Hi Guys,

10k Budget, looking for a full LCD with High Definition Set Top Box and an audio package, not sure what we can get for that sort of money.

Were on our way to the Home Show in Melb so might be considering an impulse buy too :P

Didnt see any packages for this sort of money posted here so if anyone has some good recommendations it would be much appreciated.

Cheers

You should be looking at the sony 52inch lcd or the pioneer 50inch plasma for the tv which will include a hd set top box. As for audio look at receivers from denon, onkyo and marantz. I'm not sure on speakers someone else will have to help u out with that. But the best way is to go in store to check and picture quality and sound quality with ur fav cds, dvds, etc.

Thanks JMatthews, I guess we were hoping for something a little bigger than 50", do you know if they make anything in 60-80"?

Is it better to get a HD set top box seperately rather than have one included in the TV?

In LCD i think there are only 70inch lcds but they are very expensive. If you look at plasmas then u can definitely get something in the 60inch range.

Most integrated hd tuners in tvs are quite good.

2k Combine on the Telly. 8k on Audio ;)

Buddy makes a good point how much do u want to spend on each?

Raiden writes...

Is it better to get a HD set top box seperately rather than have one included in the TV?

You can't get TVs of that size without them included, so it's a moot point.

JMatthews writes...

Buddy makes a good point how much do u want to spend on each?

IMO, this should be about a 40/60 split.

$4k on TV and $6k on receiver and audio.

it it was me, i'd go for pana 50", ps3 for blu-ray, yamaha 1800 or 3800 reciever and then the rest on some really nice speakers.

brentonsav writes...

IMO, this should be about a 40/60 split.

Agreed, you can have a crap video with awesome audio and it will give you a great experience. The opposite (great video , crap audio) isn't true.
Sound is much more important

I'd make that 30/70 ...

get a top of the range plasma over LCD any day!

the 58" panasonic RRP is around 8k but i think it can be had for around 6k. 1k on the reciever and the rest on speakers......

Raiden writes...

Were on our way to the Home Show in Melb so might be considering an impulse buy too :P

Can you wait a few months for the release of Laser TV?

It'd be a shame to spend several thousands of dollars on an LCD / Plasma TV now and find something significantly better is available by year's end.

Yes, I know about the "wait forever, buy nothing" argument with technology. But Laser TV will be here shortly, it is a significant step forward - revolution rather than evolution - and it may well completely shake up the current TV market.

Otherwise, spend as much as you can on the latest TV now. And worry about really "beefy" audio system a little later. That way you minimise the tech obsolescence with the TV.

Cheers :)

for those that worry only about the panel, you'll end up making a home theatre that looks better than it is. you'll find many ppl do this as often is a "mine is bigger than the neighbors" scenario.

if you spend $6k on audio, it would be a fantastic setup.

you'll have the speakers forever as they won't be worth half what you payed for them in 12 months time.

you can always get a 60" pio later down the track as they become more reasonably priced, if you find the 50 too small but for most rooms, the 50" is heaps.

Whirl writes...

Can you wait a few months for the release of Laser TV?

Heard that before and it's been "coming soon" for like 2 years now...

Whirl writes...

Can you wait a few months for the release of Laser TV?

It'd be a shame to spend several thousands of dollars on an LCD / Plasma TV now and find something significantly better is available by year's end.

'a few months'? - Oh, my - aren't you an optimistic one.

Even assuming that all the Laser TV hype is true, and even assuming that they don't have some significant flaw that will only become apparent in real world usage and EVEN assuming that Mitsubishi can keep their 'Q3 2008' release date (Don't hold your breath), then if you think that the initial models will retail for under $10,000, you're dreaming.

Edit: Also, Laser TV has better colour/contrast than existing tvs. By anyone's standard, that's evolution, not revolution.

Serak writes...

You can't get TVs of that size without them included, so it's a moot point.

Of course OP may want a HD set top box that has hard drives in it, dual receivers and time shifting capabilities.

Thanks for the help so far guys,

OK now im a bit scared hearing about these laser tvs that might be coming out, but i guess you've got a point that if i keep waiting theres always something else around the corner.

