Panasonic TH-37PX80 - Is the sound as bad as a couple of reviews have made out?

[admin_exported]

I, like many others have spent goodness knows how long flitting through magazines and web sites to help me decide on which tv will take pride of place in my lounge in the very near future. I was in John Lewis yesterday evening and they happened to have the 37LZD70 and 37PX80 side by side, LCD at 749 and the Plasma at 799. I asked the assistant to show me blu-ray and freeview on both. To me the Plasma outshone the LCD when playing the blu-ray which surprised me. It was close but the picture just looked more realistic and the colour tones life-like. You could see the reflection in the eyes of one of the actors on the plasma which was much less clear on the LCD. This proves once and for all to me that the full HD argument falls down - certainly on these smaller size tv's. When showing freeview the LCD was definitely sharper but had the typical (not sure what the technical term is) blocky appearance - screen noise - whereas the Plasma although softer, looked more true to life, easier on the eye and clearer. The assistant said that in his view the plasma won hands down and I had to agree.

Moving on to the question I came on here to ask. A couple of reviews i've read give the sound on the plasma a pretty big thumbs down (CNET pretty scathing and HDTV.ORG only gave it 3 out of 5). Can anyone who owns this tv put this to bed once and for all - is the sound awful or acceptable? I don't want to fork out 799 (or 669 if JL agree to a price match) if the sound's sub-standard. Although the picture is the no.1 issue I look at, the sound is a close second and it would seem crazy to have to fork out on surround speakers just to aleviate the problem.

Also, how will the fact that the HDMI are 1.2 rather than 1.3 affect things?

Anyway, grateful for feedback on this as soon as possible because i'm aiming to buy a new tv within the next 3-4 days.

Many thanks.

 

[bf1]

Im also on the verge of buying this set and awaiting a JL price match at£647!

Sound hasn`t really been an issue for me as I will be hooking up a 2.1 system but when I did hear it I couldn`t say that it was an issue in terms of being noticeably bad.

I guess it depends on what you`re used to. My current set is a Philips 28" CRT, sounds ok to me but when I get the 2.1 setup I bet it will be worlds apart.

Good luck with you`re Price Match

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="bf1"]
Im also on the verge of buying this set and awaiting a JL price match at£647!

Sound hasn`t really been an issue for me as I will be hooking up a 2.1 system but when I did hear it I couldn`t say that it was an issue in terms of being noticeably bad.

I guess it depends on what you`re used to. My current set is a Philips 28" CRT, sounds ok to me but when I get the 2.1 setup I bet it will be worlds apart.

Good luck with you`re Price Match
[/quote]

I will be getting this Tv and will just wait to see what the sound is like but a few owners have told me that it is fine.

It is replacing the Panasonic 32LXD700 LCD which has really good sound so very much hope the Plasma will be as good.

What 2.1 setup will you be getting and is it easy to install? Just in case the sound needs a little help!

Let us know how you get on with the JL price match please! Who is it matched with?

 

[bf1]

Ive bought the Harman Kardon HS250. Got it from the HK concession at Selfridges in London. It was £700 inc 5yr warranty and delivery.

This was almost as time consuming as the TV. I started off looking at a Samsung 2.1 system for approx £290 then as I read more and more reviews on different 2.1 systems I suddenly found myself looking at packages costing over £2000!

That`s when I had to pull the reins in and consider exactly what I was doing and, more importantly, how much it was costing!

The HK has had some good reviews from other people that have bought it and the HS250 is slightly different from the HS200 in that it has an Ipod docking station.

Ive not seen any magazine review on it.

Ive listened to it and it sounds good. Im no audiophile bit if it sounds ok to me then its acceptable.

I will let you know who it is price matched with once confirmed - just in case the store get the hump and pull the plug!

 

[bf1]

Scotsgirl - Did Panasonic take back your LCD and upgrade it to the Plasma?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot but far too expensive for me I'm afraid!

Here's hoping that I will like the sound from the TV!

If it is as good as the LCD I have then will be well chuffed.

Quite understand about the price match.

 

[Anonymous]

No I would get a refund for the LCD and then buy the Plasma.

The sound issue is worrying me a wee bit though as I am really happy with the sound on the LCD and really hoped it would be the same on the Plasma to save the expense and hassle of a separate sound system.

 

[Anonymous]

The plasma you are getting is excellent but the sound is fairly basic, just normal stereo sound that you get from any tv no virtual surround sound like your old lcd but you should be able to add a 2.1 or 5.1 setup through your dvd player.

 

[kitkat]

Well I hate to say this and I know crocguy talks a load of bs most of the time but he seems to be telling the truth this time, the plasma has a normal stardard tv sound and to get the effects that you like and got from the lcd you would need to add some speakers, but it is a fantastic picture.

 

[Anonymous]

Grateful if Clare or Andy could comment on the sound quality of its predecessor, the TH-37PX70. I guess the PX80 shouldn't be any worse. Is it something that should put me off buying it if I don't intend to purchase a surround system?

