Pioneer Kuro - Should I buy? (1 Viewer)

I am just about to start building a new home theater setup in our new home. I have settled on home theater receiver (Onkyo TX-SR876) and speakers (Axiom Epic Grand Master In Wall) and I am now trying to settle on the display. My prior setup had a front projector (Sony VPL-HS20) but I had to leave it with our prior home - it was an excellent selling point. So this time I am going to go with a flat panel display.
Based on all reviews and comments it seems the best picture is the Pioneer Elite KURO but since Pioneer is leaving the business I am not sure to go with this set (the 60" model) due to warranty, support etc... I watch a lot of ice hockey and the family watches mostly movies so I want to make sure the set performs well in both situations.
So...should I go forward with Pioneer or go with an alternative ... such as Panasonic or Samsung.
(setup details: room is 22 x 16 great room, cathedral ceiling, two skylights, two windows, one patio door, all windows and door have curtains which can be drawn to minimize light. Most viewing is nighttime though. TV will be wall mounted).
I appreciate everyone's help.

Pioneer is not going out of business, they are just discontinuing a product line. Service will still be available, as well as spare parts. I wish I could afford a Kuro right now, I would buy without hesitation.

If some some reason you decide not to get the Kuro, I'd recommend the Panny over anything except the Pioneer. The Samsung plasmas aren't bad, they just aren't as good as the Panny, especially the salcers, IMO.

Do you really want to give up FP? Just to tempt...saw a thread last night at AVS that Pioneer's rebranded JVC RS2 is being blown out for under $3K. The RS2 went for around $7K when new and the Pioneer Elite version is still listed at $9K at some online retailers.

Choose fast.

-Brent

Thanks Dan...I did check the Pioneer website and I understand it is not the company going under - just the abandonment of a product line. I am somewhat concerned about long term support if an issue occurs with a unit four or five years down the road ... but by then it may be time to replace anyway. It seems the Kuro is the way to go to get the best quality.

I wish I could...my new home won't work for the FP. I was able to design a setup at our old house that fit really well into a great room (projector hidden in a closet, dalite remote control screen above the fireplace, same Axiom speakers). I am trying to do as much as I can to duplicate ... but going from 106" to 60" is quite a reduction in size! I do miss the FP!

Perhaps you saw it on this site ??

I have the Elite PJ for $2950 and also including a free in home THX Video calibration (in select markets). Please note that I only have 1 unit left.

Greg, please.

Nothing in my post remotely suggests I have any doubt where I saw the deal posted. Out of respect for HTF I didn't point out the exact sub-forum and thread title where to find the deal. The deal post you linked didn't even start until AVSers had already started receiving the discounted Pioneers.

It's one thing to attempt to promote your business at every opportunity, despite your company not appearing to be a HTF sponsor as far as I can tell (isn't that a violation of the rules), but please refrain from twisting my words to do so.

-Brent

I appreciate the responses. I am now researching the lowest prices online for the PRO 151FD. It looks like the best number is about $4,900. All reviews say "best picture"...seems to be worth the extra few k.

I will post some before and after pictures as I proceed for those who are interested. Should be a fun project.

paranoid??

Please note the administrator title beside my name....i am very aware of the rules and am an advertiser here.

I just purchased a 60" Kuro Elite, to replace my 6 year-old Sony rear projection LCD that developed yellow blob. The picture on the Pioneer is stunning with my new Blu-ray player. The high def cable gets installed today. I got a very good deal at my local high-end audio store, so you might want to check prices locally as well as online.

Let me put it this way: My home display is a 53" Pioneer SD533-HD5, a CRT based HD-RPTV, calibrated by Dave Levy before he stopped traveling. It has a huge footprint, it needs regular maintenance (lens cleaning, convergence, etc.), but the picture is still better than any consumer digital display on the market today, IMO. I believe that CRT still has the best overall picture quality and there are no digital displays that can match the black levels, at least not yet. The only digital display I would consider replacing it with would be a Kuro.

I did go ahead with the Pioneer...It is being installed as I speak...can't wait to see how it looks...

Thanks for the advice...the agreement was very strong on the Kuro.

Let us know how it looks! I bought the 50" six weeks ago. I've done a basic adjustment of the settings and it looks nice. I'm considering buying the ControlCal software / hardware to do pseudo-calibration on my own.

Well...the system is in ... and the feedback is very positive.
The picture on the Kuro is amazing. Of course, quality is dependent on the source with blue ray and HD sources on our cable (Comcast) system being the best. I haven't done more than use the preset selections such as game, standard, pure, movie etc...). I watch a lot of ice hockey and I find the "game" setting to be the best. We also watched Iron Man on blue ray over the weekend and it looked great.
I also had other equipment installed as well...most of it Pioneer.
SC-05 Receiver
BDP-51FD Blue Ray Player
Polk Audio LSi Center Channel Speaker
Pioneer Elite EX Series In-Wall Front Speakers (6 1/2)
Pioneer Custom In-Wall Rear Speakers
Pioneer Subwoofer - 10", S-W501
My original plan was to go with Axiom Audio speakers (in-wall) but the full in-wall setup was attractive due to the location of the system (main family room). The sound is also excellent although I would like to try and do some tweaking on the setup.
The install was done by Value Electronics ... they did a great job on very short notice! Thanks very much to them for the great service.

HI Stephen
Glad to hear VE took care of you and got it installed.
LMK if you want to set up a calibration on the display and really get the set dialed in correctly. In addition I would be adding ISF day and ISF Night modes to your user modes (pretty cool).
Feel free to email me at [email protected]

You won't be disappointed in the Pioneer! I can hardly tear my eyes off my Elite 111FD!