ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
I'm buying a second home that we'll be totally refurbishing so a bit of a blank canvas for the AV. I'm a big B&O fan but I am looking at other options. One of those being going down the Sonos route. If I do this then I need to find TV's that will not disappoint in terms of picture quality. I'm used to a BV7. Anyone got any suggestion of what I should at or what other brands come close to B&O for picture processing?
Thanks,Chris.
The one major factor B&O tvs have over every other tv is the sound.
x:________________________
Wait for the Apple TV and just plug in your B&O speakers to it. I am sure it will be wonderful :)
Beolab 50, Beolab 8000 x 2, Beolab 4000 x 2, BeoSound Core, BeoSound 9000, BeoSound Century, BeoLit 15, BeoPlay A1, BeoPlay P2, BeoPlay H9 3rd Gen, BeoPlay H6, EarSet 3i, BeoVision Eclipse Gen 2 55", BeoPlay V1-40, BeoCom 6000 and so much else :)
For me its both the sound and the picture quality that sets them apart from others. I've yet to see any other TV's that can match the sound hence my interest in Sonos and their new sound-bar due out in March. Team this up with the their subwoofer and play:3 speakers as rears and you have a 5.1 system that should produce good quality sound on any TV with an optical audio out. Hence my interest in peoples views on picture quality for non B&O TV's
I like the look of Sonos for the multi-room integration it offers (like B&O with ML but without the wiring). Sonos looks like it also has a nice remote interface again like B&O. In my current house I have all B&O with some ML links from a BV7 plus BL7.4, BL6000's, BL4000's & BL2 in the lounge to a BS9000 with BL6000's in the dining room and linked to my iMac with a beoport so I can access my iTunes library on both. I also run a Apple TV into the BV7 to access iTunes and other TV/video on my iMac. So well aware of B&O, just looking at other options as I have a clean slate to work with in the new place.
For the new home wiring up a B&O system shouldn't be a big issue as we have to rewire / redecorate / plaster every room, but is wiring becoming old technology keeping in mind I'm not a audiophile, but I like a simple to use good sounding system. Also doing a quick pricing exercise for TV's and music in the lounge and kitchen of the new home, plus sound in the study, then buying 2nd life B&O kit compared to equivalent new Sonos kit and couple of Philips TV's then its pretty much double the price for the B&O option........
Just thoughts and looking for ideas experiences of others.
MartinW would be interested for you to describe your mixed B&O / Sonos setup and how to link the two.
Chris.
Hi Chris,
" but is wiring becoming old technology" : this is not an old technology but one other option.
More secure than all this wifi stuff that lazzy people love.
I live in a house and I have only my own wifi network (I will soon wired it), just imagine how many internet boxes or unwired audio system one could detect in a building of 50 flats.
This is just the beginning of this "new" audio technology, we will see in less than a decade that the frequencies will be far overloaded.
Maybe more work, but wire all with cat6 ethernet, this is more reasonable.
4 beolab 5, beolab 9, beolab 10, beolab 5000, beolab 8000 mk2, beolab 6002, beolab 3500, beovision 7 55 mk2, 2 beovision 11 46 mk4, beotime, beosound ouverture, beosound essence, beoplay A8, beomaster 900 RG de luxe and the collection continues...
cnjarvis: For me its both the sound and the picture quality that sets them apart from others. I've yet to see any other TV's that can match the sound hence my interest in Sonos and their new sound-bar due out in March. Team this up with the their subwoofer and play:3 speakers as rears and you have a 5.1 system that should produce good quality sound on any TV with an optical audio out. Hence my interest in peoples views on picture quality for non B&O TV's I like the look of Sonos for the multi-room integration it offers (like B&O with ML but without the wiring). Sonos looks like it also has a nice remote interface again like B&O. In my current house I have all B&O with some ML links from a BV7 plus BL7.4, BL6000's, BL4000's & BL2 in the lounge to a BS9000 with BL6000's in the dining room and linked to my iMac with a beoport so I can access my iTunes library on both. I also run a Apple TV into the BV7 to access iTunes and other TV/video on my iMac. So well aware of B&O, just looking at other options as I have a clean slate to work with in the new place. For the new home wiring up a B&O system shouldn't be a big issue as we have to rewire / redecorate / plaster every room, but is wiring becoming old technology keeping in mind I'm not a audiophile, but I like a simple to use good sounding system. Also doing a quick pricing exercise for TV's and music in the lounge and kitchen of the new home, plus sound in the study, then buying 2nd life B&O kit compared to equivalent new Sonos kit and couple of Philips TV's then its pretty much double the price for the B&O option........ Just thoughts and looking for ideas experiences of others. MartinW would be interested for you to describe your mixed B&O / Sonos setup and how to link the two. Chris.