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="kitkat"]Well I hate to say this and I know crocguy talks a load of bs most of the time but he seems to be telling the truth this time, the plasma has a normal stardard tv sound and to get the effects that you like and got from the lcd you would need to add some speakers, but it is a fantastic picture.[/quote]

Can you recommend speakers which aren't too expensive and easy to install?

Please excuse me as this is probably a really stupid question but if I add speakers to the Tv will this work on the DVD Player and PVR as well?

 

[bf1]

Samsung have a 2.1 system HT-X200R which is about £230. I believe you can connect your pvr/dvd and tv into this so that all sources will playback via this.

The Samsung also upscales dvd`s. Depending on what dvd you currently have it could replace this and save you having another box plugged in.

Why don`t you have a listen to the tv when you get it? It may not be so bad.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="bf1"]
Samsung have a 2.1 system HT-X200R which is about £230. I believe you can connect your pvr/dvd and tv into this so that all sources will playback via this.

The Samsung also upscales dvd`s. Depending on what dvd you currently have it could replace this and save you having another box plugged in.

Why don`t you have a listen to the tv when you get it? It may not be so bad.

[/quote]

Many thanks!<>

Would the Samsung 2.1 system be easy to set up?

Yes I think I will just see what the sound is like. The 800 is supposed to have better sound but not sure what SD will be like on it since it is full HD?

 

[bf1]

The manual can be downloaded here:

http://tinyurl.com/22cynn

Have a look and see if its likely to be too daunting!!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks again bf1.

I don't actually think the sound is going to be a problem for me as I turned off the 'surround' sound on my LCD and it was perfectly fine. In fact the difference between this and the other settings are very subtle so I assume that the sound from the PX80 will be as good as the LCD in this case.

The only alternative would be to wait for the Z800 which is supposed to have better sound but as it is full HD don't know how SD (which is what I will be watching for the forseeable future) will be like on this?

Not sure either how much the price difference will be?

I think it will be best to just try the PX80 and see. I can always return it.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Scotsgirl"]The only alternative would be to wait for the Z800 which is supposed to have better sound but as it is full HD don't know how SD (which is what I will be watching for the forseeable future) will be like on this?
Not sure either how much the price difference will be?
I think it will be best to just try the PX80 and see. I can always return it.

[/quote]

The PX80 is supposed to be a better sound than the PX70. The PZ85 has a better sound system than the PX80.. The Z800 will be the very top of the range.

If you're not into HD, it will be much cheaper to buy the PX80 and add a small sound system or even feed the sound through your stereo hi-fi.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks!

It seems that the Z800 is not going to be available in the 37" for some time anyway so PX80 it is!

Hopefully I won't need a separate sound system as I turned off the 'surround sound' on my 32LX700 and it was fine. The difference between this and TruSurround was very subtle to my ear.

Just in case I need it do you know of a small sound system which is:- easy to install;inexpensive and will work with the TV, PVR and DVD Player?

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Scotsgirl"]Thanks!

It seems that the Z800 is not going to be available in the 37" for some time anyway so PX80 it is!
Hopefully I won't need a separate sound system as I turned off the 'surround sound' on my 32LX700 and it was fine. The difference between this and TruSurround was very subtle to my ear.
Just in case I need it do you know of a small sound system which is:- easy to install;inexpensive and will work with the TV, PVR and DVD Player?[/quote]

Sorry cant help with sound systems. But I'd wait till you've had it a while before taking that decision.

According to the Panasonic blurb the PX80 has "V Audio" with increased bass response (over the PX70).

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="rewerb"][quote user="Scotsgirl"]Thanks!

It seems that the Z800 is not going to be available in the 37" for some time anyway so PX80 it is!
Hopefully I won't need a separate sound system as I turned off the 'surround sound' on my 32LX700 and it was fine. The difference between this and TruSurround was very subtle to my ear.
Just in case I need it do you know of a small sound system which is:- easy to install;inexpensive and will work with the TV, PVR and DVD Player?[/quote]

Sorry cant help with sound systems. But I'd wait till you've had it a while before taking that decision.

According to the Panasonic blurb the PX80 has "V Audio" with increased bass response (over the PX70).
[/quote]

Yes have decided this is the best idea as the sound may be fine for me.

 

[Anonymous]

Just been to a local shop (not major outlet) and had the salesman put the TV on a music channel that wasn't HD. Thought the sound was very good for a shop so should hopefully sound good in the living room.

 

[JSM15]

[quote user="Buzzer"]

Also, how will the fact that the HDMI are 1.2 rather than 1.3 affect things?

[/quote]

Panasonic give me a different answer every time i call them about this 1.2/1.3 and i know a recent online review specified that they are 1.2 however if you look at the Panasonic website it clearly says that the PX80's are 1.3

I found a French shopping portal which listed more detailed specs and they specified 1.3

Look at the PX8's on the Panny website and it has omitted the section about 1.3, Deep Colour and x.v. colour etc so it certainly looks to me that the PX80's have 1.3

Found it very strange that they would put 1.2 on a brand new model - their new DVD recorders all have 1.3 which would mean they would not be able to take advantage of the extra spec that 1.3 offers for those customers buying one of the new tv's as well.

Perhaps WhatHifi can clarify this issue via their spec sheet?