Pioneer kuro krp-500m or Panasonic tcp55st50... Please help me make a decision

Hello,

Long time reader, first time poster. I have the monetary means to purchase a Pioneer Kuro krp-500m or a Panasonic tcp55st50. I am planning on installing a set in my 12 feet x 12 feet living room and can't decide between the two. The Kuro is obviously used. The current owner estimates usage at 1800 hours but claims the set is in good condition. He does not have the stand or speakers. The important advantages I see in getting the Panasonic is that it is brand new, will have a manufacturer's warranty and is obviously a bigger size. Considering that my final decision is destined for a 12x12 living room, should I sacrifice the outstanding picture quality of the Kuro to get a brand new bigger sized screen or should I jump on this rare opportunity to own one of the best panels ever? Both sets are around the same price, though I will have to pony up for a stand and possibly a sound bar (I wouldn't dare buy a home theater system with my 3 year old daughter wreaking havoc in the living room).

Any help is extremely appreciated.

There is an entertainment center area cutout in my living room wall so ill be sitting about 10 to 11 feet away from the set. I currently have a 46 inch led in place and feel like the TV is too small for the living room.

The distance between the seat and the couch is exactly 10 feet. This is a tough one. On one hand the krp500 is a hard to find gem. On the other hand, the st50 is not too shabby but has the size advantage. I can actually get a 60 inch st50 for the same price as the krp500. Im still kicking myself for getting the 46 inch led due to its small size n dont want to make.the same mistake again. However, I also dont want to regret getting an st50 when a krp500 was staring me in the face. Decisions, decisions.

I am in San Diego, CA. The KRP-500 is in Arizona so I have to take into account fuel expenses and also the cost of a soundbar to compensate for the lack of speakers on the KRP-500. I am looking to replace my 46 inch LED with a plasma of at least 55 inch size. The only reason I am considering the KRP-500 is because of its outstanding picture quality and the fact that its a hard to find set.

Does anybody know how long the KRP-500's usually last?

I already have a smart blu ray player that I could pair with the TV and have a Yamaha soundbar in mind for the final piece of the puzzle. However, u used the string method to simulate how a 50 and 60 inch would look in my living room and the 50 inch is just not big enough. It is because of that that I have decided on getting the tcp60st50. Im willing to sacrifice some pq fir the added size and since ive never been exposed to a kuro, im sure the st50 will blow me away.

If the kuro is still available in a month, then I might consider it for my bedroom. But my immediate goal is to finally put a decent sized set in my living room. Theres always good kuro deals lurking around and I feel like right now would be the perfect tine to get one. I wouldnt want to get a 5 or 6 year old kuro.

Thanks for the help guys... And dont try to talk me into buying the kuro now that I made a decision lol.

Just wanted to provide an update. After setting my sight on a tcp60st50, best buy had the tcp65st50 for a price I could afford. Before clicking "buy" I decided to give one last browse of their website. It was then when I saw a sharp lc70le632u for $100 less than the 65 inch st50. After reading the entire thread for the sharp here at avsforum, I decided the sharp would give me the best bang for my buck size wise, as it would fill up my 12 x 12 living room nicely, and would give me good pq being that its a full array backlit led set. Its a 2011 model. From what ive read however, except for the 80 inch aquos, Sharps 2012 line are all edge lit leds. I had to drive one and a half hours to pick this bad boy up because it was the last one in my region.

Did I make the right decision in sacrificing pq to get the biggest set that was within my budget? Or should I have sacrificed 5 inches in order to stay with plasma technology and its superior pq?

I see no clouding at this time but do see a faint dirty screen effect and a single small dark spot on each corner, which is not even close to the horrible spotlughting on my Samsung edge lit led. I only saw the dirty screen effect because I had read about it in the thread. although thr blacks arent as deep as a plasma, I do get a very uniform image. I am still planning on getting a 50 inch kuro down the line for my bedroom, which is why I decided to simply gey the biggest screen I could afford for the living room. I forgot to mention that there are 3 big windows in my living room, which makes the matte screen of the sharp perfect for my living room. I still have 30 days to try this baby out and am interested to know why wmwilker sacrificed 15 inchrs of size for the panny. I guess I just need to know whether the 5 inch size increase outweighs the pq improvement of the panny.

If my second option was a vt50 then yeah I would have gone with the vt50 which has even deeper blacks than the st50. Off angle viewing on the sharp is not ideal. I agree that the off angle viewing of the sharp is an issue.