Xiaomi Wemax A300 Laser Projector Review | Xiaomi Home Theater at a budget!
Home theatre aficionados, this article is for you. I would argue that going out and watching movies in a theatre is the best way to enjoy movies because it is convenient, not as costly, and can offer a better experience than a home theatre. But with the current state of the world, we have to settle for other options and a home theatre is probably the next best thing.
| Display Technology | Laser |
| Projection light | ALPD 3.0 |
| Contrast | 4000:1 |
| Screen aspect ratio | 4:3 and 16:9 |
| Native resolution | 3840 x 2160 Pixels |
| Brightness | 9000 Lumens |
| Projection screen size | 80-150 inches |
| Video Formats | AVC, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 |
| Storage | 64GB |
| Connectivity | WiFi dual-band 2.4GHz + 5GHz |
| 3D Support | Yes |
| Size | 568 x 475 x 183 mm |
| Weight | 9.0 kg |
| Lamp Life | 25,000 Hours |
| Operating system | Android 6.0 |
| Available on Aliexpress | Check it out on Aliexpress (Ships to Europe) |
A good home theatre with a projector, a high-resolution sound system, and everything could cost a lot, but if you are someone who watches many movies, it is worth investing in them. They are safer than going out to a real theatre, you can have private movie screenings for your friends and family and have a real cinema-like experience.
You need a good projector for a good home theatre, and the Xiaomi Wemax A300 sounds like a good contender for that. It has been very popular and well received by many and is not as costly as its competition. This is my review of the Xiaomi Wemax A300, find out if you should get one.
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Xiaomi Wemax A300 Laser Projector Review
Check it out on Aliexpress (Ships to Europe)
Design and build
The Xiaomi Wemax A300 looks very similar to other previous Xiaomi projectors like the Xiaomi Mijia Laser 4K and the Xiaomi Wemax ONE PRO. While at a glance these look similar, if you notice closely, you will find a lot of minor design differences.
The Wemax A300 has a round icon that also features an icon etched into it. There is also a gold plate on the top of the projector with the message: “4K Laser Home Cinema Projector”. Both of these are new design additions compared to previous models.
The Wemax A300 is mostly covered in black giving it a minimalistic and clean look, similar to Xiaomi’s previous attempts at a projector. The top of the projector also houses the laser lens for projection, it is slightly recessed into the top, at an angle, so that it can project onto a screen.
On the front side of the Xiaomi Wemax A300, there is a plastic grille along the whole front, behind which the speakers are housed. There are dual speakers along with subwoofers that Xiaomi claims to offer a cinematic surround sound experience. We will talk about this claim later, but design-wise, it looks very good, the speaker grille is on point.
All the main ports are located at the backside of the projector, there are three HDMI ports (one of which is HDMI ARC), a USB 3.0, audio and AV out, a S/PDIF port, and an Ethernet port. The three plug power connector is located just below the HDMI ports.
On the right side of the projector, you can find a USB 2.0 port along with an adjustment wheel that lets you control the manual focus of the image. The whole side apart from the cutouts for the USB port and the adjustment wheel is covered by a plastic grille, this will also facilitate airflow to cool the lamp inside.
Similarly, on the left side, there is another wheel to adjust autofocus and a hole for air intake for cooling. All projectors have active cooling because the lamp inside can get very hot. The Xiaomi Wemax A300 does too.
Both sides of the projector house one speaker to add to the cinematic surround sound experience claimed from Xiaomi. Both sides also feature grilles, which improves the overall look and cooling performance too.
The Xiaomi Wemax A300 also features four rubber feet on the bottom. Which ensures it will absorb any vibration from the cooling fan and will stay stable on the surface.
And the Xiaomi Wemax comes with a remote control that is the same one that came included with previous Xiaomi projectors. It has a power and voice control button at the top. Below these, you will find the directional button, home, back, and menu button. And finally, at the last, you get volume control buttons. The remote is powered by two AAA batteries.
Overall, I would say that the design and build of the Xiaomi Wemax A300 are top-notch. It comes with a simple yet elegant design, which will fit any room very well. And all the material looks and feels of high quality, which is great. You won’t have any complaints about the design and build of the Xiaomi Wemax A300 projector.
Features
The Xiaomi Wemax A300 is one of the most feature-rich laser projectors you can buy right now. It is loaded with the best features and technology of any home projector I have come across so far.
- The Wemax A300 features ALPD 3.0 laser light source technology, this technology is the best in the market for brightness, color, and contrast performance. And it also consumes less power, produces less heat, and has a higher lamp life compared to previous generation projectors.