Just a thought, but it seems as if retaining the sound and picture standards of B&O TV's is important to you, but saving cost with all the other expenses of renovating a home is a priority as well.
IMHO - enter stage left... BeoPlay.
Take a good, long, hard, comparative look at the V1 against other mainstream TV's - Lowe, Sony, Panasonic etc.
I did, and I bought one.
It also allowed me to financially be able to procur a new set of Beolab 9's with the cost effective value of the set - it sits in top tier Sony/Panasonic price bracket, with much better (fully active) sound, an onboard SS processor (same chassis as a BV11) and an amazingly natural picture. IMHO the VFM is off the scale.
It also has mounting options that you don't find in the mainstream sets, which may be of considerable use, if you like a lot of style and flexibility as to how you place things in a room.
It may only be 'baby' B&O, but it's a helluva set and amazing VFM for what it is.
Highly recommended.. yes...lol.. I know I'm biased, but believe me, I did my homework very thoroughly before buying.
HTH
John...
I recently bought a Panasonic P65VT50 plasma 65 inch set...the VT series is their top of the line and comes in 55 and 65 inche sizes. Image quality is spectacular, out of the box the THX Cinema settings are as close to perfectly setup as I've ever seen out of the box for a mass market TV. I use a separate surround sound setup so don't use it's internal speakers. Paid a little over three thousand US dollars for it.
Very attractive set too. 3D if you want that, I do t use that capability myself.
I'm happy.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Jeff: I recently bought a Panasonic P65VT50 plasma 65 inch set...the VT series is their top of the line and comes in 55 and 65 inche sizes. Image quality is spectacular, out of the box the THX Cinema settings are as close to perfectly setup as I've ever seen out of the box for a mass market TV. I use a separate surround sound setup so don't use it's internal speakers. Paid a little over three thousand US dollars for it. Very attractive set too. 3D if you want that, I do t use that capability myself. I'm happy.
I'd agree - plasma still has a slight edge in performance over LCD, especially in a darkened room watching movies, and as Jeff says, in THX mode the VT50 would undoubtedly be my pick of the mainstream TV's
From my POV, I wanted to get into B&O, so the V1 gave me personally, the best all round balance of product feature, vis a vis great picture (probably the best LCD picture I've seen barring the likes of a BV10/11/7-40 etc, with a top of the line Sony Bravia a close second) and of course the SS processor and active speaker array.
But if I didn't have the need to start somewhere with B&O, and just wanted a standalone TV, and had the room for a large screen, I'd find the VT50 very tempting indeed - absolutely.
So I second Jeffs proposal
Wait for the new Panasonic plasma tvs, are the best:
http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1361272859
Beo4 'til I die!
Interesting, I'm betting there will be a not insignificant price up from the VT to the ZT, although still probably not in B&O price territory.It's encouraging to see Panasonic still putting effort into plasma, which IMO is still the best technology for image quality, at least until OLED sets get affordable. And larger.
All the reviews I've read comparing the VT to the Kuro gave a very, very slight edge to the Kuro, but not much or even noticeable on most content. There was like a half an IRE difference in ultimate black level, awfully hard to see with the eye. At any rate, I don't have a Kuro to compare against, and I'm very happy with the VT.
There's definitely TV's with better picture than B&O .
Too long to list....
I agree with many other posters in that if you do not want an B&O - Panasonics plasmas are the way to go.
I recently got a BV11 since, in my opinion, it is the best TV overall currently in the market (i.e. taking the whole package into account, picture, sound, design, features, etc).
If I couldn't have the BV11 I would go for either the BV12 (has Panasonic panels) or the Panasonic VT/ZT series
I am waiting about the iTV from Apple at November 2013 ! Should be stunning because Apple works secretly with Loewe ! ;-))
rob08:I agree with many other posters in that if you do not want an B&O - Panasonics plasmas are the way to go. I recently got a BV11 since, in my opinion, it is the best TV overall currently in the market (i.e. taking the whole package into account, picture, sound, design, features, etc). If I couldn't have the BV11 I would go for either the BV12 (has Panasonic panels) or the Panasonic VT/ZT series
Beosound Stage, Beovision 8-40, Beolit 20, Beosound Explore.
I suspect there are several reasons. First there's the whole "green" thing with lower power consumption with LCDs. Then add in brighter for bright rooms, and a larger number of potential vendors for the glass as there are fewer and fewer plasma makers. Finally, B&O strive to make idiot proof systems you don't have to know much about or worry over to use. Last thing you want is to hear from someone that dropped thousands to tens of thousands of dollars on a TV come back PO'd that he left it on a video game for two days and it's permanently burned in. I also think it took them a while to embrace LCD because it took until recently for local LED dimming technology to make LCD image quality acceptable to B&O.