Anyone have the new SXRD - XBR2? (1 Viewer)

I've been cruising the stores looking for the new Sony KDS-R60XBR2 and have yet to see one in person. A couple of store have the A2000 running and it looks pretty nice although I don't prefer it to the KDL-46XBR2 Bravia LCD. Is there much of a difference between the XBR2 and the A2000?

Man, am I disappointed this thread doesn't have any replies. I was eyeing the XBR2, but I have found a very good deal on the A2000. It seems hard to justify the price difference and I was wondering just what the differences were. I was hoping to find the answer in nice concise format.

Greetings

I have calibrated a few of these already. Menu structure is the same as the regular line. Very tweakable.

Image is the same on both.

Regards

Sorry! but I beg to differ! I saw all three models ( A2000, SXRD-XBR2 and the 52" XBR3 LCD ) side by side during the Sony trade show in Toronto last month. The XBR3 using the Bravia-HD engine had a magnificent picture, the best I've seen of any set to-date. I would say even better than the 50" Pioneer Elite 1080p PLasma. The XBR2 uses a 'WEGA-PRO' engine vs the A2000 'WEGA' engine and a brighter lamp. The result, a brighter, sharper and better contrast picture. FYI, the XBR3 is way over priced especially when compares to its closest rival the Sharp Aquos 52" 1080p LCD. As for the XBR2, it is undoubtedly the best ( and most expensive?!) rear projection 1080p TV out there. For the money of the A2000, I would consider the JVC HDxxFH97 instead. Picture quality of the latter is definitely better. However, the remote is a pain to understand and operate!

I have the new 60" XBR set and LOVE IT!
Here is a thread I started which also only got one reply, but I gave my initial impressions of the set.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...d.php?t=244077

Another thread on the set:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...d.php?t=244510

A quote from my part of that thread:

"I gave the XBR1 an exhaustive amount of tweaking and viewing at my local retailers over the last year. So much so that I got the SXRB2 when it came out and only paid a little more than the closeout price of last year's model.
I wanted the newest upscaling software that comes with the new series sets. It does not disappoint. SD cable shows that were marginal at best with the older set now look a few shades better, but of course nowhere near HD. Still, it is better to have the newer software from my experience than not to.

The newer set also has 3 HDMI inputs and of course straight through 1080p if you need it. The bulb is sixty watts brighter than last years as well. This can be useful in daylight bathed rooms. I also like the matt screens on the Sony's over the uber shiny plasma we had.

The set comes in at a much lower list price than last year's set and comes with the extra bulb.

So I went for the newer set as the few upgrades it had over the previous model worked for me, and I got it at a reasonable price which never hurts."

A decent review of the set lies here as well:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_KDS_R60...1228.html#more

The only thing I differ with them on is the usefulness of the newer upscaling software of the XBR series. I do find it doing a reasonable job polishing SD cable. The A-2000 series has older upscaling software, even an older rev than last year's SXRD model 1.

The new XBR LCOS sets come with an extra bulb too.
The sets ( 60" ) can be had from a decent dealer for around $3,500.00. The price made me get it, as well as the extra bulb, upgraded upconverting software, and the extra sixty watts of brightness.
Besides, I like the 'Dumbo ears" They sound fine when you only want some ok noise.

I have the sony xbr2 60" and compared it to the a2000 & xbr1 srxds'
the a2000 is nowhere near as bright (I have large picture windows)

the upscaling is much better on the xbr2 ...especially with sd and analog sources

anyway, unless the sales people at the store I compared the models deliberately skewed the settings on the a2000 to make it look bad, go w/ the xbr2..it was only a few hundred more and the side-by side comparisons did not require a fine eye...any half blind person would go w/ xbr2 in a second.

the xbr1 was also much better than a2000,

that's my 2 cents,

Dave

I just bought the xbr2 and i love it. it has 3 hdmi inputs and the speakers sound better then the a2000....

I just took home a KDS-R60XBR2 the other night and so far I am very satisfied.

I have not had it officially calibrated, but once the color and color temp settings were reduced to my liking, from the factory settings, the picture is absolutely astounding in 1080i. Off axis (vertical and horizontal) effects are minimal. It only weighs 120 lbs. The 70" set definitely would have been too big for my setup.

I never liked the dumbo ears, which are removable on the KDS-R70XBR2, but I decided before I bought it to live with that.

I have to admit, I am disappointed at the SD picture from cable and Dish Network, but that may be the nature of the beast. I am also going to try and see if there isn't a problem with my feeds. But if I move back from about 9 feet to about 12 or 15 feet, even SD looks great! ANd if you use the PIP which results in a smaller picture you get the same effect. The remote is easy enough to use. There is a great amount of adjustability in the SW. The interfaces are very good, although one more S-video would have helped my current situation. The channels are super easy to program. The on screen TV guide is fantastic and totally free, and works for cable and off air.

I paid $3,299 + tax with a promise that I would be refunded $200 when it goes down to $3099 after the holidays.

I looked at the high end Sony 1080p LCDs and the the Elite 1080p plasma. The plasma was very nice but at $7k was way out of my price range. The LCDs were either more expensive or the same price but smaller, and I didn't think the overall picture was quite as good as the LCoS.

I agree with the comments on the A2000, not quite as good.

DAP

The brightness of the xbr2 is great. I have a room full of light and it looks great. i can't believe how little glare it is. I bought the xbr2 for the future, i plan on keeping this tv for a long time....

Hello,

Yes. First was an SXRD 60A2000 (12/10/2006) (Color uniformity, green tint faces issues) returned after a week. Exchanged it for a Sony 60XBR2, $800.00 more (12/17/2006) (same problems) returned after 3 days.

I truly believe (IMHO) that the Sony SXRD line (LCOS, RPTV) needs more time for technical improvement especially in the quality control department. I do not have any doubts that Sony will be successful in the task but when you spend between 2000k and 5000k you should not have to be worried about reliability issues in the short term. (Green blogs, green faces, bad customer service, worrying with extended warranties...)

Finally I chose a Panasonic 50' Plasma (12/21/2006). I couldn't be more happy with my decision. In the future I will upgrade to a 65' Plasma and the 50' will go to my bedroom.

Have a nice day!


Regards,