- Six built-in speakers, including subwoofers, for cinematic surround sound. The sound system in the projector was developed along with Dolby.
- Much more portable than most projectors, thanks to the use of high-quality plastic and lightweight materials. The Wemax A300 weighs well under 20 pounds while most projectors with similar performance can weigh over 65 pounds.
- Ultra short throw projector, so you can place it close to the screen improving convenience and the overall viewing experience.
- Safe for eyes, with an infrared sensor that blocks the laser light when you walk in front of the projector.
- The Xiaomi Wemax A300 is equipped with Android 6.0 so you can run apps and games from the projector itself. Android 6.0 is very dated now, so the functionality is not that great, but it is good enough for a projector. It is stable and fast but a newer version of Android would have been a very good addition and it would have taken the experience to the next level.
- Active cooling that is silent at just 40 dB, which is lower than most laptops.
- The Wemax A300 supports 3D projection for a complete theatre-like experience at home.
We are going to evaluate the performance of the Xiaomi Wemax A300 in two key areas, image, and sound quality. There is also software performance but I have spoken about it in features.
Image Quality
The most important factor deciding the image quality of a projector is its brightness. Since projectors are projecting light onto a screen rather than producing light behind the screen, they need to get much brighter than TVs so that the image can be bright and clear.
Compared to previous projectors Xiaomi has improved the brightness by almost 78%. Previous projectors had a max brightness of 7000 ANSI lumens, while the Wemax A300 can output up to 9000 ANSI lumens.
Another important image quality parameter is the resolution of the image that can be outputted. The Xiaomi Wemax A300 can output at 4K resolution that is 3840x2160 pixels, which is the highest you can get. This makes the picture from the Xiaomi Wemax A300 much more clear and crisp compared to 1080p projectors.
The Xiaomi Wemax A300 can also project image sizes from 80 inches diagonal up to 150 inches diagonal. This is a short-throw projector which means these large sizes can be achieved from very close to the screen thanks to laser technology. At 15cm away from the screen, you can project 80-inch images while at just 50cm away from the screen it can project images of 150 inches.
The Xiaomi Wemax A300 also features a 4000:1 contrast ratio which means deeper blacks and brighter whites and excellent separation between different colors and brightness. I even tested the 3D performance of the Wemax A300 and it performed very well, almost delivering a theatre-like experience at my home.
Overall, I am very impressed by the image quality given that it is a projector and its price. And from my experience, this is one of the best projectors for home theatre purposes just for the image quality. It is a costly product but similar products from other brands are much more expensive than the Xiaomi Wemax A300.
Sound Quality
While a projector is mainly a device that displays images and videos, Xiaomi’s bold claims about the Wemax A300 have made me want to put its sound quality through testing too. Xiaomi claims that the speakers in the projectors are capable of providing a cinematic surround sound experience that feels like marketing lies.
Anyways, here are my thoughts about the speakers on the Xiaomi Wemax A300. There are 6 speakers in total on the Wemax A300, four full-range speakers, two on the front, and one on either side. There are two subwoofer speakers behind the front grille facing the audience.
And honestly, I am surprised at the sound quality these speakers can produce but there is nothing cinematic about them. They do a good job if you have no home theatre setup yet. The noise from the projector is no disturbance as the inbuilt speakers are loud enough to fill a small room. I noticed that while the midrange and treble performance was very good, it was still lacking when it comes to bass, as the small subwoofers are not enough.
I know that anyone spending so much money on projection, will equally have an excellent audio setup too, but I don’t like when manufacturers have such false yet bold claims, especially when it comes to the sound quality of TVs or projectors.
The speakers in the Wemax A300 are usable but nothing special, cause it’s a small package and for the image quality on offer, you better spend well for a speaker setup to have the best home theatre experience.
Final Thoughts
When in a dark room, this is one of the best performing projectors I have seen in quite a while, it can even rival TVs of the same price range. A TV will look better in all conditions but it won’t display images that are 150 inches in diagonal length.
I love almost everything about this projector, excellent image quality, large screen size, relatively cheap compared to the competition. Even the speakers are surprisingly good, except for the excessive marketing. My only complaint would be that the android version is dated, but you can connect streaming boxes or consoles for a better experience on the software side of things.
I would happily recommend the Xiaomi Wemax A300 for anyone looking for a laser projector with amazing visual quality. Do remember that it is not a cheap product, but it offers tremendous value compared to its competition.