Can you really tell that much difference between a 2k audio setup and a 6k audio setup?

If it's really that vital maybe i will sacrifice screen size for audio.

Raiden writes...

OK now im a bit scared hearing about these laser tvs that might be coming out

You will wait forever for 'next generation'. Shop now, buy the best value for your money and needs and just be satisfied and *do not* read a hifi catalogue for the next 2 years :P

A few questions -
What size room are we talking about here?
How far from TV to the viewing location?
I assume you have an existing cabinet to put it all on.

Assuming you have a large loungeroom, to get full benefit of 1080p you really need a pretty big TV. Far bigger than LCD is practical.

You can get a 58" Panasonic / Samsung for $5k. You could spend $1.5k on bluray player + digital video recorder + HD set top box. Could spend $2k if you were keen but you would be cutting into speaker budget.

$1k Receiver, probably one of the new Onkyos or Yamahas. Look at the features of the various ones and decide what suits you more, and if you listen to music or movies / tv or games more etc.

Speakers, probably $800 on a decent sub, $1200 on 2 x towers, $500 on a nice centre and $600 or so on two satellites. Decent speaker stands are about $150 a pair for the satellites as well. Really hard to say with speakers. You need to audition them with the receiver you choose. That's the most important thing.
Don't get screwed on speaker wire either as just quality copper does really well.

hmm that probably took you over budget lol...

On that note don't get screwed on HDMI / other video cables either. There are plenty of articles on the 'net about this.

Good luck! I'm jealous. I spent a measly $1.5k on my audio, $2k on the TV and built a HTPC that pumps out 1080p for $700.

Raiden writes...

OK now im a bit scared hearing about these laser tvs that might be coming out, but i guess you've got a point that if i keep waiting theres always something else around the corner.

Laser TV's been hyping up and "coming soon, within the next few months" for years now. Don't believe the crap and shop what's available now in the mass market. You won't be regretting if you got a LCD/Plasma and they will dominate the market for foreseeable future.

Serak writes...

Oh, my - aren't you an optimistic one.

LOL! I seem to be one of the few in this WP "universe".

Even assuming ..

Yep! Assumptions can be made about everything (including future improvements to LCD / Plasma techs).

Edit: Also, Laser TV has better colour/contrast than existing tvs. By anyone's standard, that's evolution, not revolution.

The improvements are so significant it's not funny. CRT quality color, contrast, blacks and motion handling, with (nearly) all the advantages of a flat panel. I call that "revolution".

BTW, my original post simply informs about alternatives. I'm not advising the OP wait for Laser TV. Just suggesting they know about it before they purchase a Plasma / LCD option.

xtraviolent writes...

foreseeable future.

Which means what exactly? One year? Two years? Five years?

Even LCD / Plasma TVs will be very different in a year from now. (But it's arguable the tech. hasn't really changed that much in terms of PQ over the past couple of years - without a radical tech. shift those panels aren't going to improve much in your "foreseeable future".)

Cheers :)

Whirl writes...

Which means what exactly? One year? Two years? Five years?

Even LCD / Plasma TVs will be very different in a year from now. (But it's arguable the tech. hasn't really changed that much in terms of PQ over the past couple of years - without a radical tech. shift those panels aren't going to improve much in your "foreseeable future".)

Not sure if I should be reponding to this or not...you sort of answered your own question it seems ;)

I guess the bottomline is, forget LaserTV and invest in LCD/Plasma now.
Matter of size is the hard part though...price/size sweet spot vs slightly larger at a huge premium.

Raiden writes...

Can you really tell that much difference between a 2k audio setup and a 6k audio setup?

you can not compare a 2k system to a 6k system as they are far different in sound quality - example in general a 6k speaker system will sound far tighter / detail than a 2k system....

genkifd writes...

you can not compare a 2k system to a 6k system as they are far different in sound quality

Agreed, a good sound setup vs bad one will make a much bigger difference than a good TV vs a bad one.
there aren't that much difference between TVs really.

jazzyjeff writes...

What size room are we talking about here?
How far from TV to the viewing location?

Yes, How big is this room?

