Panasonic TH37PX80B versus Sony KDL40W4000

[admin_exported]

I'm looking to buy either the 37" panny plasma, or the new 40" sony. Was interested to read Clare's review of the two below. Wondered (apart from the price) if and why any of the panel favoured the panasonic? Have tried to compare in John Lewis shop, but Sony didn't wow me and the assistant was in favour of the Panasonic TH37PX80B, but I wonder if the Sony was actually set up correctly? Does the punch/impact of a correctly set up Sony KDL40W400 still look "natural", or does the Panny plasma give a more natural look?

thanks,

Pete

The are both briliant sets that deserve to find a home in many households.

We deliberated over many, many days - with several side-by-side comparisons, using a wide range of sources and content - and even then it wasn't a unanimous verdict.

Here's how I'd summarise the two;

Panasonic - Pros; astonishingly great value; slightly superior motion-handling and blacks than the Sony; exceptional Freeview tuner. Cons: Lacks both dynamism and detail compared to the Sony; only sounds average.

Sony - Pros: Awesome detail recovery; natural colours; picture has incredible punch/impact; really easy to set-up; better blacks and motion-handling than even the best LCDs to date, with incredibly stable picture; decent sonics. Cons: pricey (until - and maybe even after - discounts kick in); can't quite match black levels or slickness of the best plasmas.

Oh, and those three extra inches of screen really help...

Talking of which... What we're looking forward to now is pitching the 40in Sony up against the best of the Full HD 42in plasmas. Panasonic TH42PZ85/800 vs the Sony KDL40W4000 - now that's gonna be interesting!

 

[Anonymous]

Personally I prefer Plasma, so I would go with the Panasonic. If size is an issue they do make a 42" TH42PX80.

 

[Anonymous]

I would go for the 42PX80 at under £650 with free 5 yr guarantee (Panasonic or John Lewis). Incredible value for money.

 

[HDNumpty]

I have owned both a Sony 40W2000 (admitedly an older model) and a Pana 37PX70. The Pana is the far better 'all-rounder', they both do HD fantastically well but a Pana plasma will cope much better with compressed digital channels like UK History, for instance.