Yaber L2 Plus Review

Design

• Tilt stand
• Single HDMI input
• Simple remote control

With its integrated tilt stand, the Yaber L2 Plus give you built-in vertical adjustment just by tilting the projector back. Sure, it’s not as sophisticated a movement as on the JMGO N1S 4K but then this projector costs just a fraction that price.

There are some hints to the projector’s budget price, and the Yaber L2 Plus feels a bit light and a little cheaply made to the touch, but it’s nice looking, and there’s nothing to complain about for the price.

Yaber’s also been quite thoughtful, providing a handy lens cover that clips into place. It would be nice if this were attached to the projector, so that it’s harder to lose, but at least there is lens protection as standard.

Turn the projector around, and there are not many ports: a single HDMI input (which you will definitely need), USB-A and audio out.

Yaber also provides a simple remote in the box, which looks much like the ones you get with other projectors, including shortcut buttons for Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video. That does the give the impression that this projector is a little smarter than it is.

Features

• Netflix and Amazon Prime the only major apps
• Auto setup features

Rather than running Google TV or another dedicated streaming OS, the Yaber L2 Plus runs its own operating system, which limits the number of big-name apps you can use. Netflix and Amazon Prime are built in, but that’s it.

There’s an app store with a lot of random apps, but the big hitters are all missing, and there are no UK default streaming apps.

That’s a step up from the previous projector I reviewed from the company, the Yaber Ace K1, which had no smart apps, but here you’re going to have to use that HDMI input if you want more than the basic apps available. 

While the OS may be basic, it is at least quick to navigate, and the Yaber L2 Plus has automatic keystone correction, focus and obstacle avoidance built in, so you just need to point it at a screen (or wall), and you’ll get the best picture you can. 

There are a few picture modes to cycle through, plus a Custom mode that adds in Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Hue, Sharpness, Gamma and Colour Temperature adjustments. There’s enough in there to balance the image to get the best out of it you can, given that this model is designed to move from room to room or be carried around.

Picture Quality

• LCD with native 1080p resolution
• HDR support not listed
• Slightly uneven backlight

While most portable projectors use DLP chips, the Yaber L2 Plus uses LCD instead. The main difference between this, and many portable models, is that the Yaber L2 Plus has a native 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution, so text looks nice and sharp.

Image brightness is rated at 460 ISO lumens, so similar to the brightness of the XGIMI Mogo 3 Pro. That’s not bad for the price, but this level of brightness requires a darkened room and you’ve not got much hope of a picture under bright ambient lighting.

There’s no HDR support listed for this model (although Netflix showed the HDR badge for supported titles), which isn’t necessarily an issue. At this level of brightness, there’s not enough to make the most of HDR, so the benefits would largely be lost.

Contrast is a touch better here than on DLP projectors of a similar brightness. While the finer details are lost at the start of Frankenstein, there is some detail to the crews’ faces and a bit more lightness through the frame.

That brighter image does come at the cost of an uneven backlight. In very dark scenes and with the projector showing black only, a cross of light appears on screen. It’s not visible often, but the uneven backlight is there.

Get a brighter scene up, such as Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, and the colours are richer and more realistic than comparable DLP projectors, such as the XGIMI Mogo 3 Pro. LCD does have some benefits, even if the technology requires a bigger physical case.

Sound Quality

• Dual 8W speakers
• Clear and loud audio
• Loud fan

Sound is provided by JBL with two 8W speakers and support for Dolby Audio. Audio is much better than you might expect. Most importantly, the Yaber L2 Plus gets the core elements correct. 

Audio in films and TV is nice and clear, and it’s easy to hear what people are saying. There’s also enough volume to fill the typical-sized room that the projector will find itself in.

Strereo speakers do give a bit more power to the projector, even if the closeness of the drivers mean that there’s no real stereo separation. 

There’s good range, and the audio is generally clean and well defined. There’s definitely a lack of bass. Watch an action film and the Yaber L2 Plus lacks the kick of bullets or the impact of a punch. 

Given the price of the Yaber L2 Plus, the audio is much better than I’d expect and better quality than the single-speaker portable projectors.

The projector’s fan is quite loud, so I did need the volume up quite high to drown this out.

Should you buy it?