Good Questions: Which Flat Screen?

Dear AT:HT,

My partner and I together have 2 clunky TVs, 1 stereo receiver/radio, 1 stereo CD player, 1 tape deck, and 6 speakers. This is just too much ugly equipment for our 600 square feet! I am hoping to convince him to sell everything on eBay and purchase 1 streamlined, flat-screen TV. (We would use this TV with our DVD player to play music and watch movies, and I guess listen to the radio on our alarm clock.) My question is: will the sound on the new TV be good enough to satisfy him when listening to music? Can you recommend a flat screen TV that has good built-in speakers? (Our absolute limit is $1000.)

Thanks, MrBabyKelly

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MrBabyKelly-

This is a really good question as most flat panel TV reviews focus mostly on the picture quality in terms of resolution, refresh rate and brightness with very little mention of sound quality. From personal experience, we seem to notice better sound quality from sets that have the speakers mounted on either side of the LCD rather than underneath, although the side mounted speaker design seems to be less common nowadays. As for what specific brand sounds the best under $1000 we would probably take a look at something like this Samsung because of its hidden side mounted speakers, but It is really tough to judge one TV over another in the sound department based purely on specs as most show 10w speakers with virtual surround. Listening to them in person will really be the only way for you to decide.

Does anyone have suggestions to help narrow down their search?

Thanks for the question!

Comments (9)

Maybe my question got lost in the posts earlier but here it is again:

Are brands like Vizio, Insignia, Olevia just cheap off-brands or are they actually decent quality TVs?

When I was shopping for my flat screen, it was explained to me that Sony and Samsung have the same screen (manufactured in the same factory), but that Sony had better sound.

Because I route my sound through my stereo anyway, I ended up getting the slightly cheaper Samsung, but Sony, because it also makes a lot of high quality music-listening devices, probably has decent sound.

Anne-My father couldn't resist a great deal on an Olevia set and did some research-the brand is quite big in China. He bought a 42" LCD Olevia and has been pretty happy with it for over 6 months. He also has a 37" Panasonic and prefers the Olevia to it for picture quality, ease of use and color. And for $799, it's pretty nice.

Thanks so much for your suggestions, Ryan and all. I will be sure to check out Samsung and Sony. Anything else I should know?

Olevia is probably the best of the budget brands, but I'd recommend saving up for a better screen with superior specs from either Sharp, Sony or Samsung. You might want to check online for more competitive prices opposed to walk-in stores like Best Buy or Costco. The difference in pricing might shock you.

Also, if you live in NYC, you might want to check out PC Richards. They can be hit or miss, but they're often willing to make a deal/lower the price from the advertised, particularly if you're buying more than one piece of merchandise.

Actually, when my best friend and I both decided we wanted flat panel LCDs, we went together, and got them to lower the price even more by buying two TVs at the same time. And they threw in free delivery.

Side speakers will provide better sound than a single bar. They are harder to find built into the TV since manufacturers are responding to consumer's insterest in sleek models. The picture and style has become more important than high quality sound. And the side speakers make it harder to fit a flat panel into existing furniture (most people don't mount them, they just stand them on the piece of furniture they already own with an existing cut out space for the screen).

If sound is really important (it is for me), check out wireless speakers or the new flat models that are wall mountable along side the TV.

As for the off brands, the quality is not bad but the major brands do have a slight edge in dependability. The big brands have a major investment in making sure their names continue to consistently convey reliability and quality.

Thanks for all the helpful feedback. We have been doing our research and like the Olevia 242T 42" LCD TV but here are a couple of questions we have: 1) do some tvs include radios - some sites' specs mention radio? 2) will we be missing any important features with this tv that will make my husband miss his stereo and television that we currently have? 3) does anyone have any alternatve suggestions in this same price range?

We bought a 40" Sony Bravia LCD recently. The audio is quite awesome. The set was $1100-ish via Best Buy during a special sale. I'm a Sony enthusiast not only for their audio standards, but also for their business practices. They are one of the first tv manufacturers to have a recycling program in place.