Qualia 004 Reviewed
The Qualia 004 SXRD video projector is Sony’s entry into the high-end multimedia projector market. At a price of about $30,000, it certainly seems to qualify for that market segment.
In one of the most detailed reviews that I have seen, Thomas J. Norton of UltimateAVMag.com describes a 10-day encounter with a Sony Qualia 004 in about 6,400 words. That article is available at this link.
Its difficult to summarize such a nuanced review, but to net it out :
The author feels that the Qualia 004 comes “awfully close” to the quality of the best nine-inch CRT projectors that he has seen, lacking only in the rendering of blacks and the darkest grays. Other small negatives include a color shift from the left side of the screen to the right, and a few small scaling artifacts … however, he leaves open the possibility that these could either be calibrated away, or be due to the source material. Of course, the author makes note of the rather large cost of the Qualia 004 itself, and the $3,000 price tag on the replacement Xenon lamp, which is rated at a life of 1500 to 2200 hours.
One the plus side, and as a possible paean to Sony, the reviewer describes the Qualia 004 as a “breakthrough product” and “one impressive machine”.
Would he buy one? No. He’s waiting for the technology to jump to a cheaper offering.
