to SVS or ISF- that is the question... (1 Viewer)

[BradZ]

With tax refunds coming it's time for an upgrade.

Since I can't do everything I'd like, choices must be made. I'll have about $600 to play with, so would you...

Get my 46" Sony RPTV ISF callibrated-

or

Upgrade my Energy Take 5.2 speaker system with the 8" Energy Sub to an SVS 25-31 PCi-

Which do you think would make the better upgrade?

Is ISF or SVS more important to the home theater experience. Understand I'll probably do the other choice down the road, but which would make the biggest wow. Bear in mind I'll have to justify this expense to the wife- so which upgrade will she notice more is also an important question.

I'm posting this in the Display forum too just to get the feelings from that group as well.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[WayneO]

I think the sub will be the most noticeable option but if your picture was in poor shape, that would be pretty noticeable as well. You could also get a calibration disk like DVE or Avia and a sub to better your picture a little now until you get the ISF calibration later.

 

[MuneebM]

go for the DIY calibration with DVE or Avia and spend the money on the sub. This way, you'll get (almost) the best of both worlds: I did my calibration with DVE and was impressed by the picture quality improvement, I also got a new sub: an HSU STF-2 and was very impressed by that upgrade - a combination of both upgrades had a very strong wow factor overall!

 

[Brian L]

Do the sub; no doubt about it.

You can get pretty decent results with your TV by using Avia or DVE, but adding a sub with serious slam, now that will get noticed.

I don't mean this to say that an ISF calibration is not worth the money, just that you can get pretty good performance from your set by carefully tweaking the user controls.

But there is nothing you can do on the cheap to equal the impact a big-ass sub will provide.

IMHO, or course.

BGL

 

[terence]

I agree with the guys above, go with the sub upgrade and fine tune your set with DVE. Both will give you new noticeable impact that was not there before, and really have you feeling good in the end IMO.

 

[Erik.Ha]

For Sony TVs there are a couple of "do-it-yourself" resources on the web for tweaks in the "service menu". They are "use at your own risk" of course, but with those and DVE I got OUTSTANDING results on my cheapo 7 year old 27".

Your results may vary...

Whether you want to risk it on an expensive big-screen????

 

[BradZ]

Thanks guys,

I've got both AVIA and DVE and have used them to tweak things. It looks pretty good, but I know ISF would be better. Right now I'm leaning toward the SUB.

keep the opinions coming.

 

[Joe Szott]

Pretty simple choice really, what do you enjoy more: video or audio?

 

[JohnGil]

The question is what are you gona get more enjoyment from. Yes an ISF calibration will further refine the picture of your tv even more than you can do with Avia or DVE. Having owned an HD rptv and having it ISFed whenever I had people over for movies they never were overly enthusiastic about the picture quality (like I was) but they "ALWAYS" said "that sounds awsome, better than going to the movie theater". Now that I have a projector and a dedicated room, I notice that blacks are lacking (LCD) compared to the RPTV but im the only one who ever notices the picture details. Now people say "wow, thats a big screen this is like a movie theater" then I cue up a movie and when its all over they still say "that sounded awsome" they never say "looks like your gray scale is off or your reds are overly saturated". A great subwoofer add's to the movie experience far more than an ISF calibration. don't get me wrong, ISF calibration is a great thing but if I could go back in time 2yrs I would have bought a projector instead of the RPTV and would have bought an SVS sub instead of an ISF calibration.

These are just my opinions and having been down the same road as you I thought it might help to give them.

Good luck let us know what you decide to do.

 

[Edward J M]

Another thing to consider: Does the quality of your entire video rig even warrant a $600 ISF calibration?

If (for example) you are using a mid-grade player, cables, and TV, can you really expect a huge improvement in the PQ above what you have already achieved with DVE/Avia?

OTOH, if you are using the TOTL equipment, sure - an ISF calibration is probably warranted to get the most from your investment.

Considering your existing sub, my vote - easily - for return on investment and bang for the buck, is the SVS.

Regards,

Ed

 

[Neal_C]

I have had an ISF calibration and gotten an SVS sub. By far the best choice is the sub. Not that the calibration isn't worth it, but you will notice much more from getting a better sub.

 

[cabreau]

Does anybody have any links to buy these Audio and Video calibration disks online?

 

[Roger Q]

You can buy Avia via www.crutchfield.com

 

[Dan Halchak]

36.37 (free shipping) at Deepdiscountdvd.com - Though it's on backorder at the moment.

http://www.dvdpricesearch.com/cgi-bi...e&id=IMA005867

 

[terence]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd

and this one for video. The sub level on DVE is recorded too hot.



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...v=glance&s=dvd

 

[Robert*S]

Sub, Sub, Sub, Sub!!!!
Get the SVS, from what everyone here says you will not be dissapointed. It's hard not to notice wall shaking bass!

rob - hoping to have an SVS soon!

 

[terence]

Okay Brad,

I have a total of 13 people (including me) from both threads you posted (AVS Forum) saying go for the sub. It is crystal clear that the Sub has won over the ISF vote.

Sound will win over video any day, after all it was here first.

 

[steve nn]

You better change the count to fourteen terence

Go for the sub BradZ and be confident

 

[David David]

The sub