THE BEST HTiB - Philips 4750

:eek: The dealer here quoted 36k for it!! GAWD .. I really wonder if these guys see a neon "DUNCE" on my forehead! WOW .. so nothing official about 'official' dealers either!

WOW! I picked it up for Rs. 19,990 with a Philips DVD player as part of the deal. Now its available for the same price with a Universal Remote (worth 5K) or else is available for Rs. 16,990 without any other deal. These are Hyderabad prices and with bargaining I am sure you can get a free cable or some other deal thrown in. I got a Philips coaxial cable worth Rs. 900 too after negotiating/bargaining with the store manager.
 
Psychotropic: I indeed respect your view here. Brand etc is a personal choice and I for one did not make any sweeping statements without getting facts. I dont consider myself an audio expert but an early adopter for Home Theatre setup. My US days had taught me a lot. In fact, we had setup a media room in our 2 bedroom house and 5 of us stayed in one bedroom so that we can have a dedicated media experience. We did have a complete system not a HTB with all bells including sound proofing and theatre lightings (wish i can go back to those days).

On the Samsung vs Pana part, there are two parts. One is a personal preference which I respect and you liked Samsung and none can dispute it. In fact, I liked LG plasma much better than Samsung and Pana 5 months back. Only in the last 2 months, I have been bowled by Pana is many aspects. Its an excellent TV for the price. Now the second part, in Industry Pana PV80 rules, thats the fact, there is no sweeping statement here. You can read CNet to Trusted Review to HD Test and you will see Plasma PV80 is uncrowned king. I made this based on the reviews I have read on trusted review sites and magazines.

Now the topic of Philips HTB vs Onkyo. Now, this I am stating based on 5 months research by 5 of my buddies. The starting model of Onkyo was no way as good as Philip 4750 period. We were tight on budget and had to get something below 30k. At that time the Onlyo 55K setup still didnt match Philips centre soundstage and Music clarity when compared. So I will vote for Philips 4750 anyday when compared to systems of similar price. We also compared Sony, Samsung, LG HTB (we did all research in UK and India). So again this is my personal taste. Based on my research, I gave Sujith inputs and asked to take a demo and decide and not blindly believe me. He did the demo and he loved it and bought it.

So just wanted to say, I dont make sweeping statements, I am just expressing my POVs. Taste is personal, I request you to take demo of 4750 in Philips Arena and give your honest feedback like how VSG did.

Moserw: Even I had the same impression till I meet Philips 4750. It was an instant hit and I felt none of the startup models of Onkyo beats this. Trust me my friend who owns a Onkyo THX certified setup says Philips sounds better in MP3 sound processing than his system. I am not saying its better than that, I am saying Philips 4750 is a very good all round HTB for its price and a great VFM.
 
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Hi Everyone!

Too early in the day I know, but my wife woke up at 5 am and I have been tossing and turning since then and then decided to check out my new favorite hanging place.

Coming to the Philips, I have not personally heard it since the model is not available, but I am sure you guys are right and it sounds great. I am not disputing that. I am only sharing problems I have encountered with VCD/DVDP/Amp combos from my personal experience.

VFM is not just for the present. It should also be how the product will perform 10 years from now. Based on my own personal experiences 10 years is a long time and no integrated DVDP/Amp will last that long. Even my Onkyo will not last that long agreed, but at least its parts are upgradeable/changeable and that too in the forseeable future. I had a Sony 3-CD changer that would not eject. Authorized Sony said 7K to fix it cause the motor (or something else) had broken down. I just got myself a budget DVD player for 3.5K instead. My old Sony 4.1 MP Digital Camera lens did not eject. Again Sony said 8.5K to replace lens motor or something else that had broken down. I went ahead and bought a brand new Canon 7.1 MP for around the same price and Kodak has 7.1 MP cameras starting at 4K these days.

My only suggestion once again is to have a product that will be easily changeable and better not be stuck with something that once it breaks down means you have to get rid of the entire unit. I am aware that spare parts will be available and everything in these days will be easily replaceable too even in the Philips 4750 probably. However, that's a chance I am not willing to take based on my own past experiences. Even Venkat has mentioned the same thing in his review of the Philips 4750 that if anything goes wrong you would be in trouble.

