My system is up and running for about 2 months now, but I just got a 50 inch plasma to cap it off. here are some pics.

 

 

 

 This is the right side ceiling. The system does work fine with surrounds on the ceiling.

 

 

Left side

 

Entire ceiling

 

 Angle view with sub

 

Zatoichi slicing and dicing the bad guy

 

Someone who just doesn't care

 

Good-looking setup and installation.

 

I can’t tell from the pic’s.

 

Are you using the 4 series for speakers with an S-8 Sub and a Sony AVR?

 

Jack

Equipment List:

Panasonic 50PZ700U

Onkyo 605 receiver

Onkyo 405 DVD player

Intimus 532 Cinema system 7.1

One crazy poodle

Michael,

 

I am looking to replace my aging 4:3 Sony CRT TV.

 

I was considering a DLP until I spent some time at BB a few days ago.

 

I wrote off DLP’S due to narrow viewing angle.

 

Both Plasma and LCD seem to have improved quite a bit since I last looked over 2 years ago. I thought my CRT had a better picture but now that’s not true. I liked the Panasonic Plasma for picture quality and price although the LCD’S have gotten much better but seem to cost more for a similar size.

 

I am curious why you decided on the Panasonic 50PZ700U.  I thought the 42” Panasonic looked good and it was just 720p but a larger display might require going to 1080p.

 

Jack

I chose the plasma because I liked the picture the best, and the model I got is a 1080P because next year I am going to get a blu-ray player. You do pay more for 1080P but that is for the blu-ray movies. Lo and behold this months Consumer Reports rated the one I got as #1. I got it at BB they matched Sears price at the time ($2400.00 9-22-07) and they were offering 36 months no interest on Panasonic that week. How could I go wrong!

Also the viewing angle is better than an LCD. The LCD I was considering was the Sharp Aquios in a 52 inch (model ending in 82U), much more money and they still have a small motion problem. All my research on viewing distance indicates at 10 to 12 feet a 50 or 52 inch screen was a good size.

I do have a DVD player that upconverts regular DVD's to 1080P and they look fantastic.

Hi Jack,

Plasma's do have a nice picture and they have come down in price to make them worth while. However, they have one BIG drawback. BURN-IN! For me, plasma's were out of the question because we play video games from time-to-time (biggest culprit of burn-in). However, any standard-def channel is going to have bars on either side of the screen (if you have your aspect adjusted properly), and most movies have thin bars above and below the picture. Over time, these can cause burn-in on a plasma. Plasma's are great if you have space limitations and don't play video games.

LCD's should be out of the question as well... their response times are too slow in my opinion and that causes "screen door effect" (some have improved recently).

Don't completely write off DLP's and LCOS unless you (or someone) is planning on viewing your tv from an extreme angle. I have a 60" Sony SXRD and don't have any problems. I had a football party once and I sat to the extreme outside in the room (where a chair did not normally exist) and did not even notice there was dimming... as those tv's are so damn bright to begin with. Besides, viewing at an angle where the dimming would be a factor is just awkward, even on a tv where it is not a problem.

Keep your options open. Let us know what you end up deciding!

-James

James and Michael,

 

It may be that the display of the DLP’S at BB was not optimal for the Sony’s. They were placed 5 feet off the ground. Neither of the Sony’s were SXDR. I believe they were the E3000 not the A3000 series. It may be that the combination of being placed at a high viewing angle also affected the left to right. The other DLP’s were LG, which displayed angular viewing problems although displayed at normal height.

 

I should have started a new thread regarding displays since this is not an AVS forum that can become completely disconnected from the original post. This is why I contribute on this forum since you don’t have to go 40 pages deep on a given subject.

 

I will give DLP and or Liquid Crystal on Silicon a second try since my CRT has temporarily come back to life and have a little more time to decide.

 

I or others will not be viewing at anything greater than a 30 degree angle.

 

This is what I like about this forum. You don’t get un-educated child-like responses. Enough said there.

 

By the way James, why did you decide on the Sony SXDR?

 

Thanks Michael and James,

 

Jack

 

Burn-in is not the issue it once was. The new plasma's are a 10th generation screens. Yes if you leave the same picture on the TV for hours you will get a problem. But HOURS!!!  Never happened to any equipment I know of except a security camera monitor.

CRT’s have a burn-in aspect where a consistently portrayed image is defiantly burnt-in with industrial monitors providing information to the user in the same format consistently.

 

I do not plan to do that with my new display. I will be changing sources that will give a different screen presentation. Fox News has a Scroll Bar that runs at the bottom of the screen and has not affected my CRT display for over 5 years.

 

My Samsung 20” LCD computer monitor does have a burnt-in image of a picture that I used as a screen saver and desktop background. This effect is not noticeable unless gray shades are predominately displayed.

 

I will be changing input sources often with none lasting longer than the playtime of a DVD Movie.

 

This may or should lead to a new thread if pursued by other users.

