I am looking at taking the plunge on a projector and I had a couple of questions.

I won't talk about pricing specifics since that's against the rules but I wanted to know what people's advice are on going through an independent authorized dealer versus Magnolia Hi-Fi. Looking for pros/cons. PM me and I can certainly go into more detail. Thanks!

Mag HiFi has been a great store--I bought several products from them over the years--but I thought they were no more. ? For pj's, though, they don't have the variety of products that you probably want to consider. In fact no B&M probably does, and that's the main problem in deciding on one, getting to see them!

In my case, I simply did lots of research here on the AVSForum, went to see some pj's of forum members in my area, and actually went to CEDIA to see the main contenders.

If you suggest a price range you're considering, you will get some good suggestions from the folks here, and this will at least get you started.

Depends on lot on the particular CI and particular Magnolia. Really you will have to decide based on talking with them.

Thanks for the responses all.

We still have a few Mag Hi-Fi's in our area and I've been told they are staying for the forseeable future. (although who knows).

Budget is around $3,500.

I've had a chance to see the JVC and an Epson 6500,7500 so far.

Overall I like a bit brighter of a picture. Still want to achieve the cinematic effect. (as opposed to just something that looks big). Uses will be 50% gaming 50% movies. The room is 26 x 16. a couple of small windows but solved with some curtains and blinds. Single row for the time being. Throw would be at around 16ft give or take. Looking at pairing this with a StudioTek 110"

I am leaning toward the Epson 7500 currently. I know they have a $500 rebate too. How cheap could I get one of these for?

Advice?

Unless you are trying to stay with a local store, have you thought about AV Science? Jason is great to work with and they have great pricing. They also let you try it to make sure you are totally happy with your purchase. Give them a try, they are really a great company to buy from :)

Unless you are trying to stay with a local store, have you thought about AV Science? Jason is great to work with and they have great pricing. They also let you try it to make sure you are totally happy with your purchase. Give them a try, they are really a great company to buy from :)

I strongly second this recommendation. Great experience with 2 pj purchases from AVS.

Thanks for the responses all.

We still have a few Mag Hi-Fi's in our area and I've been told they are staying for the forseeable future. (although who knows).

Budget is around $3,500.

I've had a chance to see the JVC and an Epson 6500,7500 so far.

Overall I like a bit brighter of a picture. Still want to achieve the cinematic effect. (as opposed to just something that looks big). Uses will be 50% gaming 50% movies. The room is 26 x 16. a couple of small windows but solved with some curtains and blinds. Single row for the time being. Throw would be at around 16ft give or take. Looking at pairing this with a StudioTek 110"

I am leaning toward the Epson 7500 currently. I know they have a $500 rebate too. How cheap could I get one of these for?

Advice?

My experience is VERY limited as I just got into front projection a month ago and I recently purchased a Pioneer FPJ1 (RS2 Clone). My throw distance is just under 11 feet on a 100" screen and it's great for movies but unless something is wrong with my setup it's not very impressive to my eyes for games due to motion blur. For brightness make sure you get some screen samples as a screen with higher gain can significantly boost brightness.

The Epson HC7500 is the pro model, limited to CI's and such. The HC6500 is essentially the same thing (few differences that I can point out if needed)...BUT, less expensive as well.

Need to replace my SP5700 that has failed for the 4th time. (bad power supply and color wheel noise after first 18 months-then, a bad capacitor 11 months later- then another bad capacitor one year later- now, less than six months after last repair, the power supply seems to have gone again)

Looking to upgrade to 1080p. Unlike many on this forum, we cannot replace our PJ every year or two, so we would want something with longevity. We've been looking over the 1,000's of posts and reading reviews and nobody seems to keep them long enough to even wear out a bulb. Our original components were purchased in late 2003 and, with the exception of the PJ, everything is still working and sounding great.

Our setup:
Room is 20' x 20' with some ambient light. It's a multipurpose room so cannot be painted black. The walls and ceiling are a light brown. The Infocus was fine for us when it worked.

