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I have experienced both Halogen and xenon in my home cinema and am happy with my halogen projector. The xenon did make a remarkable difference with black and though. It made a very silver screen look as opposed to the halogen. Maybe I have gotten used to halogen images over the years. I only have a 19' throw, so maybe that is why.

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I'm throwing at 25 feet with a Halogen and the image is as bright as can be. I have no problems with it. I have yet to work with a zenon 16mm so not sure I have that much of an opinion but I am satisfied with what I have.

I've never used a Xenon. I have a bright 22ft throw in 16 and Super 8 with Halogen. I'm not sure I'd pay the money for a Xenon machine.
Having said that, I am sometimes curious how much difference it would make to viewing pleasure, so...never say never, Iguess

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It seems I'm always adding to other opinions. I managed the oldest theater in town for a couple years but also worked at the competitor's theater over the holidays. Both of course were 35mm and xenon lamphouses. Xenon lamps produce a slightly blue light very slightly which produces a stronger color. Much like the Carbon Arc lamps of old times. Halogen is less blue and very nuetral to a film color so the film has to produce all the color, Halogen is very white light. If you really want to go back, Tungstein lamps are much more red in color and will produce a very bright but more orange color. Also they take more voltage and heat to show them.
For home reproduction there is a reason Halogen is used. It is perfect for B&W and color home films and is used in digital home projectors for a reason. Xenon is meant for theater projection and now there are fewer an fewer projectors that use it in a home setting. It is just meant for the home viewer and works well for collectors. Plus it lasts pretty well.

I did work with Xenon in 35mm back in the day. I was referring to home use.

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For home use unless you have a large venue, Halogen is perfect and incandescent can be used secondary for older projectors. Xenon is really only intened for huge screens which is why the Elmo GS used a small Xenon bulb, in few numbers, to show small films on a huge screen. Xenon bulbs are meant to produce extreme light to a small source. 35mm doesn't seem small to most of us but when it comes to film projection you are throwing light to a 1 1'2 inch piece of film and expecting it to go 100-300'. That takes a lot of light. For home projection, we expect our projectors to go 25'-100' and produce a nice bright image.
The interesting part here is that even though xenon bulbs are gas filled they use the same tech that carbon arc lamps used in the 20's and have two points relying on electrical arc between two points to produce light.

When I ran my old 1000w Xenon in the house, sometimes I thought about putting on sunglasses

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I think the throw was only 28.5' for the 16mm

Yes, the 35mm projector was very nice & bright...but not to bright. It is the perfect spot light for the stripper girls who performed after the movie.

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