Anker’s powerful home theater on wheels is pure chaos

The Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro is too weird to exist. It takes the excellent 4K projector and karaoke microphone from Anker’s Nebula X1 and stuffs them inside a powerful five-speaker Google TV Party on wheels. It’s so absurd it feels like a gadget fever dream – and I’m here for it.

At the heart of this system is the same liquid-cooled, triple-laser, auto-image-correction-everything projector I reviewed last summer. This is incredibly quiet for a 3500 ANSI lumens projector that claims to be the brightest and most vivid all-in-one portable projector on the market. Now it’s the fastest, with the new Nebula X1 Pro adding 400W audio.

Inside the X1 Pro is a big thumpy subwoofer capable of delivering wall-shaking bass. It also has four battery-powered speakers that automatically open or pop out to produce a total of seven horizontal channels and another four overhead for wireless 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos immersion.

Other than its size and some intermittent connectivity issues, my only complaint is that the Nebula very loud. I never thought I’d say something like this about a portable all-in-one projector.

If you have $4,999 to spend, Anker’s Nebula X1 Pro is absolutely incredible.

Since the projector’s video and karaoke capabilities are identical to the Nebula X1, I won’t recap them here. Instead, I’ll focus on why you might choose the X1 Pro: sound.

Looking at the X1 Pro, you might wonder where all the speakers are. Of course, the subwoofer is internal, and the two front speakers automatically open like wings with a robotic whoosh at the touch of a button. The two rear speakers pop free from the back of the unit with a strong push.

The For the latter, Anchor provides animated guidance to help you assemble your audio puzzle.

The four satellites are completely wireless, with over eight hours of battery life in my testing. They charge via pogo pin when returned to the projector, or via USB-C. To ensure optimal sound, the X1 Pro features a 4-mic array to automatically adapt to the audio in the room, allowing you to stretch the sweet spot to your preferred viewing area. I found Anker’s FlexWave spatial audio calibration technology to work pretty well in my open plan living room, but the good space is only two-people wide.

When separated, the four front and rear speakers sync audio over the proprietary 5.8GHz Wi-Fi signal instead of Bluetooth for better, low-latency, lossless audio. The X1 Pro’s speakers performed flawlessly in my testing. They connected automatically when the projector was turned on, without any weird pops or dropouts that I noticed with the X1’s lone speaker pair. The speakers deactivate when the X1 Pro is turned off to help save battery.

However, I experienced some unexplained Wi-Fi connectivity issues with Google TV. About five times during the two-week test it refused to reconnect to my home network, even though my phone and laptop were working properly. A reboot always solves the problem, but it’s very annoying when it interrupts a movie.

The bass produced by the X1 Pro’s 160W subwoofer is remarkable for a portable projector. Whatever it is, it can be overwhelming at times. Each front surround has four 20W speakers dedicated to top, center, front and surround channels. Each small rear has two 20W speakers for the top and rear surround channels. The front and rear satellites have folding legs and a tripod mount to aid in placement.

7.1.4 Mode In movie mode, all four speakers were separated, placed in four corners of the room, and uh, flexwavedThe sound rivaled my own 5.1 Sonos system built around a soundbar, subwoofer, and two rear satellites.

I especially enjoyed hearing the sound of helicopters above while watching the Dolby Atmos version Top Gun: Maverick. Everything I put into the X1 Pro sounded great and was spot on dark knight, All Quiet on the Western FrontAnd blade runner 2049. Dialogue tore a hole through the soundscape in the front center channel, bullets rang overhead and dystopian machines scuttled into dark spaces around me. At 30 percent volume, my walls were already shaking, so the X1 Pro should be great for outdoor movie nights in the spring.

I listen to music more often than watch video, so I like that the X1 Pro can be instantly switched to a nearly silent Bluetooth speaker, without the constant fan noise produced by most projectors. With all external speakers docked for 2.1 audio mode, the X1 Pro can compete with those giant JBL party speakers, only without the unnecessary light show.

Listening to Miles Davis on the X1 Pro sounded extraordinary, with bright clean horns shining against the basslines. To enjoy tracks like Ye’s “Black Skinhead” or even Alice in Chains’ “Nutshell,” I had to turn down the bass in Spotify’s equalizer. However, Bob Dylan’s voice in “Masters of War” lost some of the warmth compared to my Sonos system. I could easily crank the X1 Pro up to a very loud 50 percent volume and still enjoy music, but beyond 70 percent volume things got crazy.

In general, the sound of the Nebula X1 Pro is much better than the Nebula X1. But calling the X1 Pro “portable” is a stretch.

Telescoping handles and wheels make the 435 × 343 × 761 mm (17.13 × 13.50 × 29.96 in)

And I wouldn’t feel right lugging all those delicate optics and electronics around over rough terrain. In fact, the fine print recommends using it on hard surfaces like concrete and wood, and “avoid dragging the projector through grass, large gravel, cobblestones, or water deeper than 50 mm.” A $400 electric wagon for hauling your $4,999 projector around isn’t a terrible idea.

The unit also has an asterisk on its IP43 water and dust resistance. This only applies when the lens cap is off and the speakers are back on and retracted, all of which isn’t possible if the X1 Pro is accidentally left out after movie night. For those displaying more responsibility, the projector comes with a slip-on cover.

Look, as a gadget enthusiast, I am extremely excited about the Nebula X1 Pro. There is nothing else like it on the market and I applaud Anker for having the courage to create it. But for my money, if you need a portable 4K projector, the Nebula But if you’re after that bass, the Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro won’t disappoint.

Photography by Thomas Ricker/The Verge