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Bought "open box" 34XBR910...right decision?

1143 Views 10 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Pedro2, Sep 17, 2003

Pedro2

Discussion Starter · Sep 14, 2003

OK, after several torturous months of indecision (and reading through hundreds of AVS forum posts!), I finally pulled the trigger and bought the Sony 34XBR910 at Circuit City. But there is a twist. When I went to the store the manager offered me an "open box" set for $300 less which had been returned by a customer (i.e. not refurbished or repaired, or so he says). The set is being delivered tomorrow. The "open box" issue makes me a wee bit nervous, but it has the same 30 day return policy, warranty, etc. So, is there anything I should look for to make sure the set is fine (isn't defective or been abused, etc.)?? I can, of course, simply return it for a truly "new" set.

Also, I ended up buying the 2500 model Monster powerline conditioner as well--is this a good match? (there are more and less expensive versions). And, any suggestions on a good DVD player for this particular set? (I have an old non-progressive scan player).

Thanks for your thoughts on this!

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DNINE

· #2 · Sep 14, 2003

$300 off of List price? Or on top of another discount? If the set appears to be in good condition no scratches at all and you paid under 2k+/-, it sounds

like a deal. If it is off of list $2499 less $300 then I don't know if it is such a good deal. It also depends on why the customer returned it , which you

won't know and how long he used it. a good rule of thumb is something that is not brand new take around 30 percent off list.

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monkeyboy1010

· #3 · Sep 14, 2003

I also purchased the 910 as an open box from CC, at the famous Glendale CA store that AKid made so popular

There is a Good Guys directly across the street from them, and they were selling the unit new for 2299, while CC was still showing list price for new units. So I asked the manager if he would match the price along with the discount for the open box. Which he did, and made the price very reasonable at 2049.00.

A couple of small scratches on the side plastics from CC's delivery of the TV to the first owner was the only thing wrong with this set, the original user deiced to go with a larger DLP screen.

I deiced to pass on the free delivery if the 1st delivery was the indication of the service I could expect. Free doesn't always = good.

You mileage may vary,

MB1010

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jcblack

· #4 · Sep 14, 2003

It depends on why the set was returned. Maybe it just didn't fit into their entertainment cabinet, or didn't look right in the room. Or maybe they returned at day 29 and had it on every day since. ..I believe you can go into the service menu once you get it and see how many hours the set has on it. (it's in an xbr thread around here somewhere)

Good luck...

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Pedro2

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 16, 2003

Thanks for the replies...actually ending up returning the set, we simply underestimated how huge it would look in our small living room. Also disappointed in picture quality on NTSC digital cable sources. Now going to try the 30inch version instead--hopefully that will work!

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GregF

· #6 · Sep 16, 2003

you can always return it and pay the difference for a new one. I don't know if you guys saw my "price drop" thread but I think the retail price is down to 2199 so be sure to get your price difference guarantees. If you just bought your Pedro2 I think surely they'd adjust your price also.

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DNINE

· #7 · Sep 17, 2003

The 30XBR910 should have the same picture quality, just as good just as

bad. Most of the newer sets will have somewhat poorer pq quality with NTSC signals pending a few things, what kind of signal you are getting, what connections your using to view different channels. You may want to use the composite connections when watching channels with bad pq. First I would read the manual on the DRC Pallet, this will make those NTSC channels better. It sounds like the size was a factor so switching to a smaller set will solve that problem at the same time you can get a new 30", but the problem with NTSC quality won't get better by doing this.

Like GregF said above you may wan't to just pay the difference for a new

34" unless the size is a reel problem. Keep us posted

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Pedro2

Discussion Starter · #8 · Sep 17, 2003

Well, here's a quick update: the good news is that with some tweaking on the palette we were able to get a dramatically better NTSC picture. So that is not so much of a concern now. Can really enjoy most channels, though there is a lot of variation in quality.

But still have the size issue--the set just sticks out so much in a small living room, wish we could find a clever way to disguise it! The fact that the back of the set doesn't really slope down much adds to the problem. Maybe have an armoire custom made--but that is a couple of thousand dollars at least.

The 30 inch version may be the way to go, but looking at the dimensions on paper it is still pretty big! Toshiba makes a very compact looking 30inch set--would this be a big step down from the XBR?

On the reported drop in CC prices and getting a price adjustment: local circuit city stores have not brought the price down yet, hmmm.

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GregF

· #9 · Sep 17, 2003

Well the reason I went down there is because the advertised price dropped to 2399, and when they made the credit adjustment I wound up getting 200 off.

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gigaguy

· #10 · Sep 17, 2003

I prefer TVs in a cabinet, looks much nicer. You can find some not that much $$. Mine is a medium size Scandinavian teak and was about $700 a few years ago. The 34" Sonys would fit perfectly in, looks custom made for it. It's about 5' tall and 4' wide.

But I'm still waiting for cheaper prices on the Sony 34" 800 or 910, or 510.

The local Sony Outlet had the 34" 800s for $1749 last time I was there, and Labor Day they had a 10% off sale, but I still didn't bite. They had a 34 XBR2 for $1500.

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Pedro2

Discussion Starter · #11 · Sep 17, 2003

Gigaguy...can you tell me where you got your cabinet and/or what brand/model!? That is a very attractive price, and I have not seen many cabinets at all (regardless of price) that are a good fit for the 34XBR's.

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