AURZEN BOOM 3 Smart Projector Review & 2-Week Test Run

REVIEW – Here at NerdTechy, we always love a good projector. They offer a fun yet practical alternative to a traditional television, where you can scale the screen to your hearts desire.

But it goes without saying; all projectors are not the same.

Recently, we had an invitation to check out the new AURZEN BOOM 3. While this is a more budget-friendly option, it seems to promise quite a bit of features for those who don’t want to spend thousands on their next home theater upgrade.

But how does it perform? I spent the last 2 weeks testing it out, exploring all of its features and seeing exactly what it’s capable of. I’m here to report my findings. Let’s get right into it.

Unboxing & First Impressions

Inside the box, you’ll find everything you need and nothing more. Here’s what’s inside:

• The AURZEN BOOM 3 projector
• AC power cord
• HDMI cable
• User manual
• FAQ card
• Quick start guide
• Warranty information

There’s no extra bells and whistles – just the essentials.

Removing the BOOM 3 from the box, I immediately noticed the plastic exterior and overall lightweight feel. It feels much cheaper than recent projectors I reviewed, like the XGIMI HORIZON Ultra, for example. But that’s because it is. The BOOM 3 is a quarter of the price, so you get what you pay for.

I’m not saying it’s necessarily poor quality, but it’s noticeably built with budget-consciousness in mind. Regardless, this shouldn’t be a huge detractor for most users.

Measuring 6 inches tall, 9 inches wide, and 8 inches deep, it’s quite compact. Weighing in at a hair under 6 lbs, it’s got a nice amount of “heft” to it.

The exterior is comprised of a fabric woven mesh around the majority of it. It has a nice feel that gives a nice visual effect with a streamlined appearance.

Setup & User Interface

Configuring the AURZEN BOOM 3 for the first time was a piece of cake. Just plug it in, power it on, and you’re watching content within 3-4 minutes. It’ll walk you through keystone correction and focusing, with auto-adjustment to both.

I did need to manually tweak both the focus and keystone since the auto-settings didn’t seem to adjust it perfectly. After some manual tweaking with the included remote, I was ready to use it.

There’s no account to setup or log into it, which is nice. Once you’re at the home screen, there’s a plethora of content to enjoy from a wide variety of apps.

During the initial setup, it prompts you to setup Netflix, which is a nice inclusion. A lot of projectors aren’t able to run Netflix without a third-party hack, so this is nice to see.

I mainly used YouTube but I also tested Hulu, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video without any mishaps.

And although the remote is quite generic, it’s easily laid out in a way that makes control a breeze. Volume, focus, and navigation is swift and simple without any guesswork. There’s the perfect amount of buttons on the remote so it’s usable but doesn’t become overly complicated.

As far as connectivity goes, you’re offered a plethora of inputs on the rear of the projector. There’s auxiliary audio, 2 USB-A, and 2 HDMI ports. Perfect for connecting a game console, USB flash drive, DVD player, or any other device that accepts these connections.

Visual Quality

I used the AURZEN BOOM 3 in a dimly lit room without direct sunlight. Of course, it excelled in a blacked-out room, but it’s not completely necessary to solely use in a dark room.

The projector is bright enough for daytime use, but try to keep it out of direct sunlight, or the picture is a bit hard to view. Regardless, the brightness seems to be about average for your standard projector in this price range. It’s not incredible but it’s not too bad, either.

When it comes to colors, the vibrancy is wonderful. Colors are accurate and true to real-life without any adjustment needed. Right out of the box I was impressed with how the picture quality comes out.

I tested it with a lot of visual-pleasing YouTube content with nature shots, animals, and landscapes. This is where it seemed to excel. However, people objects, and other mediums looked great as well.

When I hooked up my Nintendo Switch, all of the colors were true to representation. I was very pleased with how the images appeared. And with fast-paced action games, there was no noticeable delay that got in the way. Awesome.

One distinct drawback was when the screen size exceeded 100″. At this size, the edges were quite blurry and no matter what I did, there was no way to make them clear. I tried manually adjusting the focus, but nothing would improve the blurry edges.

This was definitely a let-down, although I must admit, I wouldn’t be using it for a 100-inch+ screen size, any time soon. I kept the screen size down to about 60″ for ideal results.

Audio Quality

In terms of sound quality, the AURZEN BOOM 3 definitely delivered. There’s a small dial on the top of the projector that offers quick access to instant volume control. You’re free to crank up the volume to its maximum or fine-tune it down to an appropriate level for the room you’re using it in.

The audio tends to emit from the backside of the unit. Although it looks like there are speakers all-around, it does seem to do a great job at filling the room with plenty of volume.

The sound doesn’t have any noticeable distortion unless you crank it up above ~90% of the volume range. At this level, it’s quite loud and I don’t think most users will even need to crank it up this high. That said, I kept it around 50% and even under that level at most times. I simply never needed it any louder.

There’s an acceptable level of bass, but it’s doesn’t have a wow-factor. That’s OK, however, since the bass never came across as muddled or weak. In fact, I think the built-in bass levels are adequate for most purposes.

And if you’re not pleased with the sound, you can easily hook up an external speaker using the auxiliary port or one of the HDMI ports, if needed.

What I Liked

• Easy, simple setup with a clean interface.
• Moderately small footprint without being overly bulky.
• Clean aesthetics with a streamlined appearance.
• Runs cool and quiet; the internal fan isn’t too loud.
• Plenty of ports for connecting various content.
• Top-located volume dial is a nice inclusion.

What I Didn’t Like

• Auto focus and keystone correction needs some work. I found myself needing to manually adjust this every time I moved it around. The upper right corner seemed particularly difficult to perfectly focus.
• No lens cap included.
• Remote is generic, although it does work quite well.
• Edges are blurry beyond 100″ screen size.

Final Thoughts

All in all, I feel that the AURZEN BOOM 3 is a decent projector. The visuals are wonderful, with vibrant colors and precise representation that’s akin to a standard TV. However, this is only true if you keep the screen size under 100″. Anything larger and you’ll have to deal with blurry edges.

The audio is superb, with plenty of clear volume to be had at even 50% levels. The only slight amount of distortion was near its maximum, which I find to be quite acceptable.

Sure, it may have some noticeable faults when it comes to its focus and auto keystone correction, but these are minor inconveniences for most users who simply want a sub 100″ screen size.

While it may not have access to hundreds of apps through Android TV, the content that is available is easily accessible. Common apps that most people use like Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Disney+, etc. are all at your disposal, with minimal setup and zero guesswork.