Anyone know where I can see the sharp 20k and the JVC RS-1 in the San Francisco bay area? Ideally in the same building, but different stores are fine too. I'm in Los Altos, if it helps narrow down the locations.

I've noticed pretty much only runcos and plasmas in the few stores I've tried, so maybe folks here have a favorite store with more affordable projectors?

Thanks,
--Carey

Nobody?

Anyone know where I can see the sharp 20k and the JVC RS-1 in the San Francisco bay area? Ideally in the same building, but different stores are fine too. I'm in Los Altos, if it helps narrow down the locations.

I've noticed pretty much only runcos and plasmas in the few stores I've tried, so maybe folks here have a favorite store with more affordable projectors?

Thanks,
--Carey


I read somewhere that the Dublin Magnolia store has a very well calibrated Sony Pearl installation.

Several Magnolia locations s/b adding some new projectors by spring of 2010, according to my cousin

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm leaning away from the Pearl towards the JVC or sharp...

It's strange I can't easily find the jvc around here, since there are lots of high end stereo stores, and it's the "hot new projector" :-(

ckloss,

I want to demo one as well. But did not find one yet. I contacted v m i v i d e o * c o m (JVC pro authorized dealer in sunnyvale) last week. At first I was told that they have one available for demo. Later they called me back that the demo unit was sold. Too bad!
You may want to contact them as well. Perhaps multiple interests will have them keep a demo unit.

btw, I was told that I can still buy one from them (at a good price), and it'll take just 1-2 weeks to get in.

Please post if you find a place. Good luck!

You might want to check with Century Stereo in San Jose (near Saratoga). I don't know what they have setup right now, but they tend to have some of the best demo setups I've seen in the bay area.

Thanks,

I'll try to contact vmi (never heard of them before). I called Century recently, and they only have Runco and Sim2, even though they list sharp on their website. They kind of scoffed when I asked about "projectors $10k or less" :-) I also tried Audible Difference in Palo Alto (wanted to listen to some magnepans anyway) and they didn't have a working projector of any kind!

--Carey

I called Century recently, and they only have Runco and Sim2, even though they list sharp on their website. They kind of scoffed when I asked about "projectors $10k or less" :-)
--Carey

Try Century again, They should have a Runco on display starting at $5K. Don't be put off by the high end models. Sure Runco is absolutley untouchable on the high-end, but they also offer unbeliveable performance in the more entry level projectors.

Thanks -- I wonder if anyone has compared the RS1 or Sharp 20k against the lower end Runco (I assume it's 720p). Ignoring scalers and whatnot, if the Runco had better optics it might be a worthy contender on a smaller screen.

I'll have to check out century's video demo rooms before I buy anything.

--C