Post: #1

So my family is re-doing our entire apartment, and we're looking to upgrade our TV and sound system.

My folks have put me in charge of choosing a new TV to buy, as well as a pair of high quality speakers.

What I am looking for:

1) A 60" - 65" Plasma TV (No Price Range)

2) A Pair of Speakers for the TV (Limit: $2,500)

If anyone here is an audiophile or a TV aficionado , your advice would be appreciated.

I live in Manhattan and have been to a couple stores like Bang and Olufsen, but most of their inventory seems to be extremely overpriced - While we will likely be spending a lot of money, I would prefer not to be ripped off.

...If there are any forums or sites with good information, that would be great as well - Thanks in advance.

Post: #2

TV

Speakers

(07-14-2013 10:01 PM)Spider Wrote:  So my family is re-doing our entire apartment, and we're looking to upgrade our TV and sound system.

My folks have put me in charge of choosing a new TV to buy, as well as a pair of high quality speakers.

What I am looking for:

1) A 60" - 65" Plasma TV (No Price Range)

2) A Pair of Speakers for the TV (Limit: $2,500)

If anyone here is an audiophile or a TV aficionado , your advice would be appreciated.

I live in Manhattan and have been to a couple stores like Bang and Olufsen, but most of their inventory seems to be extremely overpriced - While we will likely be spending a lot of money, I would prefer not to be ripped off.

...If there are any forums or sites with good information, that would be great as well - Thanks in advance.

Post: #3

Why plasma and not LED?

Post: #4

LED/LCD is much better. Plasma has burnout.

Post: #5

Video

Plasma and LED/LCD have different kinds of pictures. LCD tends to be sharper, while plasma has what I would say is a more natural looking/softer picture. Blacks tend to be better in plasmas. Burn in is not really a problem for modern plasma tv's, even with static images (like in video games). If you don't play video games on it, don't give burn in a second thought. It's the tv equivalent of 1/4 women get raped.

Here's a Viera: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TC-P65ST...era+plasma

Ignore the 3D part; mine is 3D and I never use it.

Here's a good Samsung: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN65F7100-...ung+lcd+65

I will say that the Samsung tv stands are really flimsy compared to the Panasonic ones.

I prefer plasma, but LCD is also good. For plasma your best real choice is Panasonic. I have a Viera and am very happy with it. For example, it has a setting with THX-calibrated video (if you care about that sort of thing). I have also set up a Samsung LCD at my parents house and it's very nice as well. Just remember that in stores they will crank up the contrast to make the picture look "better."

One of the best places for researching this is avsforum.com, but you can spend hours reading shit.

Audio

Don't skimp on speakers. You only want 2 speakers? No sub? I guess if you only want 2, you should probably get good quality floor-standing speakers that have good response in the low range (<60 Hz) because they will function as your sub as well.

I like Bowers & Wilkins. Get a pair of B&W 683's maybe? $750 each at Best Buy. I would definitely try the speakers to see if you like the sounds before you purchase. I don't know how much of a difference there is at the real high end (like $10K+ systems), but there is a definite difference between low end speakers and mid-range stuff.

Post: #6

If you are living in a high rise apartment i would recommend LCD/LED. The biggest drawback of plasma imo is glare and every apartment I have been in has been full of natural light.

Post: #7

(07-15-2013 07:14 AM)bars Wrote:  Why plasma and not LED?

I was under the impression that Plasma provided better picture quality.

I'm guessing things have changed over the years? - I get a little bit of natural light in the living room, so perhaps the glare on a Plasma would present an issue.

Post: #8

Sony 4K TV.

Get a Sonos system for the entire apartment.

Post: #9

(07-15-2013 11:16 AM)Menace Wrote:  Video

Plasma and LED/LCD have different kinds of pictures. LCD tends to be sharper, while plasma has what I would say is a more natural looking/softer picture. Blacks tend to be better in plasmas. Burn in is not really a problem for modern plasma tv's, even with static images (like in video games). If you don't play video games on it, don't give burn in a second thought. It's the tv equivalent of 1/4 women get raped.

Here's a Viera: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TC-P65ST...era+plasma

Ignore the 3D part; mine is 3D and I never use it.

Here's a good Samsung: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN65F7100-...ung+lcd+65

I will say that the Samsung tv stands are really flimsy compared to the Panasonic ones.

I prefer plasma, but LCD is also good. For plasma your best real choice is Panasonic. I have a Viera and am very happy with it. For example, it has a setting with THX-calibrated video (if you care about that sort of thing). I have also set up a Samsung LCD at my parents house and it's very nice as well. Just remember that in stores they will crank up the contrast to make the picture look "better."

One of the best places for researching this is avsforum.com, but you can spend hours reading shit.

Audio

Don't skimp on speakers. You only want 2 speakers? No sub? I guess if you only want 2, you should probably get good quality floor-standing speakers that have good response in the low range (<60 Hz) because they will function as your sub as well.