If you have a PS3, then there is your Blu-ray.
If not then this is the split that I would have, note these are on assumptions as not much info is being provided.

Screen 46"-50" (LCD or Plasma) - 3k to 3.5k
AVR - 2.5k
5.1 Spk - 3.5
Blu-ray and cabling - 1k (if already have, split the figure evenly into the AVR and Spk)

I would also strongly suggest you, to go to a Hi-Fi specialist and let them know of your intentions, make sure you let them know what percentage would be between HT and music.
They should be able to cater a few AVR's and speaker combos into a listening room for you to audition. Make sure you bring in your genre music cd's and DVD's.

Here is some of the specialist in Melbourne that I would recommend.

tivolihifi.com/index.html

www.encelstereo.com.au/encel/default.asp

www.clefhifi.com.au

www.audiovideoexcellence.com.au/1.html

www.sbhifi.com.au/products.htm

Happy shopping :)

Raiden writes...

OK now im a bit scared hearing about these laser tvs that might be coming out, but i guess you've got a point that if i keep waiting theres always something else around the corner.

I've been hearing that Laser TVs are 'just about be produce commercially' for about 2 years now. Still haven't seen them though.

Can you really tell that much difference between a 2k audio setup and a 6k audio setup?

Absolutely - for around $4,000 - $5,000, you'll get an extremely nice sound system. For around $2,000, you'll get an acceptable sound system. Once you've heard the difference, you won't feel any regret about spending the extra money - it's almost exactly like the difference between a 36" generic brand SD CRT and a 60" 1080p high quality screen.

Cafeman writes...

Absolutely - for around $4,000 - $5,000, you'll get an extremely nice sound system. For around $2,000, you'll get an acceptable sound system. Once you've heard the difference, you won't feel any regret about spending the extra money - it's almost exactly like the difference between a 36" generic brand SD CRT and a 60" 1080p high quality screen.

I have to disagree (sort of)... unless the OP is a bit of an audiophile and plans on critically listening to music as well as movies/TV.

Going from $2k to $4k there will be improvement, of course. But not a huge amount like you state (CRT -> 60" 1080p). You have to audition both and see whether that (to my ears) incremental improvement is worth $2,000.00. (expanded to make $2k bigger :P )

Having said that, if I had a 10k budget I would be spending $4k on sound lol.

jazzyjeff writes...

But not a huge amount like you state (CRT -> 60" 1080p). You have to audition both and see whether that (to my ears) incremental improvement is worth $2,000.00. (expanded to make $2k bigger :P )

I'll stand by the 36" -> 60" comparison - a good subwoofer alone is around $800 minimum, and a decent entry-level amp starts at around $650. That's already around $1,500, and you don't even have the other four speakers. The difference is very noticable, even if you're not listening critically. Even totally non-audiophile relatives can easily hear the difference when they listen to my gear. They wouldn't spend the dollars themselves, but they can completely appreciate why I did.

Cafeman writes...

I'll stand by the 36" -> 60" comparison

Alright agree to disagree lol :P
I'm not disagreeing but 10 times better? Oh it's so hard to compare audio and visual though.

but...
1920 x 1080 = 2.07 megapixels
640 x 320 = 0.2 megapixels

1080p 10 times better than SD? Yes.
$4000 sound system 10 times better than $2000 system? I'd like to hear that :P

jazzyjeff writes...

1920 x 1080 = 2.07 megapixels
640 x 320 = 0.2 megapixels

Only if resolution is the only thing that's important. More importantly, you can watch the same show on each. It's just that on the 60" screen, it's a more enjoyable experience, you'll see more detail, and the perceived quality will be significantly better.

A show doesn't become 10 times better just because there's 10 times the pixels. However, in a qualitative sense, the difference between the two examples is pretty comparable (in my opinion).

a lot does come down to the type of media being played also.

blu-ray will love $6k of sound, much more than 96kbps mp3's from the net.

Cafeman writes...

the difference between the two examples is pretty comparable (in my opinion).

Alright, agree to disagree. And if I could I would spend $4k rather than $2k.

640 x 320 = 0.2 megapixels
Standard def PAL is 720 x 576.

