HDTV Questions

[theebs]

Well since the conversation has shifted I will add my two cents.

Fujitsu makes the best plasma on the market. They always have. The pioneer elite plasma is a great set, not as good as the fujitsu though. Also hitachi's higher line, the name slips my mind right now is a better plasma than the pioneer elite. I really like that elite however, it is a great tv.

As far as audio goes, you need to seperate audio and audio/video. Most receivers are audio/video and are on the same level. Some have a ton of window dressing but the nuts and bolts are the same and the amplifiers in them are terrible.

Denon used to make some really nice stuff then the company changed.

IF I were to buy a receiver I always preferred marantz, but they changed their company also and were swallowed up by denon. Now both products are pretty lousy, imo.

If you just want home theater sound you can get that out of anything. I personally like definitive technology's on walls, again forgot their name but they are outstanding for home theater and terrible for music.

If you really want quality and want to step up from the chain store stuff, go to a dealer and buy quality. For speakers B&W are the most natural sounding speakers you can ever hear. there is no colorization of the sound what so ever. Simply fantastic, the nautilus line will change the way you view and listen to music.

If you want outstanding quality for amplification and preamplification Buy Mcintosh. Just like the nautilus there is nothing else like it, throw in the blue meters and you will be in heaven...Mcintosh makes seperates and an integrated amp, and they do have one home theater receiver though I wouldnt buy it, they are a seperates company and the best in the world.

FOr cables I would reccommend Tributarie, simply great but very expensive.

If you want a cheaper alternative to those companies, there are others like B&K who make amps, preamps and receivers, Paradigm which has outstanding speakers at more affordable prices, also there is a canadian company that makes amps and preamps that are like a quarter of a notch below mcintosh in quality and offer nothing in asthetics and they are called bryston....great stuff...

And for home theater stuff Def Tech's on walls are super and so are B&W's on walls.

oh and for subwoofers, definitive technology makes a great line of subs, they ripped off velodyne. Velodyne makes the best subs, they are simply awesome. subs with 8 inch drivers and 1500 wats crossed over at ridiculous numbers...

Here are some links..

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/
http://www.bryston.ca/
http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/news/
www.bkcomp.com
http://www.tributariescable.com/
http://www.velodyne.com/main.aspx
http://www.definitivetech.com/

 

[theebs]

I dunno, when I watch a movie like "Twister", I hear the storm rumbling up from behind me, it's really great... when I watch "Heat", you can hear the jets coming in from the left to land in that final shootout...

My biggest complaint about the Studio Series is the subwoofer was a piece of crap, and had to be replaced... the new one has worked just fine, though...

I have since learned that Pioneer has a high-priced line of speakers, I think they call it their EX line, that I'd like to look into if ever I decided to upgrade... I also like the Infinity Cascade series of speakers, even though I'm not generally into the futuristic look for home entertainment components...

But I ever get took rich, I'll have a Runco SC projector, a 200" screen, 2 Runco 61" PlasmaWalls flanking it, Lexicon video processors and Meridian for everything else... shouldn't run me more than about 300k... :




I have different standards than most in what I look for in a speaker... rather than being concerned about pulsing bass, I wanna hear the fret squeak when a good guitarist goes from chord to chord... I want that clarity on the high end... I prefer my bass to be crisp, not pounding...

I had some two channel meridian stuff, the ugliest components on the planet but the components were outsanding. They were a great fit with my nautilus I had, but I love mcintosh and when you get into those lines and those prices you have to buy what you love. Mcintosh is the best there is.

If you want clarity, go to a dealer and listen to a mac setup with a nautilus setup, particularly the 803, you will love it.

I have absurd standards stereo components. WHen I moved to Texas my wife forbid me from getting anything. I spent about 10 years buying and selling speakers and components, I honestly think I have had something of every brand.

In the end though, B&W nautilus and Mcintosh are the king of the hill, coupled with the fact that they still cut the glass and assemble mcintosh equipment in binghamton new york and they are perfect.

I have heard some electrostatics that I liked as much as the nautilus but they are huge and have to be plugged in...so I was always turned off by them.