Denon AVR3803
Vienna Acoustics 7.1 Speaker set up
Stewart 92" Firehawk 16:9 with Deluxe frame, 1st generation, 1.35 gain.

The SP5700 is ceiling mounted 13' from the screen and I have to project under a ceiling fan 6' from the screen and 14-1/2" down. Currently my PJ is mounted 12" down from an 8' ceiling. PJ is right above our seating, so PJ noise should be considered. Again, the SP5700 was fine when it worked, but I can't seem to find the dB rating for it. The top of the screen is 19" down from the ceiling.

I have component cables in the walls and ceiling, so cannot use HDMI. I also have a computer monitor cable routed through another wall to the PJ for video.

From what I've read, the Pan AE3000U, Ep 6500UB, and the JVC DLA-RS10 are all highly rated and get a lot of press on the forum. They are in my price range as long as they will last a few years. They all seem like they will work in my situation, but would like some input from others. Another DLP would be nice, but nothing in my price range seems to be highly rated, unless I missed something.

Any recommendations for our specific situation?

Thanks

Need to replace my SP5700 that has failed for the 4th time. (bad power supply and color wheel noise after first 18 months-then, a bad capacitor 11 months later- then another bad capacitor one year later- now, less than six months after last repair, the power supply seems to have gone again)

Looking to upgrade to 1080p. Unlike many on this forum, we cannot replace our PJ every year or two, so we would want something with longevity. We've been looking over the 1,000's of posts and reading reviews and nobody seems to keep them long enough to even wear out a bulb. Our original components were purchased in late 2003 and, with the exception of the PJ, everything is still working and sounding great.

Our setup:
Room is 20' x 20' with some ambient light. It's a multipurpose room so cannot be painted black. The walls and ceiling are a light brown. The Infocus was fine for us when it worked.

Denon AVR3803
Vienna Acoustics 7.1 Speaker set up
Stewart 92" Firehawk 16:9 with Deluxe frame, 1st generation, 1.35 gain.

The SP5700 is ceiling mounted 13' from the screen and I have to project under a ceiling fan 6' from the screen and 14-1/2" down. Currently my PJ is mounted 12" down from an 8' ceiling. PJ is right above our seating, so PJ noise should be considered. Again, the SP5700 was fine when it worked, but I can't seem to find the dB rating for it. The top of the screen is 19" down from the ceiling.

I have component cables in the walls and ceiling, so cannot use HDMI. I also have a computer monitor cable routed through another wall to the PJ for video.

From what I've read, the Pan AE3000U, Ep 6500UB, and the JVC DLA-RS10 are all highly rated and get a lot of press on the forum. They are in my price range as long as they will last a few years. They all seem like they will work in my situation, but would like some input from others. Another DLP would be nice, but nothing in my price range seems to be highly rated, unless I missed something.

Any recommendations for our specific situation?

Thanks

To start, your problems with the Infocus, though unfortunate, are generally rare. Most projectors now are pretty reliable. That being said, no projector manufacturer can guarnatee a problem free experience. That is why they have warranty.

All the ones you list are good in their own right. I would recommend trying to view them if you can to get a feel for what they look like, especially coming from a DLP as you have had for years.

Another recommendation for Jason and AVS. High level of service and customer focused...which is obvious since they provide this forum for all to use free of charge. I've bought from some of the forum sponsors too...and I can say I've not had a problem when an issue has arose. I know that AVS has the extra level of one on one service. I like the fact that I am not dealing with a large conglomo.

Another recommendation for Jason and AVS. High level of service and customer focused...which is obvious since they provide this forum for all to use free of charge. I've bought from some of the forum sponsors too...and I can say I've not had a problem when an issue has arose. I know that AVS has the extra level of one on one service. I like the fact that I am not dealing with a large conglomo.

My middle name is conglomo and I am 250lbs, so relatively large. So I guess you are dealing with a "large conglomo". :D

Okay okay, that was stupid. :)