After almost 7 years my 5040UB's control board was starting to go. It was time to upgrade from a two-generations behind projector anyway, so the LS11000 was the logical choice knowing it had the same quality as the 5040, same familiarity to me, same form-factor, and good forum support on AVSForum.
My throw is 22 feet onto a 150" 16:9 frameless screen in a dedicated theater with complete light control. I had to upgrade to an 8K fiber optic HDMI cable since the run to the AVR from the exhausted soffit where the printer sits is 25 feet. There are no signal issues. My Harmony remote is set up for the 5040, but since the LS11000 uses the same commands I didn't need to make any changes to the remote programming. Knowing that I'm good for 20k hours without brightness degradation and lamp changes is great. I'm using the calibrations provided on AVSForum, but am content with the brightness of "Cinema" mode instead of going "Dynamic," as "Dynamic" will create significantly more noise from the projector and is distracting even with the projector in the soffit. On the 5040 I used "Bright Cinema," but because the brightness and contrast are so good on the LS11000 (and it being in a blackout theater) I can step down to "Cinema" mode and get better results than I was getting on "Bright Cinema" on the 5040.
I prefer the old-school visual film aesthetic, so although I appreciate this projector's not over-top implementation of frame interpolation (on low setting), I have FI turned off. 90% of my content is 1080p and I'm pleased with the upscaled look while retaining the cinema visual feel to it. 4K streaming content definitely looks better than on the 4K 30Hz limited 5040. I don't game much, but the PS5 immediately recognized the 120Hz 4K capability.
The only con is the lack of 3D, but I haven't watched a 3D movie in 5 years. I think this fad is dead. Also, I've always questioned why Epson makes their home theater projectors white (the lower level pjs). Doesn't impact me as mine is in a soffit, but for those who hang their PJs between the two rows, your peripheral vision may catch the white if it contrasts against a black ceiling like most dedicated home theaters have.
As long as Epson is able to keep the projectors around the $3k-$4 range and have them last at least 6 years (I always skip AV tech by one generation as the jumps aren't that great on an adjacent generation), I will continue buying them. Like I said, if you have a 5040 or a projector from 6+ years ago, then the LS11000 is the logical choice.
