When is the best time to buy that new TV?

[lastcoyote]

Hi people,

I'm currently endeavouring to suppress the desire to open my wallet and purchase a Pioneer PDP-LX5090..or maybe even the KRP-500A. TLC Broadcast seem to have dropped the prices of these sets a bit recently..but my question is as per the subject...when is the best time to buy? In other words will the prices drop further as christmas nears or will they drop further in the January sales?
Another important question...will stocks of these sets be diminishing soon especially in light of them being the last of the 'all pioneer built' sets?

Comments appreciated

 

[Anonymous]

Sales are an opportunity for retailers to shift old or unwanted models; the Pioneer tv's you mention are neither.

As you can find almost all tv's at trade price all year round, and as manufacturers do not as a rule drop their prices at 'sale' time, the best time to buy a new tv is when you can afford to spare the cash.

 

[lastcoyote]

hmmmm....that's what I thought.

if i waited until i can 'afford' to spare the cash i'd never get one

....so now is as good a time as any i guess. TLC Broadcast are offering them at good a price as anywhere as far as I can tell, and I understand they are a reliable company from what i've read on this forum.

one thing i can't quite believe with these sets is that even at there premium price, you still have to buy a stand seperately. incredible!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi lastcoyote,

I have exactly the same dilemma... 500A or 5090.... And its
not £300 price difference like WHF claims.... it's around £500!!!! And that's a
lot........ It is really difficult....

Update me please with your progress and what finally you are
going for, and which retailer, online shop you have chosen?

Thanks,

 

[drummerman]

Hi

they are the same panel but have the more advanced 'pure drive' circuitry which makes the set look better out of the box. You can of course adjust the 5090 manually to identical levels but more work is involved.

The media box (tuner) is separate on the 500 and it is some 3 or so centimeters slimmer because the tuner has moved. Technical specifications are the same.

If money is no objective or if you need the few centimeters behind go for the 500. If not buy the 5090.

The speakers are very good (I went undermount as it detracts from the considerable width) and the stand is not needed if you wall mount but I agree, in view of the price the latter at least should have been included)

regards

 

[Greenwich_Man]

Our TV is 13 years old and we are waiting until it dies (so we can get a good one cheaper)...

Now the other night it gave a loud crack, and there was a flash on the lower part of the screen. My wife said she saw a look of glee on my face.

It still works - but I'll be happy to get a new one as soon as it goes.

 

[lastcoyote]

thanks for the reply guys.

i'm leaning towards the 5090 purely because money IS an issue. i'd be interested to know how to calibrate the tv to give the same performance as the 500A in advanced mode though. is there a source for this somewhere online?

i wonder if any retailers would be willing to throw in the KRP-TS02 stand with the 5090? probably unlikely i guess.

i'll certainly keep you updated stone28

 

[drummerman]

If you google pioneer 9g owners thread you get plenty of info. ISF calibration seems to be the preferred way but it can be expensive. There are several calibration tools available from gretag, datacolor (spyder 3) etc. the last one I may be interested in myself but I need more information.

I believe the 500 can not be used with the undermounted speaker, only the sidemount option, something to be aware of.

regards

 

[lastcoyote]

OK guys...I went for it. Just ordered the Pioneer PDP-LX5090 from TLC Broadcast.
So happy...well, will be when it arrives!

Friendly and helpful customer service. Made me feel slightly more at ease about handing over more than 2k for a telly!

 

[drummerman]

lastcoyote:
OK guys...I went for it. Just ordered the Pioneer PDP-LX5090 from TLC Broadcast.
So happy...well, will be when it arrives!

Friendly and helpful customer service. Made me feel slightly more at ease about handing over more than 2k for a telly!

I hope you've actually looked at one. The picture is a lot softer than panasonic plasmas and it can only really be viewed in a completely dark room. Apart from that it's stunning.

 

[lastcoyote]

oh yeah i've had a demo of the 5090. i loved the picture. it does certainly come into it's own in a dark room..which is how i watch all my movies...even with regular telly i tend to dim the lights. though i've seen it also in a fairly bright showroom and it still looks great.
plus also it will be in an alcove in my lounge which doesn't get much light on it anyway compared to the rest of the room...which is under ceiling downlights. also it's facing completely away from the windows.

can't wait. it's gonna look huge going from a 32" crt to a 50" plasma

 

[drummerman]

I was only winding you up. It's lovely, with or without lights on. Hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

regards

 

[Anonymous]

Good one Drummerman ;-) You got me here as well.........

So you're sorted now lastcoyote!? Nice!

DAMN, mine turn is coming for the decision. Still £500 price diference..... What to do.........

stone28

 

[lastcoyote]

drummerman:

I was only winding you up. It's lovely, with or without lights on. Hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

regards

harhar! very funny drummerman

i have know doubt that i'll be suitably blown away by the 5090. yes if i had money to burn..i'd of probably gone for the 500A but from all the rave reviews of the 5090 i feel like a lucky boy.
i really think that it is a good move getting one of these g9 pioneer plasmas considering they are the last ones to be 'all' pioneer built. maybe a good selling point in the future...?...

now need to get my hands on some half decent but affordable hdmi cables. and a blu-ray player...and sky hd..and...and....

