[colesy]

I have been searching for a new widscreen TV for while now, and have seen a few good reviews for the Pw9617. I was wondering if anybody could give me some info on the "wirless speakers". I asume they have to be connected together or at leat have a mains voltage supply.
If they do have to have a mains voltage supply, can anyone suggest a good alternative TV with doldy dig/DTS with a 32 or 36 screen???
Cheers in advance

[rct]

You are right on both counts the speakers do need to be connected to each other and have a mains supply... the advantage being there is no cable between the tv and the speakers. I have a 9617 and imho the sound quality is superb. You won't find a tv with built in digital decoder with a better speaker setup than this one.

[colesy]

Thanks for your reply. The sound may be great but I have no power point where the speakers need to go so I would still have to run a cable from behind the TV, where the power point is located.
Might have to this TV a miss......
Cheers

Shame, because as RCT said, the sound from this TV is awesome - easily rivalling a £500-£800 separate sound set-up!

[philipb]

Colesy

You'd be missing the best CRT picture currently available for under £2k.

[colesy]

The Philips sounds excellent indeed......but the missus has her eyes set on a Bang & Olufsen Avant . Sounds like I will have to force myself to look at one ( oh no) lol. Hope the credit card can handle such abuse if I like it. Probably be in debt forever
I like the Loewe Aconda personally but I cant complain......yet

Cheers for replying Guys

Friend has got a B&O and, although the set LOOKS great the picture quality and especially sound quality is well below par compared to even the newer Sony sets, let alone the Philips.......unfortunate thing is he had to agree with me when he saw my Philips 9617 in action!

[Grubert]

First, if you don't need or can't use the wireless speakers, wait for the forthcoming PW9527. A bit cheaper, no DD decoder, no wireless speakers, but with Philips Cybertube (the 9617 carry Panasonic Quintrix F tubes).

Second, B&O sets have the worst value-for-money of all the marketplace. All style and no substance. Old, low-quality, phased-out Philips tubes. Ignore her and buy something worthwile.

[colesy]

Checked out the B&O Avant, and it looked very good, picture was clean and sound was booming, but the surround setup was about £10500......A bit out of my price range. The dealer showed me a review of Beovision 3 in a magazine, but on the front cover the Philips was said to be the best TV ever. When I showed that to the dealer, he replied "yeah but which one would you like to look at every day". Well at around 8 grand cheaper, I think I would put up with Philips.
I also looked at the Loewe Aconda and the Planus. The dealer was doing the Aconda Select with surround setup for £6K, with a dvd and video player.
I would really like the Philips but have to admit, if I had the cash I would look at the B&O very seriously.
It looks like I will have to add a powerpoint behind my sofa ready for Active speakers.
Does anybody know if all the manufacturers will be going the way of cordless active rear speakers???

[sparkle999]

Colesy...

Personally I'd tackle the "vision" and the "sound" separately... what are the chances of a TV set giving both a superb picture and superb surround sound? None, I would say, without paying a huge premium. I'd look for a TV that provides an excellent picture. Then, if you are after a decent surround sound set up, get a separate AV amp and speakers, which would easily outperform any system provided your TV both in terms of sound quality and future-proofing.

Cheers
Sparkle

Sparkle: This is how I felt until i heard the 9617 in action. I had a great Sony TV before with a superb separte Dolby Digital Surround Sound set-up but have relegated the kit to the garage since getting the new Philips. Unless you have actually heard one the sound is stunning and easily rivals the £800 sound set-up I had before! And as for the picture quality - well just check out some of the other posts that praise this as being one of the clearest CRT pictures around......

[philipb]

Now look guys, cut this out. I'm presently not using the sound on my 9617, but using an external amp (Marantz) instead. If you all keep banging on about how good the inbuilt decoder is I'll be forced to kick the amp into touch and let the 9617 do it all.

On a more serious note, the only downside to that will be the loss of Dolby Prologic II, which is terrific. Also the Marantz handles sound for my DVD player, DVD recorder (E20) and digital radio receiver. The DVD player I could hook up via the digital input to the 9617, and the E20 audio could be via the SCART lead. I'd be loathe to lose the digital audio connection from the DAB receiver though - any suggestions?

Not using the sound on your 9617! But that's half the price of the TV set!

Dolby ProLogic II is trounced on by the Digital 5.1 so I wouldn't worry too much there. No suggestion on your DAB other than switching it with the DVD - I assume you don't use them both at the same time.....

[colesy]

Sparkle....
I think I will tackle the sound and vision separately.
I'm tinking about the Loewe Aconda with maybe a Bose lifestyle package. I would like nice gear but something that wouldn't break the bank......or take over the living room....I am open to suggestions.

The budget I'm looking at is about £2500 or a tiny little bit more.

I have an Arcam & Denon audio setup with Mission 731 speakers so I am not new to quality audio, but any suggestions will be welcomed.

One big suggestion: Avoid Bose at all costs - over priced crap.


Spike

[sparkle999]

I've recently been in a similar position. I was after a decent 32" CRT, however my selection criteria was based upon picture quality alone.

I'm no expert, however after having read the wealth of discussion on this board, fairly quickly ruled out a lot of the mainstream makes (try searching on sparkle999). Possibly unfairly - the more you sell, the more complaints you'll get! A lot of issues get "talked up" IMHO. There are a lot of good TV designs out there and you only need one!

My shortlist included the Philips and the Loewe Aconda. Having seen the Loewe demonstrated properly, I decided to opt for the Aconda 9381 in silver. And very happy I am. The picture is excellent, especially when taken from a good quality source. I route the sound directly from the source to a separate AV amp. The amp is old, but when I feel like it I will upgrade the amp without having to change my TV.

I have no opinion either way on the Philips as I didn't get the opportunity to see it demonstrated properly. From what I have read, many people are very pleased with it.

For info I purchased the 9381 with stand for £1900 from Kendals including 5 year warranty.

Not sure if this helps or hinders, but I would recommend that you go to a reputable dealer and get the set(s) demo'd...

Cheers
Sparkle

[colesy]

Cheers Sparkle, and the rest for the posts.....I am going to demo all sorts of things on the weekend and my fave place in Cardiff. They stock all sort of stuff (apart from B&O and Bose) and customers services are excellent. However I would like an opinion on the audio..........I dont want to be led into by spending another grand on top of the Tv price just because I get all excited at spending another 3 hours demoing.

[philipb]

Barry-X

I'd happily pay the money just for PP, but missing out on the sound is galling.

The point about Pro Logic II is that unlike standard PL it works on any stereo signal and produces an effect as close to 5.1 as you can tell. Watching the world cup is excellent, the crowd noises are channelled through the rears and you really feel immersed in the sound.
I guess I'll have to connect up the 9617 speakers and compare the two set ups.

Do it now. The sound from the World Cup in DPL still sounds fantastic - and you could always turn on the hall effect for that little bit extra!!! (j/k) ;-)

Seriously, I doubt you'll notice much, if any, difference between DPL and DPL2 on a TV broadcast.........and on a DVD you're gonna want the Digital 5.1 anyway!

Honestly, I sacked my expensive sound set-up for the in-TV sound - and I'm not one to do something like that lightly or without good cause!!!!!!