This week Anker unveiled a new “all-in-one mobile theatre station", the catchily named Nebula X1 Pro.
And if your first reaction was “huh!?” I can safely confirm you are not alone. The press material and concept images it showed are undeniably a little out there and turned quite a few heads among the What Hi-Fi? home cinema team.
I mean, it looks like Wall-E’s villainous cousin (I call him Wall-Evil) featuring a chunky design that crams a 4K projector and hefty sound system into an intimidating black chassis with wheels. It even has lasers built in (in this case a RGB laser projector system)!
Honestly, if you told me this was one of Skynet’s early foot soldiers I’d believe you, especially the way AI’s developing right now…
But, the more I stared at it, the more I increasingly found myself curious, if not excited at the concept. And after some soul searching I think I know why – it has a wireless 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos speaker system.
Sure it's not a "proper" multi-speaker setup, which we all know is the best way to enjoy Atmos. Instead, the system works in a similar way to the wireless soundbar systems we’ve seen recently, which include the Samsung HW-Q990F, JBL Multibeam 1300 Mk2 and Yamaha True X Surround 90A. But we know these systems can yield surprisingly impressive results, as evidenced by the Samsung's five-star rating.
And the one on the Nebula has some impressive specifications. Specifically, the 400W system pairs a central channel and subwoofer built into the main chassis with detachable wireless, satellite speakers, each of which has an inbuilt battery. The satellites each feature two front as well as upward and side firing drivers.
Why do I find that so appealing? It’s because I can see it being an ideal option for two key movie watching scenarios I often find myself in where the idea of a decent, but mobile-ish, surround system would properly elevate the experience.
The first is in my home. Regular readers will know, I tried and failed to get a full fat 5.2.2 system into my house. Cliff notes: I live in a small Victorian terraced where the dimensions and my wife’s insistence she doesn’t want to have to climb over cables and giant speakers every day meant it just wasn’t on the cards as a permanent installation.
This has meant the regular bad movie nights I host have been limited to the regular LG C2 OLED and JBL Bar 300 in my lounge. Good? Sure, but having enjoyed Bruce Campbell’s mug projected in all its glory on a 150-inch screen in the past, it feels undeniably small in scale by comparison.
Here, the idea of an easy to store, home cinema on wheels that I can hide in the under the stairs cupboard until it's needed and then easily pack away when done just makes sense.
Especially as a lot of the bad movies we watch tend to be horror, a genre where good surround sound is one of the most important things you need – if you haven’t watched Evil Dead Rise in Dolby Atmos, you’ve only experienced half the film, trust me.
The second scenario are the semi-frequent camping trips my wife and I have with friends. These are a yearly ritual where we pack up our stuff and either glamp, or full fat camp, in some isolated corner of Sussex with a group of our old university friends.
Given my job, I’m usually tasked with providing the AV hardware required for an outdoor cinema, which is important during the day to keep the growing number of sprogs in attendance entertained, and as a night time cinema for the adults after they go to bed.
At the moment we’ve been making do with basic portable projectors, most recently the Xgimi Mogo 4 powered by a portable generator/battery block I bring, paired with the same firm’s 70-inch pop up, foldable camping screen.
Good? Considering the price definitely. And I can personally confirm the younglings love the setup for binging Bluey and whatever Pixar/Disney film is in vogue at the time.
But, again, the difference between the Nebula X1 Pro and Mogo 4 should be palpable, if Anker has set the hardware up right. I’d hope a 400W wireless 7.1.4 system would outperform the Mogo 4’s basic inbuilt Harman Kardon 6W speakers.
On top of that, it would go a lot bigger. According to Anker, the 4K, Dolby Vision ready projector is able to deliver 3500 ANSI lumens of brightness and project an image up to 300 inches in size. Trust me, that's a lot of screen real estate.
Anker has also confirmed it plans to launch an optional, inflatable (!) 200-inch projector screen alongside the unit. The main chassis even has a built-in pump to inflate it, which sounds tailor made for camping.
And that’s why I can’t help but feel the Nebula X1 Pro growing on me as a concept and am eager to get it in for testing. If it can deliver the home cinema goods in the real world, I can see it appealing to a lot of people in a similar situation to me, especially if the company prices it competitively.
MORE:
These are the best projectors we’ve reviewed
We rate the best Dolby Atmos soundbars
Our picks of the best portable projectors
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