SONY VPL-XW7000ES REVIEW

JoeRod

09/14/22

So it's end of August and I am ecstatic to get my hands and eyes on Sony's latest round of 4K Laser projectors. The XW7000 is the top of the line for this new "XW" series. New chassis with new specs make up this new line for Sony. Right off the bat I want to say the XW7000 I have on just a few feet in front of me is very silent. The Laser on max with your eyes closed makes it very hard to tell it is even on. It is the quietest projector I have ever not heard! And I have had many mounted on my ceiling. Let's jump in and see how it does with the rest of its specs. Being no stranger to Sony this will be fun. Let's begin!

I was happy to see my Chief Sony bracket fits the new body of the XW series perfectly. This style does remind me of the old Sony 1000/1100ES Ruby model. And somewhat the VPLVW200 one of my favorites from the past. Right off the bat the image was very, very bright and sharp! I was amazed at the overall clarity. This projector is special. It had that instant pop that I love. I started in my favorite mode of Bright Cinema but quickly fell back into my old habit of Cinema 1 for Movies and Bright Cinema for Sports. I had been using Bright Cinema on the previous generations for pretty 

much everything. Not anymore. I was

shocked how well Cinema 1 default was. I of course tweaked just a little. I Started with the new ELVIS movie. It is demo materiel from the get go. The XW7000 shined with unbelievable brightness and sharpness. We were immersed the first sentence out of Colonel Tom Parker's mouth. It really is a good movie and with the new MX180 it was as if we had EP live in concert!

LIVE COLOR ENHANCER...

Those who want football colors like helmets, turf and grass to appear to be on steroids this is for you! LCE does just that. I actually of course like it. It really brought the field and teams alive on our screen. Now after having a taste of it I can't go back! For Movies I wouldn't use but if you have to Low for most content...

Jumping back into Top Gun Maverick this entire movie is A+ demo material. It should look amazing on any display but with the XW7000 it was a non-stop eye candy thrill ride the entire way! Up close showed the same details like above with ELVIS. I am trying very hard to decide if this is the sharpest projector I have had here. I do have a JVC NZ9 on the way and can't wait to compare them. Tom Cruise and his jacket with patches never looked better. With an equally impressive soundtrack this is hands down one of the best movies of the year!

Checking out settings there's a couple of simple tricks. Remember when sending 4K/60 or 1080/60 to use MotionFlow at Smooth Low. When doing 4K/24 or 1080/24 set it to True Cinema. These deliver the best motion. Gamma I really like 2.4 for Movies and for Sports I seem to favor Sony's Gamma 7 or 2.4 depending on the broadcast. Laser setting for Dynamic Control I leave on Full. Now for Sports I love the New Live Color Enhancer on Medium. This setting was made for football! Now Reality Creation which is one of Sony's best features set to your taste. Most like it between 20 and 40. Experiment! Laser go by your screen size.

I am using the new Cherry Cola 48 from Audioquest with excellent results. HDMI syncing is super quick and the image is second to none. I will keep this one for years!

Looking at Sony's remote it is just like the year's past which is a great thing. It lights up a nice cool blue. We get direct buttons for Contrast Enhancer, MotionFlow, Reality Creation, AdvanceD Iris, Aspect, 3D, Color Space, Gamma and Color Temp (I prefer D65.) You also get all the Image Presets like Bright Cinema, Cinema and various others. Focus, Zoom and Shift are neatly placed above the D-pad. And not to forget the bottom we have Sharpness, Brightness and Contrast. I have Sony's remotes always intuitive and easy to operate. They make setting up super easy!

TIP: Contrast Enhancer High for Sports Medium for Movies.

Doing 3D is a challenge as of this writing and adds to the price of your XW6000/XW7000. I know some have either given up on the format or just don't care but we have nearly 200 titles and are still die-hard 3D fans in our household. I want to thank David Chechelashvili and Vince Power both from XPAND VISION for facilitating the delivery of their Emitter with glasses for this Review. I will say they synced immediately and their RF Lite Glasses my twin Daughters Mila and Raelynn loved them. They are very comfortable. The Emitter was super easy to connect using the specific cable for the Sony XW6000/XW7000 models. I will also inform everyone the JVC PK-AG3G and Hi-Shock Black Diamond glasses also synced and worked perfectly fine. Though the XPAND's synced way faster (almost instant.) I will include the part numbers below and the email you can order them from. 

