GoKawiilI first set up the projector in my family room with a flat white wall, since that is where I keep most of my audio gear. The Grand Plus kept trying to correct itself for slight variations on the wall, to no avail. The test pattern still looked wavy, even after doing a hard reset and starting over. Only when I moved the projector to my windowless testing room with a professional screen did it finally auto-adjust both the keystoning and size correctly. (Epson reps told me this is not normal, but my final view is that the Grand Plus works best with a projector screen.)
The Grand Plus can sit only about an inch (for an 80-inch image) or about 11.2 inches (for a 150-inch image) away from the wall. I had to compromise a little since my projector screen is 120 inches, but I was still able to test the unit at a 150-inch image size against a white wall (even with the keystoning issue).
While the Grand Plus’ picture is bright, clear, and vibrant at all of these projection sizes, the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000’s colors are slightly more vivid. That’s because the LS9000 has a better optical lens and a separate processor (the ZX) to handle dynamic contrast. In fact, the LS9000 has an aperture with a 2 to 3 f-stop, whereas the Grand Plus' is f/1.8; this allows for a clearer focus across the whole image and darker blacks, based on my testing. When I tested the LS9000, I found better contrast and focus across the entire image. The Leica Cine Play 1’s blues and purples popped more in games, movies, and shows, although the Grand Plus is brighter and clearer.
The Grand Plus has three HDMI ports, one of which supports eARC for a soundbar or AV receiver. I found the ports a little hard to access, tucked away on the corner of the unit, and since the projector sits on the floor, it can be hard to bend down and connect the cables.
Setting up Google TV on the Grand Plus was mostly straightforward, but for some reason, my Google Home app didn’t recognize the device right away. I had to manually enter my Google account info. (Epson was able to replicate this problem.) The fact that you can talk to Google Gemini by voice is a huge win, though. Asking the projector to “show me the latest thrillers from 2026” worked perfectly. I also asked Gemini to mute and change the volume. (Kids could even use it to help with their homework.) Overall, it’s much more powerful than Google Assistant and surprisingly useful.