chriswhitworth

I have been grazing the AVS forums for a while now, and there is a lot to be learned. One thing that you get out of the threads is that there is no consensus on what is the "best" projector. There are just as many folks who LOVE their Sony HS-10's as there are those who LOVE their Panasonic L300's. Then there are the DLP folks who are not open to anything else. Some guys feel that you will get a terrible picture unless you spend 5K or more for a projector, and yet having seen A/B tests, most of those guys would be fooled if they were led into a darkened room and watched a PJ without knowing if it was high end or low end. The margins of improvement with rising cost are just not that great anymore. I have also made the rounds here in Salt Lake City sampling the PJ's as best I can without trying to annoy salepeople. In almost every case, the PJ's have impressed regardless of cost or technology. I saw a side by side with same source material on the Panasonic L300 and the Sony HS-10. The blacks were better in the L300. Not my opinion, four others agreed. I know, you who are champions for the HS-10 will be thinking that it wasn't set up correctly. Don't know that was so. The rep who I have known for some time and is not an excitable boy, plowed through the menus making adjustments to try and help it out. No matter. Panasonic still had better blacks. IF I had seen the HS-10 by itself, I would probably have been ready to buy that one. It was stunning. The Panasonic was just slightly more so. In the end, it is like choosing the best wine, or the best looking woman. You have to go with what you like. Brand loyalty is a funny concept. We have Klipsch loyalty or we wouldn't be posting here in the first place. Are any of you likely to be talked into getting Martin Logans? Can you talk one of those guys into getting Klipsch? I doubt it. If Tide were really the best detergent, everyone would use it. Obviously that isn't the case so it must not be so. As to getting the PJ that is best for you: 1. Figure out your budget 2. Go see a few. You can't watch a review. 3. Weigh out warranty. 4. Look into bulb life and replacement cost. Infocus reduced the bulbs on the X1 to 299. Cheap compared to the other makes. TCO can be an issue if you use it a lot. 5. Figure out what you are going to use it for. This can eliminate a buch of contenders. If you are going to play lots of games or watch a lot of sports, then a 16:9 native PJ may not be the best bet(Bars left and right of image. Not taking advantage of the full use of your screen). On the other hand if you are going to watch movies mostly, then forget the 4:3 PJ's and go for a 16:9(Bars top and bottom of screen, again not taking full advantage of the screen you bought). If I had been told that any one of the PJ's I looked at was the only choice availble, I would have been happy to live with it. Assuming of course it was one I could afford. Bang for buck? X1 (4:3 DLP machine)is hard to beat for 1400 dollars. Sanyo Z1 (16:9 LCD machine) for same price almost is another contender. If you have another 6-800 dollars then the Sony HS-10 or the Panasonic L300 are good.

Doug, Am in the beginning stages of putting HT together. Was thnking about using what you apparently already tried, Kg4's and SS-1s on the surrounds. Which surrounds were you using? My thinking is that the Kg4's will be better than the SB-1s that are used in the Synergy 6 system. What impressions overall? The space I am going to be in is 17' front to back and 24' across with an 8' ceiling, with the mains centered on the left two thirds of the room. My ex has my Heresy's, so I am familiar with the sound. Kg4's are more affordable, and have sounded good when I have heard them. Was hoping to get by with the KSW-10. Thoughts?