I've been checking out crags list and have come across everything from Pioneer elite pros to Hitachi 65f59's most in the sub $1000 range, some as cheap as $500. With such great bargains out there for "old technology" what projection crt tv's should I be looking at and what should I look out for when buying used?

I've been checking out crags list and have come across everything from Pioneer elite pros to Hitachi 65f59's most in the sub $1000 range, some as cheap as $500. With such great bargains out there for "old technology" what projection crt tv's should I be looking at and what should I look out for when buying used?



You should alos check out UECWeb. They are the official Hitachi dealer for overstock/refurb Hitachi TVs.

Check this link out:
http://www.uecweb.com/index.php?p=product&id=290&parent=1

Since these are "discontinued" I assume mentioning price is OK? If not, may the mods edit this if need be.

Anyway, UEC has the 51F59A, which is new, as far as I can tell, for $648 w/ free shipping. The F59s were the last CRT RPTVs from Hitachi and this model should have a build date of 2006.
51" of HDTV for under $700......at that price you could fly Mr Bob out to do a full blown calibration & still have spent less that you would ona new plasma/LCD/DLP.

The Pioneer Elite's are widely regarded to be the best crt sets that ever existed. The most common thing you may run into would be burn in and convergence problems.


edit: I must say I'm in shock, on my crags list search I found 2 Pioneer Elite's for $500 and one for $399. I can not believe how cheap these things are selling for these days. I'm now considering picking one up this weekend for my basement.

If you can find them, it might be a good idea to get your hands on a CRT RPTV with 9 inch CRT Guns. Most RPTVS including the pioneer Elites used 7 inch Guns..although the optics on the pioneer elites are supposed to be top notch. These RPTVs with 9 inch guns are relatively rare but have a wonderfuly detailed picture ... In fact I bought one just this weekend a Mitsubishi WS-73713... The TVs with 9 inch CRT guns include some 65 inch Diamond Series Mitsubishi RPTVs (WS-65813 for example), almost all 73 inch Mitsubishis, some philips 64 inch Tvs , some Zenith 64 inch tvs .. I am sure there are some more of them out there.. Do your research and I am sure you can find a wonderful CRT RPTV that still produces a picture that rivals the best DLPS or Plasmas...