As for 3D it looks terrific on the XW7000. We tested Under the Sea and AVATAR. We plan to check out a few choice Disney titles soon. I can say with vast experience 3D hasn't looked better...

AE125-RF Pro Emitter

CAB-01-0135 Sony Cable 

X105-RF-X1 Glasses

To order email XPAND VISION at david.chechelashvili@xpandvision.com. I was told they will offer a bundle which will consist of the Emitter, the special Sony cable and two pairs of glasses. 

FOOTBALL ON THE XW7000ES LOOKS 3D LIKE!

The 7000ES is made for football. Between the Reality Creation and Live Color Enhancer you can dial the games in perfectly. They truly do look 3D like at times. CBS has the best looking broadcasts. All of them were so clear and detailed. The games never looked better!

Looking at the new design of the XW series they remind me of my all time favorite the Sony VPL-VW200ES. It had a cool sleek look with that nice blue/silver exterior. All of them share the X1 Ultimate processing and of course all of them are Lasers. The "sweet" spot of the line-up has to be the XW6000ES (Report coming soon.) It has everything the XW7000 has besides Live Color Enhancer and minus 600 lumens. Still for less than half the msrp with the same lens and most specs it will be interesting to see it in action. Owners of either model can't go wrong!

VS

Let me finish this off with some final thoughts. I have had many ask me which I prefer or which in my opinion is better. There's not a correct answer. Both of these projectors are amazing and both of them have their strengths. I totally get why there are fans of both brands. The JVC NZ9 has that signature look for sci fi space or scary movies and the Sony XW7000 has their trademark motion and color which is top tier for sports and of course movies. Both are very easy to set up and both have razor like sharpness. You really can't go wrong with owning either.

Sony has to be very happy with the positive Reviews and the high amount of great feedback from newer owners. I have spoken to a few, and they are extremely happy. "Clearly" Sony has pulled out all the stops. With 3200 Lumens and their X1 Ultimate processing not to mention their exemplary bag of tricks it is quite obvious the XW7000ES was made by image aficionados for image aficionados. 

Full Disclosure: The sky does not shimmer or flicker in person at all that is my iPhone 13 Max.

EQUIPMENT USED FOR ALL OR PART OF THIS REVIEW:

SONY VPL-XW7000ES/XW5000ES, madVR ENVY Extreme, Stewart Studiotek 144 ST100 16:9, McIntosh MX180, Anthem AVM90, Apple TV 4K 2021, NVIDIA Shield Pro, Datasat RA7300 Amps X 2, DirecTV 4K, YouTube TV,  Oppo UDP-203 4K Player, Samsung UBD-K8500 4K Ultra Blu-ray player, Furman Elite-20 PFI, Monster Power HTS 5100, AC INFINITY Component Coolers, Speakers: MARTIN LOGAN ILLUSION Center, IMPRESSIONS (Left and Right), VANQUISH (HEIGHTS & ATMOS & Top), AXIS (Backs), Subwoofers- Martin Logan BalancedForce 212 X 2, Seatcraft Equinox Seating with Sound Shakers, Remote: One For All Universal (apple TV), Harmony 1100, HARMONY ELITE. Cables: Audioquest shorter HDMI cables top to bottom. Audioquest (Cinnamon & Forest) HDMI with latest Cherry Cola 48 Optical 8K/10K Ultra High Speed 10 meter cable...

I would like to thank my girls Mila and Raelynn for helping test 3D. And Jaclyn and Dallas for watching Paws of Fury and the Minions Rise of Gru with us!

I also need to thank Noah from LUXURY AV PROS for being as enthusiastic as I am when it comes to my electronics hobby. He proudly has a XW7000ES on display. Call him at (630) 607-0054 or stop in at:

1S550 IL Route 83, Unit C,

Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181

Extra info... The same bundle minus the cable should also work with the JVC projectors. Also XPAND is the manufacturers of JVC PK-AG3G glasses and emitters. XPAND was one of the very first two companies that jumped into the latest 3D wave in 2004 (Real D and XPAND.) Now they're one of only two companies remaining with possibly a couple outliers. The JVC-PK-AG3G and XPAND X105-RF-X1 will work. However they do suggest using X105-RF-X3 glasses for some models in combination with screens that will change polarization. The X3 glasses are very similar besides polarization direction...

FOR SALE XW7000ES WITH XPAND 3D CONTACT ME: