My panasonic CRT has given up!..... Newbie needs advice please.

[admin_exported]

My old panasonic CRT has finally given up.

Things have changed a lot in the last 10 years!!!!! My room is 6m by 4m. The wife won't let me have proper speakers, so they have to be small discreet ones!!!! I've done a little research and am thinking of getting the following: Panasonic TX-P50GT50 £999 Yamaha RX-V673 + Monitor Audit MASS (Richersounds) £999 Not even thought about the Blue ray player yet Should I be looking at any other Kit???

I think I'm ok with the TV, I preferred the VT, but not sure its worth another £500 over the GT. Is it worth it???

I'm not all sure on the Amp and speakers..... Sevenoaks are doing the Pioneer SC-LX56 & Monitor Audit MASS for £1499. Is the extra £500 worth it to get the Pioneer over the Yamaha. Would the MASS benefit enough from this Amp??? Would matching the Pioneer SC-LX56 be splitting the budget incorrectly between amp and speakers??? Sevenoaks are doing the Pioneer SC-LX56 with the B&W MT-50s for £1849. Is this a better option??? Should I be thinking about anything else? I'm trying to arrange a demo to be able to make my own mind up, but so far have not found anywhere with all the kit in stock! (Pioneer SC-LX56, Monitor Audit MASS, Pioneer SC-LX56, B&W MT-50s) Sevenoaks out of stock, Richer Sounds does not stock B&W.

Would really appreciate some help from some clued up people! Thansk for reading.

 

[bigboss]

1) Looks like you missed a lot of deals. The 50GT50 was being sold for £899 only last week. I can't find any now.

2) If you can get hold of the Yamaha RX-V810 (link here), it's superior to the 673 at the same price. You really should demo the different cmbinations to see what sounds best to you. All AV receivers sound different, especially with different sets of speakers. All of your shorlisted options are very good. Only a demo can tell you which is best for you. Start with demos of what Sevenoaks has got first. Show plenty of interest; the dealers will likely give you some more discont if you buy a package.

3) A basic blu ray player like the Panasonic BDT220 or Sony or Pioneer equivalent are all good. Look for features you want, like3D capability, wifi etc.

4) Only buy basic good quality £5 HDMI cables from ThatCable or similar. More expensive cables do not bring superior performance in my experience.

5) Set yourself a budget first. It's easy to go overboard without a set budget.

 

[mcjwalters]

Panasonic is an amazing television and well worth the price.

Love the sound of the Pioneer LX56 with the MT50 and the MT60. Make a great combination. IMO the MASS is a very good product but it is a budget product so has limitations very early in it's presentation and as for the subwoofer in the MT60....perfect

.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Agree with the others really, but beware of problems that some people-including myself-are having with the GT50. Look through this forum, there are plenty of threads.

Blu Ray players are more or less the same with picture and sound quality when playing blu rays, though some are better than others at upscaling dvds. You pay extra for features like wifi etc, so if you don't need te extra features, save yourself some money. The Panasonic DMP-BDT110 is a great little player, and is available for only £49.99 at the moment here http://www.bmstores.co.uk/products/panasonic-3d-blu-ray-player-278308, which is a real bargain.

 

[mr malarky]

If you can stretch to the extra money for the b&w speakers and sub then do it, worth paying the extra for a higher quality sub (a decent sub is critical in a satellite speaker system); as others have said, if your not fussed about SACD/DVD-Audio playback or network features then don't worry about spending too much on the blu-ray player, and if your sold on the GT50 then may as well go for a Panasonic bluray player as well (one less remote control on the coffee table!). And don't let richer sounds convince you to spend a fortune on cables (you can easily wipe out any savings you've made on the kit itself by being sucked in on that front). Good luck, and enjoy!

 

[mr malarky]

Also, a minor point but if you use an iPhone the pioneer amp has 'AirPlay' built in (not exactly audiophile, I know, but damned convenient).

 

[Son_of_SJ]

1) Looks like you missed a lot of deals. The 50GT50 was being sold for £899 only last week. I can't find any now.

This link, http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-tx-p50gt50b-plasma-hd-1080p-3d-smart-tv-50-inch-with-freesat-freeview-hd/p231563474 and I'm not sure how often John Lewis update their links, suggests that John Lewis still have more than 10 Panasonic 50GT50's in stock!!??? Can that be right?? By the way, if you have been using a 10-year-old Cathode Ray Tube set then in comparison any modern set, and certainly one of Panasonic's top plasmas, will look just wonderful in comparison and I don't think that for you (and even for me) the 50VT50 would be worth the extra money over the 50GT50.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info everyone. I wasn't aware of any problems with the GT60! Are there any problems with the VT60? (Both 50 inch). Might be worth the extra cash to avoid the problems! Best deals I can find are £950 (GT), £1450 (VT)...so plus £500.

Re amp & speakers:
Would the Pioneer SC-LX56 be overkill for the Monitor Audit MASS? £1500 at the moment from Sevenoaks? Is the £ balance wrong (amp/speakers). I cannot stretch to the B&W MT-60Ds - my wife would KILL me! Re: B&W MT-50s, are people saying I would need to buy a different sub? if so which one & how much? The deal with Sevenoaks is £1850 (Pioneer SC-LX56 & B&W MT-50s). How much extra would a different sub be? Had not considered more cash on top the £1850! I do have a budget I want to get close to. .

or

Would the MA Mass and Yamaha 673 be good enough? (£1000 for both). Not sure I can get a deal on the amp as suggested by big boss.

its a LOT of cash to spend, so I want to get it right.

Thanks for all the info

 

[bigboss]

I'm sure you mean GT50 & not GT60. Ys, there are a few reported problems with the GT50, and, going by the manufacturer's response that its within specification, the VT50 is likely to have it too.

Having said that, there are many happy owners of the GT50. If you see any problem with yours, contact your retailer ASAP.

The general amp:speakers cost balance according to me is 40:60. Why don't you demo Monitor Audio Mass with Yamaha 673 & Pioneer LX56, & see which one you prefer?

A good sub is essential for that true home cinema experience. If you're going for MT50, look at PV1D sub instead of the standard sub.

 

[mr malarky]

Sorry for the confusion captain, to clarify was just suggesting the b&w's over the monitor audio's because the sub that comes with the b&w system will be slightly better than the one that comes with the monitor audio system. Re amp and speaker pairing, personally I do suspect the pioneer would be slightly overkill with the monitor audio's, so if your veering in that direction speaker-wise then the Yamaha may be a better option. The whole question of partnering amps with speakers is highly subjective though, so at the risk of stating the obvious, demo demo demo!

 

[Son_of_SJ]

I cannot stretch to the B&W MT-60Ds - my wife would KILL me!

I think you urgently need to read at least some of a recent thread, from a forum member with a similar domestic problem! (I don't have that domestic problem, hence I have (including the imminent expansion into the second bedroom) 38 individual loudspeakers, including six centres and seven subwoofers.) Here's the thread!

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/home-cinema/how-to-convince-the-wife-any-tips

 

[Anonymous]

How widespread are the vertical banding issues on the panasonic plasmas? It seems strange that none of the reviews even mention it! This really puts me off buying a GT or VT!!! The thought of having to switch plasmas multiple times until you eventually find one you can put up with is not my idea of fun.

My mind was made up to buy a GT (or maybe a VT if I spent less on the sound system). Now I feel I'm back at square one!!!!

Is the issue that bad and how widespread is it? Am I wise to be cautious about buying a GT/VT????

Any other suggestions if I choose to avoid the panasonic plasmas? Are the panasonic LEDs any good? I really wanted a panasonic plasmas for the picture quality :doh:

Buying a new TV is becoming a real pain in the butt! Not quite the experience I thought it was going to be

 

[bigboss]

As I explained above, there are many happy owners of the GT50. Buy one; you can return it if your TV suffers from the problem.

 

[Anonymous]

Any recommendation on where to buy. Aftersales service will be imporant if I go for a GT / VT. John Lewis, price matched to Richersounds?

Anyone got any epxereince of Richersounds - is the aftersales ok? Will they replace TVs for vertical banding?

Thx

 

[bigboss]

You can't go wrong with either John Lewis or Richer Sounds. Both companies usually feature in the top 10 in customer service. I can recommend John Lewis on personal experience.

 

[Anonymous]

duplicate

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

TV Sorted - going for the panasonic 50inch VT50. I'll take my chance on the vertical banding issue.

I tried the Monitor Audio MASS speakers and was not as impressed as I thought I was going to be. I think sats speakers are not for me! I also tried the Dali 5 5.1 system and was quite impressed with them. I'm probably now going to go for 7 5.1 or the 5 5.1 system, surprisingly even my wife could really hear the difference to the MASS system and was happy to give in and allow some proper speakers in the lving room!

:cheers:

I could now do with some advise on which receivers to demo with the Dali speakers? I was initally thinking of Yamaha 673 - but I'm prepared to pay more IF the Dalis would really benefit from a better amp. The dealer did not have a 673, so they used the Pioneer SC LX56 to demo them!

Any suggestions on what to try? I was thinking: Yamaha 673, Yamaha a1020, Pioneer SC LX56. Would the Dali speakers benefit much from a better amp????? I don't want to throw money away...but I also want to get the best out of them. All the deals on Yamaha 2010s and 3010s have gone - no more stock. :doh:

I know the answer is DEMO the receivers....but I would appreciate some advise first. No point trying to arrange a Demo on somehting like the Yamaha a3020 if everyone here thought that was total overkill. I mentioned the A3020 as one shop offered me the Dali 7 5.1 with Yamaha A3020 for £2500. I'm looking for advise on what to Demo, and what NOT to Demo. How to get the most out of the Dalis AND get value for money.

Thx for the help so far!.... It has been useful, on paper the MA MASS style speakers were right for me - but not when I listened to them! I suppose its a case of Demo, Demo Demo to get it right!!!!!!!

 

[duaplex]

Let me give my piece here as somebody who purchased a set from richersounds and owns a Panasonic.

I first purchased a Samsung 55inch was unhappy with it and returned it to richersounds within 14 days, no hassle, provided you keep the box (very important).

So, I purchased the P65VT50 and it's stunning, no vertical banding or defects detected. The buzzing some people have mentioned is normal on a plasma and you will especially hear it on an all white screen, but that is not a defect unless it's abnormally loud and disturbing your viewing.

Also consider the very capable Kuro, if you are set on plasma.

 

[bigboss]

Also consider the very capable Kuro, if you are set on plasma.

You mean second hand?

 

[duaplex]

If he can find it yes, I saw the Kuro at the Bristol show and I would have jumped on it!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pioneer-Kuro-PDP-LX5090-50-1080p-HD-Plasma-TV-Yamaha-Sound-Bar-REL-Subwoofer-/271161948768?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_Video_Televisions&hash=item3f2282fa60

And for amusement purposes

http://www.220-electronics.com/pioneer-kuro-pdp-608xg-60-multi-system-plasma-tv.html?origin=product-search&kwd=&source=GoogleProductsPLA&gclid=CK-riPWA0LUCFW_KtAodhh8AOQ

 

[Anonymous]

Current plan is now:

Yamaha RXA1020 AV Receiver

DALI ZENSOR 5 5.1 (can anyone recommend any stands for the rears?)

Panasonic TXP50VT50B

I just need to Demo the amp and speakers together - done separately with other receivers/speakers. The Cambridge shops have had one or the other but not both! Hopefully I can sort this out at the weekend and then get it all ordered!

Thank you to all of those people who posted advice.

 

[duaplex]

I would look to buy some atacama stands. As long as its a weighty and firm, you won't have a problem with sound.

Somthing like these perhaps...

http://www.whathifi.com/review/duo-6