 

[iceberg]

I had some two channel meridian stuff, the ugliest components on the planet but the components were outsanding. They were a great fit with my nautilus I had, but I love mcintosh and when you get into those lines and those prices you have to buy what you love. Mcintosh is the best there is.

If you want clarity, go to a dealer and listen to a mac setup with a nautilus setup, particularly the 803, you will love it.

I have absurd standards stereo components. WHen I moved to Texas my wife forbid me from getting anything. I spent about 10 years buying and selling speakers and components, I honestly think I have had something of every brand.

In the end though, B&W nautilus and Mcintosh are the king of the hill, coupled with the fact that they still cut the glass and assemble mcintosh equipment in binghamton new york and they are perfect.

I have heard some electrostatics that I liked as much as the nautilus but they are huge and have to be plugged in...so I was always turned off by them.

the lamborghini is a better car for me than the chevy too... : )

fujitsu - never knew they made tvs till you said something and this was after 2 solid weeks of digging on what's hot today. not seen one so i can't refute the "better than pioneer elite" comment but i know a lot of audiophiles who are stat/spec freaks who give the pioneer the top dog status. after seeing one, i do as well till i see fujitsu to know one way or another.

as for denon - did they buy marantz? did not know that but denon is still top quaility. is it macintosh and putting every componant into it's own system?

no.

what is?

but denon even today with their ... um ... dilutes rep is still the best out there. HK is too low power and lacks the inputs and outputs. onkyo - i love onkyo and almost got the 875.

denon is a tank. the speakers and amps you mention are sweet also - better than what i've talked about in many aspects. if cost isn't a factor i'd look into sun and other brands as well. mirage for speakers and the british line i can't think of now.

but if cost were no object i've had a basement that's 20' wide, 40' deep, stocked bar in the back and 8 massage love seats thoughout. i'd put up a 20' screen on the back wall and a projector vs. tv. i'd EQ the room for whatever audio equipment i set up and pad the walls with studio padding.

since i can't get all that, i got the denon. : )

 

[theebs]

the lamborghini is a better car for me than the chevy too... : )

fujitsu - never knew they made tvs till you said something and this was after 2 solid weeks of digging on what's hot today. not seen one so i can't refute the "better than pioneer elite" comment but i know a lot of audiophiles who are stat/spec freaks who give the pioneer the top dog status. after seeing one, i do as well till i see fujitsu to know one way or another.

as for denon - did they buy marantz? did not know that but denon is still top quaility. is it macintosh and putting every componant into it's own system?

no.

what is?

but denon even today with their ... um ... dilutes rep is still the best out there. HK is too low power and lacks the inputs and outputs. onkyo - i love onkyo and almost got the 875.

denon is a tank. the speakers and amps you mention are sweet also - better than what i've talked about in many aspects. if cost isn't a factor i'd look into sun and other brands as well. mirage for speakers and the british line i can't think of now.

but if cost were no object i've had a basement that's 20' wide, 40' deep, stocked bar in the back and 8 massage love seats thoughout. i'd put up a 20' screen on the back wall and a projector vs. tv. i'd EQ the room for whatever audio equipment i set up and pad the walls with studio padding.

since i can't get all that, i got the denon. : )

Dont take it the wrong way. THere is nothing wrong with denon. I just think since the audio/video home theater wave really took off in about 2000 and circuit city and best buy started carrying that stuff the quality went straight down the tubes.

Denon used to make some very nice two channel things.

Like I said in my other thread, in a normal size room I think Above average home theater sound can be achieved very cheaply and the results will be very good. WHen it comes to music though all of those pieces fail at it.

Marantz used to make a great home theater reciever then they went down the tubes and were sold to denon.

Another receiver that is probably less expensive than the denon 3808 and just as good are the onkyo integra line of receivers. They are made pretty well. And again B&K make a very nicely made home theater receiver.

The fujitsu is the best panel, trust me. It has been since plasmas were put in motion. You wont see fujitsu at the chain store. Iceberg you live in DFW and if you ever get a chance to kill some free time check out marvins in fort worth, they are great. THey even sell the rare runco plasma. Pretty good but overpriced.

Like I said I love that pioneer elite plasma. I could not justfy paying the price for one, but it is a great set. The high end line of hitachi which are sold at home theater store and marvins if I remember correctly is outstanding also.