 

[lastcoyote]

oh my goodness people! please tell me where do i stand on this!!?

i just ordered my 5090 from tlc broadcast yesterday and today they have just put the price down almost £500!! i've not even got the tv delivered to me yet! surely i can get the difference refunded! i'm going to phone them tomorrow morning!

 

[lastcoyote]

oh my goodness people! please tell me where do i stand on this!!?

i just ordered my 5090 from tlc broadcast yesterday and today they have just put the price down almost £500!! i've not even got the tv delivered to me yet! surely i can get the difference refunded! i'm going to phone them tomorrow morning!

 

[professorhat]

Now that's upsetting. Was a bit peeved when I ordered an Onkyo 905, only for it to be dropped a further £300 in a few weeks, but £500 in 24 hours!
The good news is, if they refuse - you have a 7 day "cooling off" period since it's a mail order / internet purchase meaning you can legally send it back for a refund through the distance selling regulations, though you'll have to pay the courier charge. Considering the courier charge will be significantly less than £500 though, this is probably worth it. Of course if they refuse you can mention this and then mention you'll happily then buy it much cheaper from another retailer. I suspect this might lean a manager to "work something out" for you!
Hopefully though, you won't have to resort to such tactics and they'll be gracious and pass the saving on to you.

 

[drummerman]

lastcoyote:
oh my goodness people! please tell me where do i stand on this!!?

i just ordered my 5090 from tlc broadcast yesterday and today they have just put the price down almost £500!! i've not even got the tv delivered to me yet! surely i can get the difference refunded! i'm going to phone them tomorrow morning!

Hi lastcoyote

Yep, I was a bit surprised too. It's not a product that normally follows heavy discount trends though you normally can find last years models at those prices. When I was shopping around there where some dealers which didn't have stock and refused to discount because new stock was hard to get.

I remember my thread about getting bargains though, which caused quite a stir and some heated discussions here. I think this underlines what I've said. I doubt very much they are selling at cost even as those prices.

Shame they're offers don't extend to Pio BR players ... I think I might wait a week or two ...

 

[Andy Clough]

Tricky one this, isn't it? Only yesterday we discovered the Sony KDL-40Z4500 we'd just tested (at the Sony price of £1850) was already available from Amazon and Dixons for £1400-£1500. Prices are dropping all the time.

However, I suspect this can't go on indefinitely. We're already seeing several manufacturers announcing price increases for the New Year. Like the housing market, it's hard to know when everything will bottom out. I suspect we'll see some more reductions in the January sales (although many retailers like Sevenoaks are starting their sales pre-Christmas), and then maybe things will level off.

 

[Anonymous]

Good morning all

I see that the 500A is now shown as £ 2159 at Tlc broadcast compared to the 5090 at £1800.

Does anyone know if they have dropped the price of the 500a by the same amount as the 5090 it was showing a previous price of £2735 from the advert today.

I'm tempted by the 500 but realise there is no speaker with this set.

Drummerman noted your comment re the BR players ......and may I add amps and Kef speakers also arn't discounted either!

 

[drummerman]

johnnymunro:
Good morning all

I see that the 500A is now shown as £ 2159 at Tlc broadcast compared to the 5090 at £1800.

Does anyone know if they have dropped the price of the 500a by the same amount as the 5090 it was showing a previous price of £2735 from the advert today.

I'm tempted by the 500 but realise there is no speaker with this set.

Drummerman noted your comment re the BR players ......and may I add amps and Kef speakers also arn't discounted either!

Hi JM

The speakers are separate and I think that particular model can only be fitted with side mounted option. Unless you need the separate media box I'd say save your cash and get the 5090. Plenty of money left for films that way.

regards

 

[Anonymous]

Hi DM!

Thanks for that

I was going to add some style speakers anyhow probably the Kef 3005SE's

Was particularly interested in the 30mm slimmer part as all tvs will be going this way me thinks.

What's the crack with the media box , and would it be stand alone . Do I understand correctly this is a freeview receiver? if so, I won't need it co's I'm gonna do Sky + HD

 

[lastcoyote]

drummerman:

Hi lastcoyote

Yep, I was a bit surprised too. It's not a product that normally follows heavy discount trends though you normally can find last years models at those prices. When I was shopping around there where some dealers which didn't have stock and refused to discount because new stock was hard to get.

I remember my thread about getting bargains though, which caused quite a stir and some heated discussions here. I think this underlines what I've said. I doubt very much they are selling at cost even as those prices.

Shame they're offers don't extend to Pio BR players ... I think I might wait a week or two ...

phew! panic over. just phoned up TLC Broadcast and they were more than happy to refund me the difference...considering the price dropped £500 in 24hrs of ordering and that it's not even being delivered to me until monday. very happy now!!!

thanks to the great guys at TLC!

 

[Anonymous]

Lastcoyote

You beat me to the forum on this subject.

I asked Tony from TLC on your behalf this morning and he said that he would refund you the difference . So top show in the customer care department !!

 

[Anonymous]

Impressive