difficult than we’d like to make out details of the action on display. We could still make out much of what was happening, but some costume elements and character movements were too murky to make out.

Those of you looking to use this instead of a TV for your gaming needs may also be a little disappointed. While it does support 4K images at 120Hz, the input lag is much longer than the pro players among you will like. When playing more casual single-player games like Horizon: Forbidden West we didn’t notice any problems, but if you prefer competitive titles like Overwatch or Valorant then the roughly 20ms delay may result in your K/D ratio plummeting.

• Performance and picture quality score: 4/5 

Should you buy the Epson EH-LS11000W?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if... 

Scorecard

Also consider

Epson LS12000
The LS12000 from Epson is very similar to the LS11000W but is brighter and boasts a much better contrast ratio (meaning it solves one of its sibling's biggest issues).

Read our full Epson LS12000 review

XGIMI Aura 4K
This is one of the best-value ultra-short throw projectors (meaning it sits right against your wall); it's cheaper than the LS11000W and has a powerful built-in speaker system.

Read our full XGIMI Aura 4K review

JVC DLA-NZ8
If you're looking to splash out instead plunder your savings and buy this JVC model that takes on Sony’s industry-standard models with native 4K with 8K/e-shiftx.

Read our full JVC DLA-NZ8 review

• First reviewed January 2023

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