Sony KDF-E60A20 ??? (1 Viewer)

[John DeSantis]

I'm looking for an HD TV and this Sony seems to be on sale many places. I'm not a fan of Sony as most of their stuff is overpriced and this price has me wondering. It's Rear Projection LCD. I was trying to decide between LCD and DLP and leaning towards DLP. It seems to be the direction for most buyers.

So, need some advice/comments Most reviews are good but some comments about the Bulb blowing up in the 55" model. And, have heard Sony is hard to deal with regarding Warranty etc. Not sure that's true.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-u3sbzQ0...8kd60a20&wm=cl

Will this set make me happy?

 

[PeterTHX]

If you knew Sony's profit margin on their video merchandise you'd find that their markup (and subsequent profit margins) are dramatically lower than their competition.

In any case their current TV prices are pretty much at the same level as their competitors.

A good test of a TV in the showroom (quick & dirty) is to turn the displays to 50%, turn off NR and any tricks. You'll notice the Sony LCD is quite a bit sharper than its DLP counterpart, with more accurate colors. It's an excellent set, you might want to consider the XS models. They are on clearance (making way for the new SXRD XBR models). Great prices at Circuit City. Better color, 2 HDMIs, Twin View (PIP).

Bulbs blowing? Well that's a problem with many LCD & DLP projections, not just Sony. Ask someone about the DLP color "snowstorm" or "static" when one of those sets go belly up.

I'd get a warranty on ANY TV you'd get, plus a power line filter. (PS: I don't get a cent from this)

 

[John DeSantis]

Did you mean the KDS-R60XBR1 as an alternative? More money and don't quite understand or know of the Display Technology they talk about.....I guess it's still LCD but they talk about different panels.

It does have a version of PIP that the other doesn't seem to have. And that's odd for a 3500.00 TV

 

[anthony_b]

I went with the Sony 50a10 LCD, and it beat hands down everything in its price range....It's simply stunning.

 

[John DeSantis]

After more searching and comparing etc. etc. I just got overloaded. I pulled the trigger on the Sony KDF-E60A20

So many Brands, Models, features... This was in my price range and I just have to hope it's a good choice.

Sprung for the matching stand too. OUCH! No deals there!

 

[PeterTHX]

Where did you get it at?

I bought both my XS and XBR TVs at Circuit City. 10% off stands when purchased with the set.

 

[John DeSantis]

Ordered from Crutchfield. TV 3149.00 Stand 499.00

No tax free shipping

 

[Ralph B]

sony makes the best tv's and is the best choice IMO locally.


I recently needed a board change in my XBR800 and they came in my home did the work and left, never had an issue with warranty fixes. even my dvd player a week later needed fixing. sent it out and got it back a week later. freak thing needing both items fixed but they are great performers and at the price compared to other products sonys quality is the best.

 

[PeterTHX]

Do you have them plugged into a good power filter?
Just "plain" surge strips aren't enough. Digital electronics are much more prone to failure due to noisy power sources.

John: good deal from Crutchfield. As far as online retailers go, I trust them the most. Customer service is second to none. Get warranty protection? You'll eventually need lamp replacement, those are expensive (and aren't readily available). I have 4 years on my XS, 5 on my XBR.

 

[John DeSantis]

I agree, Crutchfield is hard to beat. I always tried to deal with them when possible. But their prices were higher on many items. Lately it seems they are more in line with the competition and sometimes better.

I didn't do an extensive search but they had the best price. Some others were lower but didn't have free shipping etc. Also needed to stick with authorized Dealer. What they charge for these stands though is out of line. But that may be Sony.....

I didn't get an extended warranty. Most consumer advice given will tell you it's not a good investment. Electronics will usually fail early during initial burn in. The lamp is an another issue. If/when it goes I'm hoping I can replace it myself. I was looking for a lamp life spec but couldn't find it.

