Soundcore Nebula X1 review: Cinema for the neighborhood

Instant Insight

For home entertainment lovers, projectors have always been the holy grail of creating that cinema experience at home, but until recently the price points and brightness levels have been an issue for me and the sole reason why I have stuck with large LED backlit TVs.

The Soundcore Nebula X1, a sub brand of parent company Anker, offers a 4K RGB laser DLP projector in a portable format that not only promises a bright picture, but cinema quality experience in a portable package.

The Nebula X1 solves the brightness issues I have experienced with other projectors, and surprised me with its incredible full range sound, not only from the unit itself, but from the optional surround sound speakers.

All this comes at a price though, and the Nebula X1 costs $2,999 MSRP. It’s a significant investment, and will need careful consideration before you hit the buy button.

That said, family, friends and I were all blown away by the sights and sounds that the X1 provided, but the unit is not without minor issues.

Nebula X1 specs

Nebula X1 software and connectivity

Quick take: Google TV is everywhere, so get onboard or look elsewhere

On the software side, Google TV is baked into the X1 providing access to over 10,000 apps, including native Netflix with 4K Dolby Vision support. Chromecast and Google Assistant integration make streaming setup very easy.

You are either hitched to the Google ecosystem, or you will need to find another projector altogether. The Google TV platform is in several home theater products on the market including TVs from both Sony and TCL for example.

Google TV is simple to set up, when it works, but is not without hitches. At my home for example, I have had difficulty getting Google TV to integrate with my home’s Wi-Fi and networking setup at times and it can also be laggy while navigating through the menus.

This is not isolated to just X1; I have seen this on a couple TVs as well that use the Google TV platform. I will say that this is not common and only happens to me on occasion.

The X1 has several connectivity options including two HDMI 2.1 ports (one with eARC), USB-A, USB-C and optical audio out. This means you could use the Nebula X1 as your main home theater projector if you wanted to, although I think there are better options for the price if you do not plan on using its portability.

For gamers, input lag dips below 20ms in Extreme Gaming Mode at 4K/60Hz; it’s fine for casual gamers, but not likely a fit for more hardcore gaming enthusiasts.

Nebula X1 sound

Quick take: the built-in speakers are surprisingly punchy with strong bass for a unit this size

The Nebula X1 has an impressive 40W speaker system built-in, comprised of two 15W woofers, two 5W tweets and passive radiators. I found the sound to be surprisingly punchy with strong bass for the unit’s size, and vocals are clear too.

Nebula does sell optional wireless satellite speakers (for a total system of 160 watts) to create a 4.1.2 surround setup with Dolby Audio – and you can even add wireless mics for karaoke.

At $699 dollars, the wireless satellite speakers are too expensive for me to recommend. On top of the X1’s already hefty price tag, you are pushing almost $4,000 for a total system price (without discounts).

I also experienced issues pairing with the speakers on several occasions. I was forced to unpair and then reconnect with them to get them to work. Soundcore has released a number of firmware updates to help with this, but it remained a problem for me.

Nebula X1 picture quality

Quick take: for a portable projector, picture quality is impressive

Performance-wise, the X1 excels in brightness and color for a portable projector. Its triple-laser design covers up to 110% of the BT.2020 color space and delivered vibrant, accurate hues with a Delta E under .08 out of the box. HDR support includes Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG with dynamic tone mapping that handled dark scenes that I threw at it.

While watching Black Rabbit, I had no issue with colors or brightness washing out the screen during the dark lit bar scenes for example.

Motion handling was just OK, and I noticed that the X1 had trouble in some quickly moving scenes while I was watching episodes of Chief of War.

The remote control is very basic. I would expect a remote control to either look very high-end as you would with an internal projector or have a more rugged design that would indicate that it’s meant to have more versatility. Plus, the backlite on it was a pain as it doesn’t stay on for too long.

I noticed that some people on Amazon complained about the remote not being backlit, so I presume Soundcore sent me a unit with an updated remote.

Are there better projectors out there?

Asking whether there are better projectors than the X1 is really tough to answer because of how unique the X1 is. For comparison’s sake, I considered other brands in a similar price range.

These include the Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2, BenQ X3100i, Epson LS11000 (not portable but worth comparing) and XGIMI Horizon S Max. You should also take a look at Soundcore’s other portable projectors if you care more about price than performance.

The X1 edges out the Valerion in native contrast and quiet operation, thanks to liquid cooling, but the Valerion adds HDR10+ and IMAX Enhanced for cinephiles. Against the BenQ X3100i, it’s brighter and better for movies, but the BenQ wins on gaming with ultra-low lag and a lower price.

The Epson LS11000 offers superior black levels for dedicated theaters but lacks portability and smart features. For budget-conscious buyers, the XGIMI Horizon S Max provides solid performance at half the cost, though with less brightness and no gimbal.

Overall, the X1’s blend of brightness, auto-setup, and audio makes it the king for versatile, high-end use, but it’s overkill for basic needs.

Should you buy the Soundcore X1?

Overall I was impressed with the performance of the Nebula X1, and had to keep reminding myself that this is a portable projector. I wanted to keep comparing it to other high-end indoor cinema projectors – and you should because of it’s specs – but it gets some grace in the performance department because it doubles as an outdoor projector as well.

At $2,999 the Soundcore Nebula X1 is a very niche product that will cater to a specific demographic of home theater enthusiasts. There are better high-end options for the same price if you’re looking for an indoor home theater project, and there are more value options for outdoor projectors.

For me, I do not have the desire for an outdoor cinema of this caliber and would rather buy a more affordable outdoor projector like the Nebula Mars 3 projector which can be had for under $1,000 dollars.

The X1 does a lot of things well, but comes with a lot of compromises because of its portability. Also worth keeping in mind is that you’ll need a power source if you are using the X1 while camping, so be prepared to potentially factor a portable power station into your budget.

How we tested

I spent close to a month testing the Nebula X1 allowing for proper burn-in time. Within that month, I updated the firmware multiple times and made notes accordingly based on whether the firmware upgrade helped address the observations I had.

For image/video testing, I connected my laptop via the HDMI port (non-eARC) and streamed HBO Max that way and used Google TV built into the X1 to stream content video Netflix. I used both the internal speakers on the X1 in addition to the wireless speakers they provided.

There were two surfaces used, a wall that my kids wanted to use in the home, and then a projector screen used in an outdoor barn where events are held and lighting is controlled. The screen is a 20×11 19:9 screen, normally paired to a BenQ LK936ST.