Save My Friend Before It's To Late (1 Viewer)

[Paul Murphy]

My friend is about to buy a JVC I-Art. Now what the hell is he thinking. His main concern for some reason is because he is too cheap to buy a center speaker and wants a tv with speaker inputs. I try to explain to him. Get a toshiba,hitachi or sony. Not really sure which is better, but could anyone help this poor man. His price range is $2500-$3500 canadian. I saw in november issue of audio and vision that the best in that range were toshiba and the sony. Anyways please save him, we only have till this weekend to change his mind or he will go and buy that peice of shit.

 

[Paul Murphy]

bump

 

[Steve Schaffer]

One opinion in one article in one magazine doesn't make a set a "peice of shit". I tend to take magazine ratings with a large grain of salt given their financial dependence on advertising from the companies whose products they review.

Plenty of folks have bought the JVC and are quite happy with them, your friend doesn't need rescuing. It's his money and his decision. I'd agree that choosing one set over another solely because it's speakers can be used as a center channel is not the smartest idea since he's not gonna get anything like accurate timbre matching with his mains.

 

[RobSB]

I'm pretty sure the Toshiba XXH82 TV's can be used as a center channel, and they are great sets.

 

[John-Miles]

All you can do is point your friend to this forum.
personally if you really think he is making a mistake dont try to get him to change his mind, rahter try to convince him to do more research, its alot of money to spend and he would hate to have to buy a new tv later down the road, I know i certainly dont like the idea of ahving to get a new receiver, though it is necessary..... i jumped into the decision :frowning:

 

[DavidAM]

The JVC's are really nice TV's and I would take that over the Toshiba or Sony's currently on the market, so leave your friend alone and let him enjoy his new JVC TV.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Hmmm... If he doesn't want to buy a decent center channel speaker, then maybe he should just go w/out one. Unless he intends to sit way off to the side, a phantom center should work much better than any cheap, mismatched center speaker, especially the TV(!).
FYI, I have Vandersteen 2Ci's for my mains--got them years ago primarily for classical music--and decided to go w/out a center speaker when I got into this "home theater" thing. It sounds great w/ the phantom center blended between the 2Ci's.
I suppose how well it works will depend a lot on the quality of the mains and their ability to provide good imaging. Also, speaker placement becomes more critical, and sitting extremely close won't work well either. Probably need to sit at least as far from the 2 speakers as the distance between them.
If the phantom center isn't the way to go, he could always go w/ a cheaper TV from Toshiba or the like. It's not like there's necessarily any sacrifice in image quality. Then he can probably afford a center speaker if his mains are not that great to begin w/.
As usual, of course, YMMV.

 

[Brendan M.]

I recently purchased a JVC I'Art television, and I for one do not appreciate you referring to my new set as a 'piece of shit'. If you think other brands are better, then state your reasons. There is plenty of room in this forum for discussion, but no room for people to put down the choices others have made.

I happen to like my new set very much, and I find it insulting for you to go around calling other people's equipment 'shit'.

I'm not an Admin in this forum, but I would think that they might have something to say about this as well.

 

[Greg Kolinski]

Like the above post,I have a JVC 56 in ,and I feel it has as good a picture as any comparably priced unit out there.
your"piecs of shit"comment reminded me of why I quit going to most of the internet car message boards,Nothing is more annoying than a 15 -17 year old ,loud mouth know it all, that spews insulting remarks.This is a message board for adults,and adult interaction about Home Theater topics.

 

[John-Miles]

Everybody needs to calm down and relax beofre any Mods have to step in. realistically who cares if someone trashes a piece of gear you have. he never gave any reasons why, and to be honest there are a VERY few number of people on this forum who i would take their advice without any reasons. And the bottom line is everyone is entitled to their opinion and I am sure Paul has gotten the message that if he wants to crap on something then he needs to back that up.
Paul what i believe has people steamed here is that you never even justified that claim by even saying so much as "I have enver liked the pictures on such and such because it is too...." your opinion is more than welcome and very much wanted, just back it up, we will never have total agreement, but hey discussion is what this forum is all about

 

[Luis S]

Jeeze you guys calm down! Did you give birth to your gear? Dont take things said about gear you may own so personally.Who cares what anyone else thinks.Can you say your opinion is any more true just cause its positive?Different strokes for different folks,no big deal.Paul dont worry about the few that get too defensive,itll happen more often than not.In the future however make sure you back up your comments with something so you dont get blasted.Have a reason, any reason,and youll be ok Personaly Id tell your friend to get a good center speaker and then save up towards the tv later.It seems he's skipping a step and going to video without finishing up audio.
Good luck,
Luis S

 

[Jan Strnad]

Using the TV speakers as a center channel can be done on the Toshiba xxH81 series, so I assume that you can do it on the xxH82 series. However, I wouldn't recommend it because, as noted above, the speakers will not match the sonic quality of the sides.
Also, it could be a pain in the neck unless your friend wants to listen to everything through his audio receiver. Here's why:
The Tosh (maybe the JVC also) has a pre-amp connector on the back for connecting the center channel to the receiver. This way, the receiver controls the volume for the TV at the same time as it controls the other speakers. There's a switch to turn this feature on and off. If it's on, you can't use the TV speakers in the usual fashion. Turning the feature on and off means getting to the back of the set and flipping that switch.
I know people (and I was one of them) who have used the TV for the center channel, and every one of them has ended up buying a center channel speaker. It's a stop-gap measure at best, IMO, that works in theory but proves unsatisfactory in the long run, either because of the sound quality or the hassle (or both).
If your friend somehow hears my sage advice and still elects to go with the JVC, it isn't the end of the world. A lot of people are very happy with the set.
Jan

 

[Jack Briggs]

Unless the brand name is "GE" or "RCA" (both of which are notorious for high failure rates and mediocre performance—in most cases), it's not really wise to trash an entire line—especially one that's as respected as Japan Victor Company.

Nor is it the wisest move to use an RPTV's speakers as the center channel.

Either way, let's calm down a little. Thanks.

 

[Greg Kolinski]

yes, Paul ,as stated a reason or example would help,but I understand Dont worry about it
Thinking about it,I have quite a few "opinions"about certain things with no real evidance to back it up:b ,just the way people are

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

why the hostility towards jvc? sheesh. JVC I'arts are pretty damn fine TVs! I agree that choosing it simply for the center chanell function is dumb, but honestly? Relax!

 

[Jed M]

wow, talk about bringing a thread back from the dead.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Hmmm... If he doesn't want to buy a decent center channel speaker, then maybe he should just go w/out one. Unless he intends to sit way off to the side, a phantom center should work much better than any cheap, mismatched center speaker, especially the TV(!).

He speaks the truth.

This is the best advice you can give to your friend...REGARDLESS of what TV he purchases.

-dave