I'm back and forth between the Sony Pearl - yes, more than $3K and the Epson 1080p - under $3K....

Here is why I am on the fence... I HEAR that the Pearl has a stunning picture however may have some SERIOUS bulb issues - failure at 500 hours or so. It is however amazingly quiet.

From what I understand the Epson also looks very good - however when attempting to optimize the picture (read auto iris on) it becomes downright loud.

I can't stand the idea of being able to hear the projector - I was in a HT today that was plainly obnoxious with the amount of noise that was coming from this thing.

Who makes the quietest projector out there? I love the price of the Epson - but willing to pay for the extra if it is worth it.

The quietest is the lcd based Mitsubishi HC5000 but its priced up in the Pearl's range and doesn't have the black levels of the Pearl but has a very sharp picture and similar to the Epson. I've seen the Pearl a number of times and it did have better black levels and is also very quiet. The Pearl has less gap between the pixels and offers a smoother, some say softer picture, which many prefer.

I went with the Epson based on price and a great warranty even though the auto iris noise is a bit intrusive. See my full review in the Epson thread. Black levels are still very good and the picture is very sharp with good convergence on my unit. There are a lot of Pearl owners out there, so the bulb issues may be a small percentage of people. I wouldn't let that put you off if you want the Pearl. They same talk happened with the HS51 and I had it for 2+ years and never had a bulb or other issue. Talk to the guys at AVS if you want the Pearl. Also consider the Panasonic AE1000 and Benq W9000 as far as other quiet projectors.

Cheers.