VFM is good, but even the future performance must be taken into consideration when calculating VFM. For me VFM is when I can get a new DVDP that will play H.264 a couple of years down the line and yet I can use my existing HT setup since it gives me so many connectivity options. An integrated DVDP/Amp/HTIB combo never gives so many connectivity options and its not going to be as easy to buy a new budget DVDP and connect it.

Once again this is my personal line of thinking and based on my own/friends past experiences. Hopefully, not offending anyone here. BTW anyone in Hyderabad has the Philips 4750 or know any mall/shop that stocks it for a demo. I do want to hear this highly praised HTIB so please keep me posted.
 
Moserw: Very very valid points. Yes, it a trade off and HTB itself is a consious decision and buyers should take an informed decision.

Also, trust me Philips is not that great in service and electronics gettings upgraded every 1 yr I wont see too much value. It will move to bedroom in 2 yrs time or when i can afford my 7.1 HT setup
 
Guys - My way of looking at it -

If you can get 95% of the SOUND of a system costing 50k or more, for 22k , then how much are you willing to pay the extra just for connectivity?

@Moserw - Electronics is NOT going to last for ever - and older models WILL be more expensive to repair/maintain - no one will stock the parts! (Look at computer RAM for instance - DDR1 costs twice DD2!) . That cannot be a yardstick - because if it is , there is absolutely NO electronic equipment that will be immune to it!

Another thing about upgrades - you can start with one item , and find that you will keep having to upgrade the other things in your set up as well to extract the full potential!

IF you want absolute value - then go the second hand route. (I know I am!) One can get good equipment at a fraction of the price - and when you upgrade your loss will be negligible as well!
 
THis one has received a lot of praises, I think i would go & see the demo, Iam in a hunt for a HT, however my budget is quite restricted to not more than 30K
 
:eek: The dealer here quoted 36k for it!! GAWD .. I really wonder if these guys see a neon "DUNCE" on my forehead! WOW .. so nothing official about 'official' dealers either!

Hi Sijit,
Do u know where is the best price for onkyo 3100 in Coimbatore? In Erode they told 20K at The Music People( Onkyo's authorised Dealer).
 
< Off Topic >

Just remembered Moserw when browzing through the thread..
Anybody know his whereabouts?

He was very active and helpful when I joined and seen nowhere now?
 
I have Auditioned various HTIB in chennai (Sony ,Philips,Onkyo) at price around 20K. Among these I felt Onkyo 3100 subwoofer produces a Deeper bass compared to Others.( They kept 3100 in a small room ,I dont know whether that is the reason.)
I could not find 4750 in Chennai even at Philips Arena. The TNagar ezone persons told they will get for me around 20K if I Ordered but cannot audition.And 3100 was 20K at Reliance Digital and 3200 was 21.5K.

My dilemma is between 3100 and 4750( Which is not auditioned yet)
:sad:
 
hi All,
where can one get a Philps 4750?

who(where and when) had the most recent sighting?

or is it extinct?
 
Hi Sijit,
Do u know where is the best price for onkyo 3100 in Coimbatore? In Erode they told 20K at The Music People( Onkyo's authorised Dealer).

No clue buddy - Shifted to Bangalore a year back! Sorry :)

I have Auditioned various HTIB in chennai (Sony ,Philips,Onkyo) at price around 20K. Among these I felt Onkyo 3100 subwoofer produces a Deeper bass compared to Others.( They kept 3100 in a small room ,I dont know whether that is the reason.)
I could not find 4750 in Chennai even at Philips Arena. The TNagar ezone persons told they will get for me around 20K if I Ordered but cannot audition.And 3100 was 20K at Reliance Digital and 3200 was 21.5K.

My dilemma is between 3100 and 4750( Which is not auditioned yet)
:sad:

Personally if ANYONE has offered to get you a 4750 OFFICIAL piece - GO FOR IT BLINDFOLDED!! Nothing I have heard before , or since, has come remotely close to it! (I would ask Ezone to give a receipt very clearly stating its advance for a brand new 4750 - and a delivery date as well!)

hi All,
where can one get a Philps 4750?

who(where and when) had the most recent sighting?

or is it extinct?

It is extinct - as around - you may be lucky to an odd piece with some distributor/stockist somewhere!
 
Philips made and is still capable of making some of the best product in the market but their recent manufacturing base in China is questionable........:mad:
 
Buy from India's official online dealer!
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