Replacing my plasma TV

[robbieair]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to replace my Samsung 42 plasma, with a bigger TV. having read all the contributions here, I think I'm asking the right question in the best possible place, rather than talking to a sales person online. I am looking for a TV with a good sound, that I don't necessarily need to add a soundbar to right away, but, budget permitting, add later on. The TV will face onto an L shaped sofa, the furthest point being about 9 feet away and the nearest about 4 1/2 feet. I would like to wall mount it to be honest. I've got a budget of which the upper limit would be 2k, but didn't want to stretch to that if I don't need to. I'm still swaying over a 55 or 65, and I'm not sure if 55 would feel much an upgrade, but again people might tell me different, which again I'd appreciate.

I watch a fair bit of TV, streaming too, but appreciate good picture quality from higher quality sources and was really taken with the picture quality I saw in OLEDS in John Lewis. I wouldn't be gaming at this point as I still play on a gaming laptop, which is fine for me.

I did fancy buying an OLED, having saw motion blur on 4k TV's and think that has swayed me. What's the optimum height for install and which TV's would you recommend from the following, in order of preference? I would consider an LED LCD, QLED or nano if that would be of the same quality.

LG B9 (65, 55),
LG C9 (65, 55)
LG CX (55)
Panasonic GZ950 (65 or 55)
Sony AG8 (65)
Sony AG9 (55)

Prices are within around 100-150 of each other across retailers such as Richer Sounds, Sevenoaks, Costco- but I wonder if anyone could also recommend the best customer service as I think that makes a massive difference when buying?

Thanks in advance.

 

[thedoswells]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to replace my Samsung 42 plasma, with a bigger TV. having read all the contributions here, I think I'm asking the right question in the best possible place, rather than talking to a sales person online. I am looking for a TV with a good sound, that I don't necessarily need to add a soundbar to right away, but, budget permitting, add later on. The TV will face onto an L shaped sofa, the furthest point being about 9 feet away and the nearest about 4 1/2 feet. I would like to wall mount it to be honest. I've got a budget of which the upper limit would be 2k, but didn't want to stretch to that if I don't need to. I'm still swaying over a 55 or 65, and I'm not sure if 55 would feel much an upgrade, but again people might tell me different, which again I'd appreciate.

I watch a fair bit of TV, streaming too, but appreciate good picture quality from higher quality sources and was really taken with the picture quality I saw in OLEDS in John Lewis. I wouldn't be gaming at this point as I still play on a gaming laptop, which is fine for me.

I did fancy buying an OLED, having saw motion blur on 4k TV's and think that has swayed me. What's the optimum height for install and which TV's would you recommend from the following, in order of preference? I would consider an LED LCD, QLED or nano if that would be of the same quality.

LG B9 (65, 55),
LG C9 (65, 55)
LG CX (55)
Panasonic GZ950 (65 or 55)
Sony AG8 (65)
Sony AG9 (55)

Prices are within around 100-150 of each other across retailers such as Richer Sounds, Sevenoaks, Costco- but I wonder if anyone could also recommend the best customer service as I think that makes a massive difference when buying?

Thanks in advance.

id strongly recommend 65”. If sound is really important then the Sony ag8 will be significantly better than the others.
if sound is less relevant, then the LG c9 or Panasonic gz950 for your case would give you the best experience. There are great video reviews of these TVs on here to give you a better idea.
i reckon you’d be blown away by any of these...

 

[robbieair]

Thank you, my gut feeling was a 65 and that’s good to know. The B9 is coming in about 300 quid cheaper than the C9 but I can’t see a massive difference.

 

[pastrybloke19]

Thank you, my gut feeling was a 65 and that’s good to know. The B9 is coming in about 300 quid cheaper than the C9 but I can’t see a massive difference.

I would defo go for 65 inch if you can: I had to stick to 55 due to wall space and it is good, but bigger is always better. maybe even see what 75/77 looks like!?!

when I was sizing mine up, I got a large bit of cardboard (well actually, several that I stuck together) and stuck it on the wall: helped a lot to visualise what 55/65 would look like. Helped with the missus too....


Dodge’s guide is a fab place to start, if you haven’t already: but looks like you have most of the best contenders in there.

I would recommend having a look at some high end LCD: XF9005 is the first Sony that can do HDR, along with the Q85 (I think, maybe Q70?). Check @Dodgexander guide, and I expect he will be on later when the States wake up!!

I love my AG9, but given your budget and eventually getting a sound bar, I would be tempted to go for a B9/C9 and simply buy a good sound bar at the same time. The sound from mine is good, but pretty confident a decent sound bar would be better.
I would have a think about how/where you would mount the sound bar: if it is hard to do or complex, then AG8/9 with its “tv is a speaker” techie thing could be worth it.

As for where to buy from: Personally it would always be Richer Sounds or John Lewis for me - I had a major issue and the service from John Lewis was spot on; absolutely worth it.

 

[robbieair]

I would defo go for 65 inch if you can: I had to stick to 55 due to wall space and it is good, but bigger is always better. maybe even see what 75/77 looks like!?!

when I was sizing mine up, I got a large bit of cardboard (well actually, several that I stuck together) and stuck it on the wall: helped a lot to visualise what 55/65 would look like. Helped with the missus too....


Dodge’s guide is a fab place to start, if you haven’t already: but looks like you have most of the best contenders in there.

I would recommend having a look at some high end LCD: XF9005 is the first Sony that can do HDR, along with the Q85 (I think, maybe Q70?). Check @Dodgexander guide, and I expect he will be on later when the States wake up!!

I love my AG9, but given your budget and eventually getting a sound bar, I would be tempted to go for a B9/C9 and simply buy a good sound bar at the same time. The sound from mine is good, but pretty confident a decent sound bar would be better.
I would have a think about how/where you would mount the sound bar: if it is hard to do or complex, then AG8/9 with its “tv is a speaker” techie thing could be worth it.

As for where to buy from: Personally it would always be Richer Sounds or John Lewis for me - I had a major issue and the service from John Lewis was spot on; absolutely worth it.

 

[robbieair]

Thanks and much appreciated. The cardboard is a great idea. I think the max would be 65 as it’s going on a chimney breast wall and I had planned to put the sound bar underneath on the wall too. John Lewis has always been spot on for me, but good to know Richer Sounds customer service is recommended too.

 

[robbieair]

thanks for the advice; finally made up my mind

 

[thedoswells]

thanks for the advice; finally made up my mind

What will you be getting?

 

[robbieair]

Hi there,

I'm going for the B9, as it seems to be the best value for money from everything I've read. Very close between that and the Sony AG8 to be honest for choice. I cannot wait. Thanks for your help, much appreciated.