DEAL2DIE4 - Akai 27" (Samsung Clone) SuperFlat TV with Widescreen Squeeze Mode $379.00 !! (no rebates needed)

[poolshark]

Tung,
you are right it is cheap and I am laughing all the way to the bank

 

[dc]

thanks craigg

 

[dc]

rofl, just called the city of industry, CA store. the lady said they had 23 of them instock.

 

[Robbed]

Heres something interesting that I hope someone can help me with:

I picked up this TV when this was first posted, back in January. I love the thing.... the picture is superb and everything is good except for one thing.... the sound. Its terrible. TV/DVD/Anything coming through the speakers on this thing with the volume above "28" and I get a really annoying buzz. Up until this point I tried to deal with it until I figured something else out. I finnally got fed up with it and dragged out a tuner and some old speakers from the other room. I hooked up the tuner to the monitor out and turned the TV on. The entire left half of the screen had turned yellow! I went back around, unplugged the monitor out and stepped back -- everything fixed. What in the hell? So i switched RCA cables -- same thing.

Then i realized what was happening....... everytime I went to unplug the RCA cables i moved the left speaker away from the side of the TV. By playing around I figured out that if the speaker was facing away from the TV (magnet towards the TV) the picture looked great (it even seemed better than it did with the speaker in the other room), but if I turned the left speaker even with the TV the picture turned yellow and distorted. Then I decided to play with the right speaker and found the opposite to be true!! If the speaker was facing towards the TV, the picture was fine -- but if I turned it away from the TV, it looked terrible on the right side. This is what I didn't expect to be true. The only thing I can figure is that there must be some sort of magnetic field that is occuring between the speakers..... does anyone know how I could fix this?


Thanks for your help,

rob.

 

[PHiuR]

maybe get some new speakers? if your speakers are old maybe their not reenforced good by the magnetic field thing...?

 

[wiin]

Now cost $350.00. Will this go any lower?

 

[GnatGoSplat]

CRT's are affected by magnetic fields. The tube itself has huge electromagnets on the yoke of the tube which pulls the electron beam vertically and horizontally, drawing the picture on the screen. Speakers have a magnetic field since they too, are electromagnets. Their magnetic field disrupts the normal path of the electron beam.

Basically, you need "magnetically shielded" speakers.

 

[Robbed]

is it something with this TV? I had an older TV that worked just fine.


rob

 

[VirginiaDonkey]

there must be something wrong with your sound on the TV because if turn the sound up anywhere over 20 I practically have to shout to talk to my wife. no probs with my sound at all. have you been thru the sound setup menu? ( i know...dumb question, but had to ask)

 

[Robbed]

It does get loud, but for movies and things it just sounds horrible. Even my little brother who doesn't know anything about audio told me that it "sucked." Maybe I should give akai a call, any idea what sort of warranty these had?

Thanks,

rob.

 

[bradolson]

My sound on this TV is fine as well. I never have it above 15 though. When I watch DVDs or play video games, I use my receiver and speakers for the sound though.

Brad

 

[PullMyFinger]

Robbed,
Get those speakers away from your tv immediately or they will eventually cause serious damage. You need to get "shielded" speakers if you are going to have them near your tv. The magnets which drive the speaker's voice coils will affect the path of the electron beam in your tv's picture tube. If this happens for a long enough period of time, your tv can take a permanent set which will not be correctable with degaussing. That loud, short buzz you hear when you turn your tv or monitor on is the tube degaussing (basically normalizing the magnetic field).

Regarding your sound problems, you say it sounds terrible for movies and "things" when turned up over 28, does it sound ok for normal broadcast tv and at lower volume levels, say around 10? Also, how do you have your other components connected to the tv, do you have a dvd player, vcr, are you using component connections, s-video? Let us know.

 

[Robbed]

It sounds just ok for broadcast TV, strange that at 15 on broadcast its a pretty realisitic listening level, but if I put it on AV2 (my dvd player hooked up using RCAs) it is alot quieter so I have to turn up the volume nd it makes the speakers buzz. I'm using the RED/YELLOW/WHITE outputs on my DVD player, I also have a dreamcast hooked up to AV1.

I'm in the market for a new DVD player with progressive scan that can play SVCDS, and then I'll be using the component controls.

I just moved the speakers away, and even though I thought that I had the magnets safely turned away, it appears they may have caused damage. In the upper left hand corner of the picture is a big mess of pink fog. Sigh. I looked through the manual and it didnt have any sort of warnings about putting speakers near the set, so I'm going to try and give AKAI a call and get the stats on their warranty. Maybe there is a way to force the monitor to degause? I don't hear it make a loud click when it turns on like you say I should. I figured that samsung used the same technology as their monitors which also don't make a sound when they degause or switch modes.

Thanks,

rob.

 

[GnatGoSplat]

The big mess of pink fog is indication that the tube has indeed become partially magnetized.
On older sets, the degauss is temperature dependent - a thermal switch heats up when the set is on, turning off the degauss coil. Usually turning off the TV and letting it cool down for 10-20 minutes will allow the degauss to turn on briefly the next time you turn it on.