Ralph: Years ago Sony was the top of the line. I always looked for their products. But then they seemed to slip...at least from what I had read. I'm hoping now they're back on track.

 

[Ralph B]

tweeter is the same way but when they have a closeouts they clearly beat anyone!!! even the website has great deals. I had to wait to get my sapphire speakers cheap but after a year finally they were closed out. from $549 a pair to $249 a pair. worth the wait. I loved them when I ehard them in the store.


I got my XBR from tweeter. at the time the unit was selling for $2000 still but down from $2500. I walked in and they had it in box new for $1100!!!!! unheard of for that tv at the time for the 36XBR800. a steal! even today that would be a good deal. the stand I passed on as they wanted $300, they are junk and not worth even close to that price. 6months down the road CC had a closeout on the stand and I got it for $19.47!!!!!!! hows that for a deal. so a close to $3000 setup for $1119.47


sony has slipped. they seem to have products fail a bit more.....from what I have experienced anyway. from personal cd players(5 of them) to dvd players and high end tv's. but they have always fixed my stuff without any problems and the warranty repair is top notch as far as getting it fixed.


as far as quality sony tv's cant be beat. everytime I look at one setup right or not the sonys always clearly looks better.

 

[Ralph B]

"Do you have them plugged into a good power filter?
Just "plain" surge strips aren't enough. Digital electronics are much more prone to failure due to noisy power sources."



yes, I have an RCA Performance series protector and it has more than double the joules I need for my setup in the living room. not the best but enough to do the job. plus the problem was a known problem on my tv thats well documented and falty because of sony. a bad B board that caused white scrooling line.


as for the dvd player the same thing. a sony manu problem. the dvd player after so many hours locked up and did nothing (975) this is a well known documented problem on HTF for both units. sonys fault again.

 

[John DeSantis]

Ralpf: That was a good deal for you. Hopefully my set will be a good one. Nothing worse than spending this kind of money and then it's not roght or has a problem.

 

[Arthur S]

John

Is this Sony a replacement for your front projector?

Thanks

 

[John DeSantis]

No, It will replace my 9 year old RCA 35" CRT. I'm still happy with the PJ other than the lousy Analog Channels.

I just bought a replacement Lamp for the PJ. The original only had 122 hrs on it but I read where if you get a replacement, use it first cause you know the other one works.

 

[John DeSantis]

Well, TV comes tomorrow. Cancelled the Sony Stand though. 500.00 is just insane!

Have a stand I got at Walmart Black/Silver with glass shelves. It is supposed to handle 242 lbs.

 

[John DeSantis]

Well it came this morning. The MoFo is huge. Bigger than I imagined. Almost too big for our room. Still playing around with settings etc. Somewhat satisfied so far. Gotta get an HD Cable Box though. It has a built in ASTC Tuner and I'm getting about 4-5 local Digital channels pretty good with an indoor job.

I had ordered a Sony stand ( 500.00 ) but canceled that. 500.00 for a stand is crazy! Using one I got from wallmart but the back of the thing is hanging over the back edge! The problem is the back of the stand rounds off.

So looks like I will be tweaking for awhile....

 

[John DeSantis]

So far found something that's just crazy. Unless I can't find a button the procedure to turn on Closed Caption is unbelieveable. From the time you first hit the Wega Gate (menu) button there are 15 more times you have to select or move around to get to the CC option. I can't believe this design. I have a cheap Sanyo TV that simply has one button for closed Caption ON/OFF

Still tring to figure out the Cinemotion option On/Off. Not sure what it's used for. Supposed to enhance the pic but I don't see any change no matter the source.

 

[Ralph B]

cinemotion helps cut down analog video noise and motion mpeg video noise. you can def notice a difference on the cut down of noise when its used. very obvious.

get yourself some high defintion!

 

[John DeSantis]

The manual says the noise reduction is for the VHF/UHF connector. I have an Indoor Antenna right now to get some Local High Def.

Got a Hi DEF box comming.