Normal mode runs from 28 to 38 dB
The small LED Lifestudio models sit at the bottom, laser TVs between 32 and 36, and lamp models at 37 or 38.
| Normal mode | Models, with Epson's price on November 7 |
|---|
| 28 db | Lifestudio Pop Plus ($799.99), Lifestudio Pop ($679.99), EF-30 ($499.99), Lifestudio Flex ($779.99 on sale), Lifestudio Flex Plus ($999.99), QL3000 (lens sold separately) |
| 32 dB | Lifestudio Grand Plus ($3,799.99) |
| 33 db | QL7000 (lens sold separately) |
| 34 dB | QS100 ($5,499) |
| 36 dBA | Lifestudio Grand ($2,699.99), EpiqVision Ultra LS650 ($1,799.99) |
| 37 dB | Home Cinema 980 ($849.99), Home Cinema 1100 ($949.99), EpiqVision Flex CO-FH02 ($499.99) |
| 38 dB | EpiqVision Flex CO-W01 ($399.99) |
The units in the first column are copied as printed. Epson writes "dB" on most sheets, "db" on the Lifestudio, EF-30, QL and LS5000 family sheets and "dBA" on two, and never says whether the others are weighted. The Home Cinema 2350 is missing because its "Fan Noise 36 dB" is not called Normal.
Which Epson projector is quietest in ECO mode?
None beats another. All seven sheets with an ECO noise row print 23: the Lifestudio Pop, Pop Plus, Flex, Flex Plus, EF-30 and Grand, and the EpiqVision Ultra LS650.
What separates them is the size of the drop from Normal. The five LED models fall 5, from 28 to 23, while the Lifestudio Grand and the LS650 fall 13, from 36 to 23 dBA.
How dim ECO makes the picture cannot be read from Epson's paperwork. No sheet gives an ECO brightness figure, and the LS650 and Grand sheets rate brightness in Dynamic color mode at full light output.
Their low figures run from 20 dB on the QS100 to 32 dB on the Home Cinema 2350.
| Quiet Mode | Models | Normal mode |
|---|
| 20 dB | QS100 | 34 dB |
| 23 dB | Lifestudio Grand Plus | 32 dB |
| 26 db | QL3000 and QL7000 | 28 db and 33 db |
| 28 dB | Home Cinema 980 and Home Cinema 1100 | 37 dB |
| 29 dB | EpiqVision Flex CO-FH02 and CO-W01 | 37 dB and 38 dB |
| 32 dB | Home Cinema 2350 | 36 dB, no mode named |
The QS100's 14 dB gap is the widest on any Epson sheet, though it is a $5,499 laser TV with no new Amazon listing on November 7. Among the lamp models, the Home Cinema 980 and 1100 sit 1 dB below the EpiqVision Flex pair.
ECO and Quiet seem to name one setting
Epson never explains the two names, and some sheets use both for a single setting. On the Lifestudio Pop Plus, power reads "101 W (Normal)/57 W (Quiet)" and, two lines down, fan noise reads "28 db (Normal)/23 db (ECO)". The Home Cinema 980 flips it, with "ECO Mode: 241 W" on the power row and "Quiet Mode: 28 dB" on the noise row, while its User's Guide offers one low power option, ECO, in the Power Consumption menu. The Grand Plus follows the 980: "ECO Mode: 217 W" for power, "(Quiet Mode) 23 dB" for noise.
Only the Lifestudio Grand and the LS650 say ECO on both rows.
On most of these models the two words probably mean the same thing. The Quiet figures still stay out of the ECO ranking, because Epson prints them under a different name and the QS100 also has a Medium power setting with no noise figure.
Fan Noise ranges carry no mode
A range such as "22 db - 25 db" gives a low and a high figure with nothing to say which mode either belongs to, so neither end can be ranked against a Normal or ECO number. Epson's laser home cinema models and its older 4K lamp models print this way.
| Range | Models and price |
|---|
| 22 to 25 | Home Cinema LS5000 ($1,999.99), LS6000 ($2,199.99), LS7500 ($2,699.99) |
| 22 to 30 | Home Cinema LS11000 ($4,499.99), Pro Cinema LS9000 ($4,499), Pro Cinema LS12000 ($5,999) |
| 22 to 32 | QB1000 ($8,499) |
| 20 to 31 | Home Cinema 5050UB ($3,799.99) and Pro Cinema 4050 ($2,399) |
| 24 to 35 | Home Cinema 3800 ($1,799.99) |
There is a clue on the LS6000 sheet. The page that prints "22 db - 25 db" also lists "Normal Mode: 330 W" and "Quiet Mode: 217 W" for power, so the range probably spans those two settings, but Epson never confirms it and the LS6000 pick stands in a group of its own. Within the group, a lower top figure is the safer reading. The LS5000, LS6000 and LS7500 top out at 25, the 3800 at 35.
Is the Lifestudio Grand Plus quieter than the Grand?
In Normal mode, yes, by 4 points: 32 dB for the Grand Plus against 36 dBA for the Grand. Both print 23 for the low mode, which the Grand calls ECO and the Grand Plus calls Quiet.
The Grand Plus also brings more light, 4,000 lumens against 3,600, and a shorter throw ratio, 0.16 against 0.25 at the wide end. It weighs 27.6 lb to the Grand's 16.6 lb and cost $1,100 more on November 7.
Evenings spent in the low mode make the two even. Daytime viewing in Normal mode is where the Grand Plus earns its price. Other makers' laser TVs are in our short throw projector guide.
Why is my Epson projector fan so loud?
Either it is in Normal mode or it is working hard to cool itself. Epson's guides tie fan effort to heat, blocked vents, a dusty air filter and altitude.
The Home Cinema 980 User's Guide warns against covering the air intake or exhaust vents and asks for "plenty of space around and under the projector for ventilation". When a high temperature message appears, it says to clean the air filter.
Altitude adds work. High Altitude Mode "regulates the projector's operating temperature at altitudes above 4,921 feet (1,500 m)", and ECO cannot be selected "at high altitude or in locations subject to high temperatures".
A whirr on waking is expected: the guide for the LS7500, LS6000 and LS5000 family says the fans "may cause an unexpected noise" when the projector wakes from standby, and "This is not a malfunction."
How do I make an Epson projector quieter?
Switch to the ECO or Quiet setting first. Epson rates it 2 to 14 dB below Normal mode, depending on the model.
On the Home Cinema 980 the path is ECO > Power Consumption > ECO, and the guide's wording is "Select ECO to reduce lamp brightness and fan noise, and to save power and lamp life". That takes the printed figure from 37 to 28 dB on the 980, and from 28 to 23 on a Lifestudio Pop Plus. Next come the fixes Epson lists for heat: space around the vents, a clean filter, a cool room. In a hot location the 980 cannot select ECO at all.
Distance helps too. A projector behind the seats or at the far end of a short throw table sits farther from your ears than one on the coffee table, and our portable projector guide covers the small models that end up closest.
Discontinued models and business lines
The EpiqVision Ultra LS800 is the best known Epson now marked Discontinued on its US page; its sheet gave 32 dB for Normal Mode and 23 dB for Quiet Mode. The EpiqVision Mini EF21 and EF22 carried the same label when we checked them on October 3.
Older names still turn up for sale, the Home Cinema 1080, 3200 and 4010 and the EpiqVision Ultra LS300 and LS500 among them, but Epson no longer lists them as current and this page leaves them out. PowerLite and Pro EX business projectors sit outside the home listing and outside this page. Every current home model found carries a figure, which leaves no group of silent sheets to report.
