StarDestroyer.Net BBS

I've been gaming on my 13 inch lower than 480P resolution TV for almost 14 years now, and damnit, it's time for a change. I've been stashing a little money away for almost 3 years now, specifically for a TV. For a long time, I never touched the money in case I really needed it (college expenses, etc). I'm still in college, but a few months ago I got a job as a medical transporter at a major hospital, and my probationary period has ended - I can keep the job until I move on to bigger and better things!

Now that I've shared my joy with the rest of you, let's get down to business: I'm in the market for a nice TV. I know enough to make a decent purchase, but I figure that one of you have probably spotted a good/great deal that I might have/probably missed.

Since the TV will be mostly for gaming (and a little movie watching), I'm thinking that an LCD would probably be my best bet. How does this one look: +++http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6889102106

I chose that one over the other 1080P LCD's at newegg because it's got 6+ times the contrast ratio. I'd also like a decent sound system to go with it, and the upper limit for the two is about $2500. The speakers are what I really need help with. Aside from the fact that I know that a sub and several small speakers work great, I know nothing. I've got no idea if I need some sort of hub to connect them, or anything like that.

If possible, do you guys know any sites that offer full warranties with the TV's they sell? I'm really big on warranties.

Anyone out there whose had to play their Xbox 360 on a 14 year-old 13-inch POS can attest to the excitement flowing through me. Woot!

I know at least a few of you guys are tech savy. I'll bump this up to the top for today.

I can't speak for that 40" unit, but I got a smaller 23" Samsung LCD for the bedroom a while ago and I'm totally satisfied with it. And I have to say that despite those who complain about having to adapt to a new cabling standard, the HDMI cable format is awesome. Just the fact that it combines audio and video into a single cable makes it a totally worthwhile standards change IMO. The early adopters who bought expensive "HD-ready" TVs without HDMI connections should have known they were taking a risk.

For speakers, you'll need a receiver* to plug everything into. Onkyo and Denon make some good ones for a reasonable price but shop around. Panasonic has some 'Class D' receivers that are also well-received and not too expensive (the SA-XR55 and the newer SA-XR57, for example, are their top-end Class D receivers and "only" $300).

Don't buy speakers from Best Buy, Circuit City, et. al. Don't buy Bose. Find a good hi-fi shop and listen - bring in your own CDs or DVDs to listen to as well, the better shops won't mind at all. There are also some very good Internet speaker manufacturers (Axiom, AV123, amongst many) as well but you won't be able to hear them ahead of time.

Finally - while that is a nice monitor, you're only allocating something like $400 for speakers. Don't do that. Spread out your budget more, especially if you want surround sound.

Good forums include the AVS Forum and Home Theatre Forum

* Technically not, but in your price range I don't think you'll be worry about separates.

Darth Wong wrote:I can't speak for that 40" unit, but I got a smaller 23" Samsung LCD for the bedroom a while ago and I'm totally satisfied with it. And I have to say that despite those who complain about having to adapt to a new cabling standard, the HDMI cable format is awesome. Just the fact that it combines audio and video into a single cable makes it a totally worthwhile standards change IMO. The early adopters who bought expensive "HD-ready" TVs without HDMI connections should have known they were taking a risk.

To be honest, I'm a little weary about buying a larger LCD TV. I've hear absolutely great things about the smaller ones though. I guess I'll have to figure out whether or not I'll really need something 40".

Well, I suppose it's more than just the size issue. I'm not really sure how much of a difference the contrast ratio makes when gaming, or just watching a movie. I went out to a bunch of stores like Best Buy and Fry's to see how the different sets looked, but the TV's were recieving SD signals, so it was impossible to tell how something would look in HD. The larger 1080P DLP sets are reasonably priced, and they have great contrast ratio's, but they're several hundred pounds.

As for the speakers: how do I set it all up? The Xbox 360 has HD component cables, and as of right now, there is no HDMI, but rumor has it that one will be released when they release the HD-DVD player in November (the HD-DVD player is cheap, but IMO un-necessary). The sound is taken to the TV via the component cables, but if I've got speakers that I want to hook up to the TV, do I need to connect them to a hub, and then connect the hub to the TV? Buying a home theater system looks like it would be the easiet way to connect the speakers and the TV, because they would all go through the DVD player, but I've already got a few DVD players, and I don't want to pay for another...

If you've got an audio receiver, just take the audio cables out of the XBox and plug them into the audio receiver. I wouldn't be too concerned with audio quality if you're primarily using it to play games, though. I can be a stickler with audio in movies, but game audio is just there so you know what's going on.

phongn wrote:For speakers, you'll need a receiver* to plug everything into. Onkyo and Denon make some good ones for a reasonable price but shop around. Panasonic has some 'Class D' receivers that are also well-received and not too expensive (the SA-XR55 and the newer SA-XR57, for example, are their top-end Class D receivers and "only" $300).

Don't buy speakers from Best Buy, Circuit City, et. al. Don't buy Bose. Find a good hi-fi shop and listen - bring in your own CDs or DVDs to listen to as well, the better shops won't mind at all. There are also some very good Internet speaker manufacturers (Axiom, AV123, amongst many) as well but you won't be able to hear them ahead of time.

Finally - while that is a nice monitor, you're only allocating something like $400 for speakers. Don't do that. Spread out your budget more, especially if you want surround sound.

Good forums include the AVS Forum and Home Theatre Forum

* Technically not, but in your price range I don't think you'll be worry about separates.

