I need a tube with good blacks

[bill_mcgonigle]

I just returned a Sony 27FS170 tonight after a week of trying to like it. The blacks were grey, the color was very washed out and it made an awful 15KHz whine that drove me bonkers. I got it much better than it was out of the box with some calibration, but not enough to keep.

I did all the research before buying it and decided this was the best one to get - it spec'ed real well on paper, and I've oggled WEGA's before in the stores, but it didn't work out. This was fed via a Sony receiver, and there's some other Sony gear in the rack, so I'm not a hater, just disappointed.

I'm replacing my old 1993 JVC CRT which failed over the past month (single white line in the middle of the screen eventually) which was a heck of a great TV set/monitor (I never used it for sound/tuner). The tube was really great, and had a fabulous dynamic range (the in-laws call it '3-D' - :) ). I paid about $700 for it in 1993.

Part of it was due to the fact that I was limited to the local area stores (Best Buy, Sears, discount marts) to keep the wife happy. That's done, I'm going to find a good set.

Part of this is that the JVC was supposed to last another year or so 'till the SED sets are available and I can go HDTV in the not-yet-complete theater, 'cause that's really where I wanted to be, but I need something stopgap and I don't really want to give up too much quality for the next couple years.

So, my quest now is for a tube that only needs to handle SD (HD is OK but not worth monster money since my inputs are all SD until next year) but has a great dynamic range, good blacks, and believable color. My first thought is to go get another JVC, I obviously like what they did before. The AV27F577 looks great on paper. But the quality I'm expecting was from 13 years ago, I understand Panasonic used to make their tubes, they stopped doing that, shut down the factory, and generally it's an apples-to-oranges thing now.

So, I've come to the conclusion I don't really care what the brand is, I need to look for a good tube, and [somehow] work backwards from there with a brand I can tolerate.

So, any suggestions that would appeal to my perverse need for intense darks, lights, and saturated colors in the 27-32" range would be appreciated. Also, pointers to any topics my searches missed.

I haven't seen anything I liked in the stores I've been to so far so I'll probably price a repair as well if it's just one of these areas of technology that's being abandoned.

Thanks,
-Bill

[lazerfan]

Is it possible you just got a defective Sony? I recently picked up a 34HS420 and the blacks are fantastic.
Was the display model for your set much better? You might want to try one more set. The cheap CRT sets seem to have poor power supplies which make the picture expand and contract when the scene shifts from bright to dark.
The Sony I have doesn't do this so there seems to still be some good electronics in Sony sets.

[Wickerman1972]

I have a Sony XBR970 and the blacks are as black as black gets.

[bill_mcgonigle]

[QUOTE=lazerfan]Is it possible you just got a defective Sony? I recently picked up a 34HS420 and the blacks are fantastic.
Was the display model for your set much better?[/QUOTE]

I went back to BestBuy and Sears which both have a display model to answer this question for myself, and while I did as much fiddling as I could with the on-set controls (no remote control) and was subject to their video input source I couldn't find a nice black or a vivid color (without blowing out the edges of the color regions, of course, I could crank "Color" and get plenty of it).

[QUOTE=lazerfan]You might want to try one more set. The cheap CRT sets seem to have poor power supplies which make the picture expand and contract when the scene shifts from bright to dark.
The Sony I have doesn't do this so there seems to still be some good electronics in Sony sets.[/QUOTE]

I didn't see anything jittery like that, just a lack of love in the dynamic range. Could I have a stable picture but lack of quality due to a manufacturing flaw? I don't really know enough about how CRT's work to have an opinion on that. It's hard to tell if it's the model or this particular unit without more data.

I'm wondering - has anybody had luck finding a store that will let you feed a known good source of video to sets for evaluation? I've got a small cheap dvd player I could bring (needs AC) or even borrow an iPod video. I'm trying to do most of this based on a video signal that's been split and amplified 64 times...

[bill_mcgonigle]

[QUOTE=Wickerman1972]I have a Sony XBR970 and the blacks are as black as black gets.[/QUOTE]

OK, good to know (there's hope!).

This unit was only $350 - and I'm seeing the XBR970 for $950. That's an extra $600 for 7 inches of screen space, so I'm guessing there's also lots of extra quality in your unit too. :)

Both of our sets are supposed to have an "FD Trinitron" tube, but that's hardly an engineering spec.

... goes and googles around bunch on your model number...

Ah, ha! I got a Sony KD-27FS170 ($350) but there's also a Sony KV-27HS420 ($500) which appears to be the kid-brother of the XBR unit you're talking about. Same size, 50% more money - I think I got the Sears special.

The last set I got was twice as expensive as the basic model at the time and it's been worth every penny. I'm sure there's some premium in the higher end but these things generally seem to be a get-what-you-pay-for arrangement. I don't really need the HD yet but that appears to be where the quality circuits are being installed.

Very helpful, guys, thanks!

Edit: aww, heck, those have some problems with SD. Looks like I might have to re-arrange the living room for a 34XBR970.

[MOtvGuy]

BTW, your JVC probably only has bad solder connections on the verticle output IC. Pretty common for that vintage JVC.

[bill_mcgonigle]

[QUOTE=MOtvGuy]BTW, your JVC probably only has bad solder connections on the verticle output IC. Pretty common for that vintage JVC.[/QUOTE]

Cool, thanks for the insight. I'll see what I can do about it. Maybe I can wait for the SED sets if I can resolder the connections. :)

[bill_mcgonigle]

[QUOTE=MOtvGuy]BTW, your JVC probably only has bad solder connections on the verticle output IC. Pretty common for that vintage JVC.[/QUOTE]

MOtvGuy - I owe you a dinner next time you're in western NH. This was exactly what the problem was. A new IC, some redone solder points, and a few caps that were border-line later (plus a good cleaning and a new power switch) - $95 later it's like new and I can wait for the SED.

Many thanks.

[theroys88]

I have a Sony 36xs955 and it has the best blacks that I have seen.