Horizontal res difference between SD and 1080i = 1920/720 = HD is 2.6666x the res.
Vertical res difference between SD and 1080i = 1080/576 = HD is 1.875x the res.

So standard def compared to 1080i is about double the vertical and double the horizontal. 720p is less, but progressive, so double the pixels sent on the vertical axes. At best HD is 4 times the res, no where near 10x!

I'm all for blowing a lot of cash on a great sound system though. Does make a big difference for good content.

islayermarc writes...

At best HD is 4 times the res, no where near 10x!

It's irrelevant to my argument... man this is the worst I've ever behaved at WP!

In my opinion...
you spend $1000 you get a certain level of quality.
you spend $2000 you get may make it 20% better.
You spend $5000 you get may make it 10% better again. (not more than 10 or four times)
You spend $10,000 you get may make it 5% better again... and so on.

I really think it's misleading to others and you're letting the amount you spent convince your ears. I would love to know what $4k system you think is so much better than a $2k system.

You will never get perfect audio reproduction... but my point is that spending money on audio gives you an decreasing amount of improvement. Then pick a level that is commensurate to your budget.

my point is that spending money on audio gives you an decreasing amount of improvement. Then pick a level that is commensurate to your budget.
I agree that's true with almost anything. Diminishing returns as you move higher and higher end.

i dont think you can rate audio by a figure like ten time better - just how tight and detailed the sound is.... compared to muddy.... generally most budget systems bass level are very muddy sound and unclear...

For $10k this is the setup i'd go for:

Pioneer 50" Plasma. PDPLX508A
www.pioneer.com.au/produ..._panel/PDPLX508A

Can be had for about $5k

Yamaha YHT-995 home theatre package:
www.yamahamusic.com.au/p...tems/YHT-995.asp

Can be had for about $3499

Panasonic blu-ray player. DMP-BD30:
panasonic.com.au/product...fm?objectID=4138

Can be had for about $700

Logitech Harmony universal remote. Harmoney 1000i
www.logitech.com/index.c...160&cl=au,en

Can be had for about $549

Add in there for good quality cabling for your home theatre:
www.selbyacoustics.com.a...&i=237874540

Add in some HDMI cables:
www.ezyhd.com

All up it should be about $10,000.

In December last year, we spent about 12 - 13k on a new system and I must say, it is in some cases a better experience than going to the cinema.

We spent a lot of time researching the TV and finally couldn't go past the Pioneer 60". It was by far the pick of the bunch and even though the price was significantly higher, through a great deal, we got a price, which we were more than pleased with.

We also looked at sound systems and went with a Pioneer LX60 amp and a Dali Ikon 5.1 package. Couldn't have chosen a better sound system. The audio is just so crisp and packs a huge amount of power. It blows you away, not literally of course.

It truly is an amazing system and i'd recommend it if you could afford the extra 2k or so.

Also for blu-ray we just went with the Ps3 as it's a more versatile buy and we game a little bit.

Definitely an amazing system and couldn't really recommend anything else better for the money.

Perdition writes...

Logitech Harmony universal remote. Harmoney 1000i
www.logitech.com/index.c...160&cl=au,en

Can be had for about $549

try shopbot.com.au for prices, I got my 1000i for $308 from ITestate, 2 day delivery.

For $10k this is the setup i'd go for:

Pioneer 50" Plasma. PDPLX508A
http://www.pioneer.com.au/productdetails/home_entertainment/plasma_display_panel/PDPLX508A/

Can be had for about $5k

Yamaha YHT-995 home theatre package:
http://www.yamahamusic.com.au/products/avit/htsystems/YHT-995.asp

Can be had for about $3499

Panasonic blu-ray player. DMP-BD30:
http://panasonic.com.au/products/details.cfm?objectID=4138

Can be had for about $700

Now this is a reply The guy wants to know what to get for 10K tell him what you think! there is no point arguing over audio vs video as it is very subjective, depending on the viewer.

IMHO the pioneer lx508a is the best TV out there, then juts get the best deal you can on decent amp, subbie and throw what left at the speakers you like the sound of in the stores you visit

Good post Perdition ;)