I like Bowers & Wilkins. Get a pair of B&W 683's maybe? $750 each at Best Buy. I would definitely try the speakers to see if you like the sounds before you purchase. I don't know how much of a difference there is at the real high end (like $10K+ systems), but there is a definite difference between low end speakers and mid-range stuff.

Thanks, I have also heard a lot of good things about the Panasonic Plasma TV's.

I was researching earlier the model you posted as well as this slightly pricier Panasonic model:

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TC-P65VT...+plasma+65

Both look pretty dope, it seems like Panasonic and Samsung are top of the line in terms of Plasmas.

I also just realized that my new TV den will not be getting natural sunlight, so there should be no issues with glare - does this mean I should stick with plasma?

...I need to do more audio research, I'm now assuming 2 speakers won't be enough?

Post: #10

Spider,

I like plasma, but I don't want to be a fanboy or tell you that you should get it just because I did. I just like the picture, black levels, and color saturation. This is a debate that can go on for ages. Just get a good one and you'll be fine.

Audio is a whole other story (and I'm not an expert by any means). Depending on your set up, I really recommend at least a 5.1 set up. This means L & R speakers, a center speaker, sub-woofer, and L & R surround sound speakers. You will also want to get a receiver for the audio portion. However, if space is an issue do your 2-speaker system plus a sub-woofer, and just get good floor speakers.

You can get pretty decent receivers on the "low-end" from Yamaha or Pioneer. Mid-end includes Marantz and Denon. High end I have not shopped, but stuff like Arcam and McIntosh is high-end consumer (or at least higher).

Post: #11

Plasma televisions are still and will probably remain the best TV if what you are looking for is the highest quality picture. Black levels on LCD screens will never be able to compete.

I would definitely go with more than 2 speakers. Check out the one's I linked to above. A center channel speaker is definitely worth the investment. You want one that has a midrange speaker because it will make the vocal speech of the actors much more audible. Aperion has a 30 trial where they will pay both shipping to and from your house if you want to return them. I have a pair of their bookshelf speakers and their center channel and they sound amazing.

You will need to get a quality receiver. I would look into Harmon Kardon or Denon. You want ones that will decode audio. A lot of them do not do that so you need to send the audio back to the receiver from the TV and in doing so you lose fidelity.

Check out the audioholics forum. Good information there.

(07-15-2013 02:55 PM)Spider Wrote:  

(07-15-2013 11:16 AM)Menace Wrote:  Video

Plasma and LED/LCD have different kinds of pictures. LCD tends to be sharper, while plasma has what I would say is a more natural looking/softer picture. Blacks tend to be better in plasmas. Burn in is not really a problem for modern plasma tv's, even with static images (like in video games). If you don't play video games on it, don't give burn in a second thought. It's the tv equivalent of 1/4 women get raped.

Here's a Viera: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TC-P65ST...era+plasma

Ignore the 3D part; mine is 3D and I never use it.

Here's a good Samsung: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN65F7100-...ung+lcd+65

I will say that the Samsung tv stands are really flimsy compared to the Panasonic ones.

I prefer plasma, but LCD is also good. For plasma your best real choice is Panasonic. I have a Viera and am very happy with it. For example, it has a setting with THX-calibrated video (if you care about that sort of thing). I have also set up a Samsung LCD at my parents house and it's very nice as well. Just remember that in stores they will crank up the contrast to make the picture look "better."

One of the best places for researching this is avsforum.com, but you can spend hours reading shit.

Audio

Don't skimp on speakers. You only want 2 speakers? No sub? I guess if you only want 2, you should probably get good quality floor-standing speakers that have good response in the low range (<60 Hz) because they will function as your sub as well.

I like Bowers & Wilkins. Get a pair of B&W 683's maybe? $750 each at Best Buy. I would definitely try the speakers to see if you like the sounds before you purchase. I don't know how much of a difference there is at the real high end (like $10K+ systems), but there is a definite difference between low end speakers and mid-range stuff.

Thanks, I have also heard a lot of good things about the Panasonic Plasma TV's.

I was researching earlier the model you posted as well as this slightly pricier Panasonic model:

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TC-P65VT...+plasma+65

Both look pretty dope, it seems like Panasonic and Samsung are top of the line in terms of Plasmas.

I also just realized that my new TV den will not be getting natural sunlight, so there should be no issues with glare - does this mean I should stick with plasma?

...I need to do more audio research, I'm now assuming 2 speakers won't be enough?

Post: #12

Thanks fellas, I appreciate the input.

In terms of a TV, I have done a lot of research, and I think I'm going to get a 55" Panasonic Plasma for my den (the model I linked earlier), and the same Panasonic in the 65" model for my living room, which will have a sofa seated a few feet further from the television.

The speakers are tough as there is a lot of information out there - definitely want a nice surround sound setup with multiple speakers, but also want them to not take up too much space.

Gopher, the speaker set you linked earlier looks terrific, but I feel like they look pretty big, and I'm not sure how they would look in a smallish den.

I will definitely check out Audioholics and keep researching.

Post: #13

I would check out the forum at http://www.avsforum.com/f/88/audio

If you can cut holes and run cable in the wall, maybe consider getting in-wall speakers.