 

I think I should start one now. I do not want to detract further from Michaels post in the Gallery.

 

Jack

Not detracting from the thread. More people come by to see whats going on with more replys.

Michael - nice setup! I actually just discovered Aperion within the last week, and I cannot wait to get my hands (and ears) on their speakers. One question I don't think has been asked yet...how does it sound? Your setup is pretty similar to what I've been considering. I'm looking to get the 532 center and front speakers and maybe the 4 series surrounds. What kind of power can you get from these speakers?

In regards to your TV, good choice! I just bought a Panasonic TH-42PZ77U 1080p plasma, and I'm thrilled with it so far. No problems with burn in yet. In response to standard definition leaving bars on the side of the screen, I have not experienced this. I have DirecTV (no hi-def yet), and the picture always fills the screen to the sides. Sometimes there are bars on the top and bottom, but I believe this is from the programming. My TV has a setting to show the picture in 4:3, but I never do this. I also do not have to use the Zoom feature on the TV to fill the screen, it just fills it automatically, which is fine by me. I also never use the H-Fill or any other aspect that stretches, because it distorts the true image too much.

I was very torn in regards to what type of TV to buy. I was leary of plasma, because I've seen burn-in first hand, but the TV in question was constantly in a 4:3 mode, and it left vertical bars on both sides. I'll never do this to my TV. I was also leary of LCD because of motion lag, and the "refresh rate battle" seems to never end. Although 120Hz is the "fastest" right now, I've already heard talks of 180Hz. Lack of burn-in is a plus, though. I think rear projection TVs are better than ever, but we have a small room (<10ft. viewing distance), and the majority of them are too big (at least according to my wife!)

So, I chose plasma for the ability to handle fast motion, it's deep blacks, and it's great viewing angle (we have seating somewhat off to the sides). I'm not going to say plasma is best, it was just best for my situation. I think all HDTVs have great things to offer, and I'll never ridicule somebody for their choice, because it works for them. I don't view much programming with constant static images (except annoying network logos), so burn-in wasn't a huge concern for me, although I'll try my best to prevent it.  

Again, nice job on your setup. I hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

Thank you. The sound is absolutly amazing!!!  I highly recommend Aperion. I sit eyeball to TV screen 11 feet away. The receiver you get should have HDMI connections. This is to get 1080P from your upconverting or Blu-Ray or HD DVD player. One cable does it all, video and sound. Also with EZ Sync on your Panasonic when you turn on the TV the receiver comes on also. As long as this is supported by the receiver. I don't have high deff cable, for me it's not worth it, my cable company only offers about 15 HD channels and out of that i'm only interested in about 7 and out of that not everything is HD all the time. 

Hi Josh,

 

I have the 532 L/R’s running as secondary Fronts off my secondary AVR. I also have the 532-C as center for my primary system. I have 10 Aperions and have kept them all.

 

I just switched on my secondary AVR with FM input in 2CH mode without my primary AVR and these 532’s really do sound good. I am impressed with the sound they produce. You can attain high db output from these speakers and you may be surprised because of their size.

 

If you decide to audition these speakers, I doubt that you will be disappointed in SQ, finish or build quality.

 

Jack

Jack,

Thanks for your reply. At this point, I am probably not going to look seriously into getting Aperions until after the first of the year (which is not that long, anyway). Due to my budget, in combination with my wife's lack of interest in HT, I'll probably build it piece by piece, starting with the 532-C. I really like that the 533-VAC has the three-way design, but I don't have a lot of room for it, plus my room is on the small side. Do you think the 532-C lacks in sound compared to the 533-VAC because of the absence of the midrange driver?

Right now, my two mains are giant speakers made from a company called Speakerlab. Maybe you are familiar with this company. I don't think they make speakers anymore, but I've read something about DIY speaker kits that they offer. In each speaker, there is a tweeter, a 5.5" midrange, a 10" midbass driver and a 12" sub on the back. Looking at technology these days, these speakers look almost ridiculous, even though they were high-end in the 80's. Speaker technology has come a long way in a short time, that's for sure!

Obviously, I'm looking to downsize. My current speakers are meant for much larger environs, and are becoming an eye-sore.

Anyway, I can't wait to test some Aperions and hear for myself what I've been missing.

*Michael - sorry for going off on a tangent on your thread. Still loving that system?*

Josh,

 

I like the 532-C as a center.

 

I found that I needed to lower the db output from my Onkyo 805 so that the center blended better with the Front Mains.

 

Some say that vocals and movie content require more speakers in an enclosure to provide suitable sound. I don’t think that is necessarily true since I get good vocal output from my setup without a center.

 

Some say that the center ads to clarity of dialog. This may be true for some, but I do not like dialog that overwhelms other sound effects specifically from the front mains.

 

The 532-C works well for me. I like a separated sound field with a center channel that adds subtle sound effects and does not interfere with but adds to the sound from the Front Mains.

 

Jack