Magnetic fields rarely result in PERMANENT damage. Usually just several cycles of the power switch (with enough time inbetween to let the set cool down) are all it will take to fully degauss the tube. If all else fails, you can manually degauss it with a demagnetizing wand like the ones used to erase cassette tapes (Radio Shack used to carry these).

I don't own one of these (yet) so I don't know if there's any way to force a manual degauss like you can with most computer monitors.
If there is, it's probably in the setup somewhere, or maybe the service menu.

 

[Robbed]

Great advice! I turned the TV off and let it cool down, did that a couple of times and the fogging has corrected itself. And I was going to take it in for service which the guy told me would take 14-21 days!!

Next question: What are some decent shielded speakers? and will a progressive scan DVD player look even better on this TV?

thanks,

rob.

 

[Mikey100]

We purchased one of these 10 days ago, as a Bedroom Television.
It is EVERY bit as good as y'all said it is. Thank you VERY much !

I noticed last night, here in Atlanta, GA, that they have lowered the price from the $ 369.95 we paid, down to $ 349.95. Sam's was most accommodating and cheerfully credited us back the $ 21 difference
(after sales tax).

A SAM's representative said they "might" be getting ready to discontinue carrying this item. As a note, AKAI does NOT manufacture televisions. They are known for middle-line hi-fi systems. Even the documentation that comes with this set is void of ANY indication of who makes this unit. The manual does not even have a manufacturer's name on it. However, the manual provided is quite detailed, well written and somewhat easy to understand. That's good because the television has a LOT of features and settings. And by the way, it's built-in audio is REALLY nice !

This set APPEARS to exceeed the quality of my Sony 36" WEGA. We like it alot. And the manufacturer, whomever it is, does not seem to have scrimped on its design ... It weighs in at a HEFTY 114 lbs. The Toshiba 27" we were going to get was only 77 lbs.

At $350, this set looks like a relatively HOTTER item !
My bride of 32 years and I highly recommend it.

Best Wishes, Mikey In Atlanta

 

[Tung]

hehe mikey, thanks for your input

 

[mboy]

<< Great advice! I turned the TV off and let it cool down, did that a couple of times and the fogging has corrected itself. And I was going to take it in for service which the guy told me would take 14-21 days!!

Next question: What are some decent shielded speakers? and will a progressive scan DVD player look even better on this TV?

thanks,

rob. >>



Your Tv can not display a progressive scan image. You can buy a progressive player, make sure it has an interlaced output as well (onyl way you will be able to use it) because you need an EDTV or HDTV to view a progressive or 480p image.

 

[PullMyFinger]

Robbed, great to hear that your set is ok . Regarding your question on decent shielded speakers, you need to determine what your needs are, do you want just basic stereo speakers or will you be going to a complete surround sound system (and how much are you willing to spend)? To get an idea of some decent name brand shielded speakers, check out Crutchfield.com. They aren't the best priced online retailer but they tend to have good service, a decent amount of info on each product, and a pretty wide selection. Remember to check out their scratch and dent and discontinued sections also, you might find some pretty good deals there.

 

[PullMyFinger]

Oh yeah, almost forgot, did you try switching your dvd to different inputs, AV1 or the component DVD? Also, have you tried an s-video cable for your dvd-tv connection? Also, just to rule out all possibilities, have you checked the dvd player on another tv just to make sure it's sound is ok?

 

[Hugenstein]

Don't know if this has been mentioned before, but the Sam's in North Richland Hills, TX has the Akai 24" for $289.00.

How does it compare to the 27"....same features?

 

[MisterMac9]

>> noticed last night, here in Atlanta, GA, that they have lowered the price from the $ 369.95 we paid, down to $ 349.95. Sam's was most accommodating and cheerfully credited us back the $ 21 difference
(after sales tax).<<

I bought one tonight. It was still $369.95 at my local Sam's. I asked about the price reduction to $349.95. The CSR behind the desk said different stores reduce the price at different times, usually when stock is low on an item they are not going to reorder. This store has 15 on hand so she said they probably won't reduce the price until there are 2 or 3 left. She did say if the price dropped within 30 days I could get a refund for the difference.

 

[MisterMac9]

>>Don't know if this has been mentioned before, but the Sam's in North Richland Hills, TX has the Akai 24" for $289.00.

How does it compare to the 27"....same features? <<

I saw one tonight at the Sam's in Fort Wayne, IN. I did not look at it real close, but the box listed features on the side and it didn't list a component video input (unless I missed it). The display model was up high on a shelf so I couldn't look at the back to see if it actually has one.

EDIT: I went back to Sam's today and while was there took a closer look at the Akai 24" flat screen. No component input, no S-video input, Two composite in's and one composite out.

 

[GTJacket]

Mikey (or anyone else in Atlanta), what Sam's did you go to that had the TV for $349.95? Did you ever happen to see the Akai 24" at any Sam's in the area?

Thanks!

 

[ostrow]