I only responded in this thread just to maybe open some peoples eyes to what else is out there besides what circuit city, best buy and frye's sell. especially when some people dish out 2000 or more bucks for a receiver.

You can get into some mid level seperates, home theater seperates for that same price or cheaper. Companies like Adcom, nad, parasound and anthem all make seperates that are better than receivers and can be less expensive than those big expensive receivers. I had an adcom 200 watt x 5, cant remember the model number and a adcom 5.1 preamp in 2001. I ran them with B&W nautilus 805, htm2 center and the B&W scm rears.....it was simply fantastic. THe adcom stuff is very inexpensive and very good. RUns a little hot but that is ok.

Here are some ebay links to some stuff.
adcom 5 channel amp..home theater
http://cgi.ebay.com/Adcom-GFA-7000-...ryZ14973QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

match it with this 7.1 adcom preamp and you would have a great home theater setup for less than half of those chain store receivers and this would be a better setup, especially if you get some decent speakers that can actually take some real clean power, adcom is a nice alternative to recievers.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ADCOM-GTP860II-...ryZ12050QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

So anyway, I am not putting anyone down or anything like that, just trying to give some new ideas to people. I love this stuff as much as football, my wife just forbids me from getting involved!!!! I cant believe how cheap some of that nad and adcom stuff on ebay is. Stuff that was 1500 bucks in 99 and 2000 are now 250 bucks. I may pick up some 2 channel stuff.

Anyway I could talk about this for hours and like to do that so if anyone has any thoughts...I am all ears.

 

[Boom]

Well since the conversation has shifted I will add my two cents.

Fujitsu makes the best plasma on the market. They always have. The pioneer elite plasma is a great set, not as good as the fujitsu though. Also hitachi's higher line, the name slips my mind right now is a better plasma than the pioneer elite. I really like that elite however, it is a great tv.

As far as audio goes, you need to seperate audio and audio/video. Most receivers are audio/video and are on the same level. Some have a ton of window dressing but the nuts and bolts are the same and the amplifiers in them are terrible.

Denon used to make some really nice stuff then the company changed.

IF I were to buy a receiver I always preferred marantz, but they changed their company also and were swallowed up by denon. Now both products are pretty lousy, imo.

If you just want home theater sound you can get that out of anything. I personally like definitive technology's on walls, again forgot their name but they are outstanding for home theater and terrible for music.

If you really want quality and want to step up from the chain store stuff, go to a dealer and buy quality. For speakers B&W are the most natural sounding speakers you can ever hear. there is no colorization of the sound what so ever. Simply fantastic, the nautilus line will change the way you view and listen to music.

If you want outstanding quality for amplification and preamplification Buy Mcintosh. Just like the nautilus there is nothing else like it, throw in the blue meters and you will be in heaven...Mcintosh makes seperates and an integrated amp, and they do have one home theater receiver though I wouldnt buy it, they are a seperates company and the best in the world.

FOr cables I would reccommend Tributarie, simply great but very expensive.

If you want a cheaper alternative to those companies, there are others like B&K who make amps, preamps and receivers, Paradigm which has outstanding speakers at more affordable prices, also there is a canadian company that makes amps and preamps that are like a quarter of a notch below mcintosh in quality and offer nothing in asthetics and they are called bryston....great stuff...

And for home theater stuff Def Tech's on walls are super and so are B&W's on walls.

oh and for subwoofers, definitive technology makes a great line of subs, they ripped off velodyne. Velodyne makes the best subs, they are simply awesome. subs with 8 inch drivers and 1500 wats crossed over at ridiculous numbers...

Here are some links..

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/
http://www.bryston.ca/
http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/news/
www.bkcomp.com
http://www.tributariescable.com/
http://www.velodyne.com/main.aspx
http://www.definitivetech.com/

When I was looking for audio info for my 60" sony SRXD, I found some great info from avsforum.com. They showed the best ways to get quality components and dodge the HTiB solution.

I wound up with a refurb onkyo tx-sr504 reciever, 4 floor standing and 1 center channel by polk and the velodyne 12" sub. All under $600.

You are right, that sub is a monster.

For anyone looking for educated opinions on audio/video avsforum.com is very helpful.