Sonny

I have been doing research both online and at a couple of electronics stores regarding the best plasma tv in the 40-50 inch size, and I overwhelmingly am told that the Pioneer Elite plasma is the best. My question is, how come everyone on the forum lists Panasonic or Samsung as their dream tv? Is my info wrong, or is the Pioneer overly expensive or something?

Mordred

I think the price expectations of most people on this forum exclude sets in the $4k+ range. I'm crazy apparently, but I strongly considered the Pioneer Kuros. For my needs the Sony XBR4 LCD worked better so I went with that. If I was only the TV only for watching movies, I would have gone with the the Kuros. They're supposedly amazing sets.

Sonny

I priced the 40" and it was priced at $2800.00. That must be a good deal.

DVD Polizei

Pioneer is probably the best, but, you're gonna pay for it. For about half the price of a typical high-end Pioneer, Panasonic's Plasma line does about as good.

SoSpacey

exactly.

Let's say Pioneer is a 10/10 and costs 4k
Panasonic is a 9/10 and costs 2k.

you decide.

JimRochester

I've been trying to get my hands on the 60" Elite but they are backordered. I was at Best Buy today and side by side comparison, the regular Pioneer was noticeabley better in my eyes than the Panasonic. It was also $2000 more. If the Pioneer cannot be had I'll end up with the Panasonic. At my house I'll be able to tweak the settings and there won't be a Pioneer right next to it for people to compare it to.

SoSpacey

Best Buy calibrates the Pioneer to look "noticeably better" because it is 2k more than the Panny.

A true side by side would still have Pioneer the winner, but barely.

Superman07

FWIW adverts this week at the major chains just listed price drops on the regular Pioneers. I think the 42" dropped $500 to $2k flat. You'd have to check to be sure on the numbers though. I don't know if a similar drop took effect on the Elite's or not.

Sonny

I ended up getting the Pioneer 42" and I love it.

davidlynchfan

I'ved read somewhere that says the Pioneer Elite models are not much of an upgrade from the entry models except for a heavier bezel casing,a 2 year warranty and jacked up pricing.

Spiky

I wouldn't be so sure. Many serious reviews have put Panny above Pioneer. It probably depends on the particular year.

SoSpacey

Arpeggi should be here so to tell you to stop spewing bullshit on the internet.


I own a Panny so I would hope your statement is true.

Nick Martin

Calibrating a Pioneer Elite?

That makes me laugh.

Beautiful panels that don't need to be calibrated, and image retention is pretty much non-existent. BEST black levels of any TV out there. So black it blends in with the bezel.

Set it down or hang it up, plug whatever you want into it and it'll look great.
Leave the speakers detached for that elegant picture frame look. You pay dearly for one, but you definitely get your money's worth. I'd love to buy one, as I've handled and set them up often enough to really see what they're capable of.

VAMPYRE XX

I own the 60" Pioneer Elite Kuro and it absolutely rocks over any and every other TV out today. I looked at everything for 6 months before I decided. I ended up getting a great deal and saved quite a bit from retail price. I don't want the store to get in trouble since Pioneer is very picky about pricing... but just know that you can negoitiate and if they won't give you a good price just leave and go to the next store until you have it down at least $1500 or lower from retail. It is definitely the "dream" TV to own.

JimRochester

I had one ordered through the Digital Bits power buy for $5987 delivered. But now I had to cancel. I just got laid off and can't justify $6000 for a TV when I can get a decent Panasonic for $3500. I still think the Elite is superior but that's a bucket of money when you're not sure when you'll have a steady paycheck.

VAMPYRE XX

It's understandable... but for me I had a very old 40" Mitsubishi Diamond Vision Tube TV from 1993. The picture was going really bad over the last year and it was almost completely unwatchable so I was forced to buy something soon. In 1993 the Mitsubishi was top of the line, but things have come a long way since then. The best quality connector it has is a S-Video which is not even close to HD. I figured it was a decent investment and I will have to live with it for a few years so I decided the extra money was worth it for me. I understand a $7500 ($6000 with shopping around) TV is not for everyone. I just was forced to make a descision knowing I had to live with it for a few years. I was also looking at it like 5 years ago a Plasma that size that wasn't even 1080p retailed for $25,000.00 (Fujistsu) so the prices have come down quite a bit. It was time to buy since my TV tube was gone and I didn't see something of this quality going down much more than what I paid.

Spiky

??? That is physically impossible. Esp for a phosphor-based technology.

VAMPYRE XX

The Pioneer Elite Kuros CAN be calibrated if you want. The store where I bought mine offered to have someone come out with the equipment and ISF calibrate my TV. It does come set up really nice from the Pioneer factory but the option is there. Here is a link to a certified ISF calibrator who talks about calibrating Pioneers on this page:
http://precision-video..com/2008/01/...libration.html

Nick Martin

I helped deliver and set up dozens of Elites (mostly the PRO 1150 models) and we advised every customer to leave them alone for the most part because they were perfect right out of the box.

We suggested they use a different setting other than default for a VERY brief period as time passes but never leave it that way - always return to the default settings. If a customer wanted more extensive work it was usually done as a quick favor because of the trust placed in the reliability and quality of the panel. Minor adjustments, nothing in the service menus - that was an issue for Pioneer itself to deal with.

JimRochester

Well I ended up getting the Panasonic 58" 750U Plasma Viera series. It was $3679 delivered compared to the $5987 for the Elite Pioneer. I still think the Pioneer is a better set but for $2300 savings I was able to upgrade my old tower speakers to some DT Mythos Two's which now hang from the wall, a supercubeII sub and a Pioneer Elite 91 receiver with the latest HDMI capability and still have $400 in my pocket.

It was delayed for 2 days because of the trucking company. So instead of Monday it showed up Wednesday. A buddy and I got it hung up on the wall and I'm in the process of getting things tweaked. I forgot what a pain in the ass it is to set up an entire system from scratch. Even without fine tuning, all I did was turn down the contrast, the picture is absolutely stunning. As soon as get everything cleaned up out there I'll post some pictures of my setup.

Sweet Baby James

^

Congrats! Make sure to keep your settings down for at least the first 100 hours. Enjoy.

VAMPYRE XX

Good to hear that you were able to get something excellent that you are happy with. I just finally finished my HT setup with the last component being a Polk audio DSW 500 pro sub. I had to borrow my Bryston 4BST power amp from my recording studio control room until I figure out what power amp I am going to get.
James, do you mean the Plasma settings or breaking in the speakers at low volume? Both need to be broken in properly I guess. Is there a link to breaking in a plasma properly? I would be curious to read through that.

Sweet Baby James

I was talking about the plasma. There's some debate as to whether or not it's even neccessary to break-in a plasma, but I like to err on the side of caution. Basically, you want to keep the picture and brightness levels turned down and no letterboxing(no 2:35 movies) or pillarboxing for the first 100 hours or so. Here's a link to one of the many threads about this over at AVS-

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=994088 .