http://www.caraudioforum.com/vbb2/showthre...threadid=121340 I didn't start the thread, but I am interested in anyone with any info regaurding my posts on the TVs... Any input would rule...
I agree with most of what you said...I also responded to the thread. I've been a home theater geek for about 10 years now, and like car audio, and I can easily be seduced by the latest and greatest. Toshiba, Mitsu, and Sony definitely have the nicest RPTV's. Toshiba offers the most bang for the buck. Even their top of the line products have insanely low prices. Sony has the nicest overall picture (especially with direct views) but they make you pay for it. Mitsu is somewhere in the middle. The Sony 40" is so beautifully detailed I swore I was looking through a window. The auto "anamorphic mode" is nice too. As far as Plasmas go, while I do think the level of detail is great, it's ability to reproduce a "true black" is still lacking. Whether your looking at a $13,000 Fujitsu or a $5,000 Sharp, blacks still look as if there is a film of white/gray covering it. The fact you "have" to pay for installation sucks, too. I do like the fact that you can hang one of these on your wall, they can double as a great computer monitor, and the overalll asthetic is sooooo pleasing to the eye. But like you said, the negatives (installation, high cost, no "true black") outweigh the positives (so far...in 5 years I think the technology will mature and the negatives may dissapear). Your LCD opinion is dead on. LCD has a lot of promise, but sitting directly, and I mean dead center, in front of the picture is only acceptable if your the only one watching it. If you have family or guests, forget it. It's like RPTV's 10 years ago. The only real disagreement, as minor as it might be, is your choices of budget TV's. The $1200 36" Sony ($1200) is a great choice. However, for the price of the 40" Sony (as great as it is) you can get a very, very, good Toshiba or Mitsu widescreen RPTV, w/HDTV compatibility. In fact, Costco has a pretty good Panasonic 47" widescreen for just $1500. While the picture isn't quite as good as the Sony (although still pretty good), the overall value more than makes up for it. One more thing sandt38, what are your views/opinions on the audio side of HT. This is where most of my focus has been, and where my interest in HT first started. My current Yamaha/Def. Tech. setup makes me grin every time I fire it up. I just wish I could buy car audio stuff, hook it up, do a few tweeks, and end it right there. With my current home audio rig, I purchased receiver/speakers, went home to hook components up, angled the speakers correctly, made a few adjustments at the receiver level (HT setup DVD's like Video Essentials or AVIA, are must have's) and I was in HEAVEN! Car audio...oh boy, it takes forever to tweak everything up just right. Anyways, I talk too much, but this is one of the few things in life that I am overly passionate about (don't get me started on music ). Good luck picking the TV that fulfills all your HT requirements.
I currently run all Sony. When I first bought my 5.1 I really was enamored with the Onkyo recievers which at the time were the only licensed THX surround recievers. They started at about $3000 and for a well feature unit it was around $5000. I looked at many options and decided on the Sony. I liked the flexability the unit offers, fully controlled with a remote (for the little tweeks in the drivers seat so you don't have to get up and sit down to readjust). Also, quite frankly, I like Sony HT stuff. I could have ventured down the Denon road (had a Denon HU and 10 disc changer, I loved that thing) but I felt their SQ was on par with Onkyo, yet they were priced slighly higher, without THX. I am still using the Sony unit, with Sony Micro sattelites for sound. A powered 200 watt iso/ported 6.5 sub is presently rounding out the chores. It really doesn't sound like much on paper, but I assure you the output and clarity is quite nice. I think Flawlesskid will back me up on it as he laughed at my sub (maybe the whole unit... Hmmmm) before he heard it, yet looked quite surprised afterwards. I am planning to use my Shiva and an AV250 in about 3 feet tuned to 18Hz, when I get the time and inclination to construct the cabinet. I am going to wait for the TV before I do the building so I can get an idea of the room I have to play with, what I will do. I am considering building a complete entertainment center around the TV, and may incorporate the sub into the media center side (keeping VHS tapes far from the enclosure :lol: ).
I've never really been a big fan of Sony speakers. They make very nice budget receivers, but I've never heard a Sony speaker that had a "full" midrange/midbass. On the other hand, I haven't auditioned many Sony speakers to begin with. 90% of the Sony speakers I have heard have been part of a home theater in a box. I still don't have any THX gear, which was a little too costly until recently. Many companies have "THX quality" components, but they decide not to line the pockets of George Lucas and have them certified (Onkyo receivers are a very good example) THX, even with the "budget" THX select. I am in the market for a new receiver, though. My $500 Yamaha (70x5) is great, but I think my $2300 Def. Tech. system is begging for a little more power. I think I read that Yamaha's new flagship receiver is 8.1 channel ready, 170 watts/channel, THX Ultra, 3 component in/1 out, enough s video inputs to connect every component of your home theater up...twice, all for a reasonable...$4700 . Or I can save a whole $100 and get Denon's equivalent . God, I wish I made more money. BTW, have you heard anything about THX's forray into car audio. It's already a done deal, but I don't know if any manufacturers have made any product yet. Just what we need, a $7,500 head unit.
For HT the speakers are terrific, but they are not happy with music. That is the beauty of the Iso 6.5s, they do help to fill the gap. I am going to begin doing some HT building in the near future to handle the music chores. I will go all DIY, of course. I am considering next winter to go with either Denon or Onkyo, Looking for some more output (120 per is decent enough, but I do like Onkyo and Denon better) at least when I get done with my music speakers. But alas, that is down the road apiece. Not really about the THX, other than it is a done deal as you say. I assume we will hear something after CES this week...