Thanks a TON for the speaker advice. All told, I've really got $2700 to spend on the TV, speakers, shipping, and the warranties. I've actually decided that I should wait until the Thanksgiving sales to make any of my purchases. I'm not the, 'I need it now' type - I'd rather save a few hundred dollars, and/or get a nice set-up.

I've been reading that $350 just isn't enough for a good set of speakers - in your opinion, what is 'enough' for a good set of speakers? I'd like to have a nice sub-woofer, and some decent speakers...

Darth Wong wrote:If you've got an audio receiver, just take the audio cables out of the XBox and plug them into the audio receiver. I wouldn't be too concerned with audio quality if you're primarily using it to play games, though. I can be a stickler with audio in movies, but game audio is just there so you know what's going on.

A few years ago I would have agreed with you, but the creators of 'next-gen' console games are starting to pay a lot more attention to in-game sound. If someone is to your left, and you've got 5.1 surround sound, you'll hear them talking, firing, and/or moving to your left. The up-coming game Gears of War is supposed to have amazing sound, along with amazing gameplay and graphics.

I'm a big movie guy too, I've just been watching them on my computer, but it's hard to watch movies with friends on it...

EDIT: I did some snooping around and found something that looks pretty decent. What do you audio guru's think: +++http://www.samsung.com/Products/HomeThe ... ifications

How big is your room?
If space is a concern, a decent sub/sat system is the way to go because you can mount the sats on the walls.
If space is not a concern, then you have many more options.

I haven't listened to their speakers personally, but a lot of guys over on the Ars AV forum say Fluance speakers are the best in their price class.
Also, if you have any locally owned hifi stores (instead of the chains such as Best Buy and Circuit City), haunt them and see what you can find on clearance.

Last year I got a $600 Yamaha AV receiver for $350 and a set of Polk wall mount indoor/outdoor speakers for $75 on clearance at a local shop.

Lastly, don't forget phongn's advice and stay the fuck away from Bose.
Bose is primarily a marketing company, not a speaker company.

Glocksman wrote:How big is your room?
If space is a concern, a decent sub/sat system is the way to go because you can mount the sats on the walls.
If space is not a concern, then you have many more options.

I haven't listened to their speakers personally, but a lot of guys over on the Ars AV forum say Fluance speakers are the best in their price class.
Also, if you have any locally owned hifi stores (instead of the chains such as Best Buy and Circuit City), haunt them and see what you can find on clearance.

Last year I got a $600 Yamaha AV receiver for $350 and a set of Polk wall mount indoor/outdoor speakers for $75 on clearance at a local shop.

Lastly, don't forget phongn's advice and stay the fuck away from Bose.
Bose is primarily a marketing company, not a speaker company.

Space isn't really an issue in room everything will be going into. I've been reading over at AVS forum that Plasma is better for gaming than LCD - any personal opinions on that? I understand that burn-in isn't much of an issue any more, but I'd think that the added pixels you'd get with the 1080P set, as opposed to the 720P plasma sets.

I considered getting a new TV, but I'm putting it off as long as I can because I'm sure prices will drop even more as the blackout date for analog TV gets closer.
I'll make do with my 1987 Sony until then.
So I'm afraid I really don't know much about TV options.

Count Dooku wrote:I've been reading that $350 just isn't enough for a good set of speakers - in your opinion, what is 'enough' for a good set of speakers? I'd like to have a nice sub-woofer, and some decent speakers...

By way of comparison, my Axiom Audio M3tis (same Axiom company I listed earlier) cost about $320/pair new (mainly due to the exchange rate - I bought them when they were about $275/pair). Athena has some less expensive (though I have read, still nice) speakers as well. Glocksman has also recommended Fluance, which has a good reputation. Try to at least get a set of nice bookshelves.

You don't really need the center channel, though it's nice. You could probably get away with four channels + sub. Hsu makes some pretty decent subwoofers; if you're willing to get a bit hands-on check out these Dayton Audio kits. Make sure you get a powered subwoofer in your price range.

EDIT: I did some snooping around and found something that looks pretty decent. What do you audio guru's think:

You don't need to do that to your links, but I'm not a big fan of those Home Theatre In Box systems.

I just bought a 26" Samsung HDTV for $400, but it's a CRT.

phongn wrote:You don't need to do that to your links, but I'm not a big fan of those Home Theatre In Box systems.

Sorry if making my link like that annoyed you. The only reason I'd even consider home theater in a box is because it's simple, but I'll probably have done enough reading over the next week or so to have figured out what I'm confused on. You guys really have been helpful! I'll post my possible set-up for peer review in the morning when I've come up with something that both fits my budget, and works reasonably well.

Just to chip in, I got my speakers from http://www.av123.com . Good quality, look nice. Price ranges from the reasonable, to the completely unreasonable, but then, that's the story of audio equipment. The x-series would run $776 for a full 5.1 set.

Temporary change of plans! My soon-to-be step mom heard about my new job, and said I could borrow one of the projectors that her work uses for the next two months!!! I've already got it set up! It doesn't have working speakers, but that's totally okay!

I'm going to wait until December to buy the TV, and I'm going to get the speakers and reciever in a few days. As far as recievers go, I'm going to get a 7.1 reciever. I'm only going to start with 2.1 audio, but the 7.1 gives me a lot of room to upgrade later on if I want to. How do these look:

1) +http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 8083770470

2) +http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 9206402518

As far as speakers go, I haven't the faintest clue. There are so many out there, and I still haven't got much of an idea about which are good, and which aren't

Dress thine links!

Also, Amazon has the SA-XR57 for a lot less than Best Buy.