I think I'm in the market for some Axiom Ws!

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My wife is going to start a semi-regular (2x/week) day care service in our house in the near future and we were brainstorming about ways to maximize space in our modest home. My eyes immediately went to our "entertainment center" -- really, just a console-like piece of furniture in the living room that houses my home theater equipment and serves as a pedestal for a large CRT TV (with VP100 on top) and my M22s. I pictured a wall-mounted flat panel TV, flanked by W22s with a W150 sitting underneath it. Pretty nice and standard, right? Well, the pièce de résistance, is that I also envisioned the entire system behind curtains that could be kept shut when the system was not in use, or even if you just wanted to listen to music.

I told all this to my wife, and her eyes lit up. I don't want to repeat myself, so let me rephrase: her eyes lit up after I described acquiring new audio and video equipment.

We'd gain about 2 feet of floor space and would also be able to completely hide the TV and speakers (except the surrounds) -- which is something she's been wanting to do for a long time. She often complains that the TV is the focus of the living room....

I know which speakers I'd get already -- W22s and W100 -- so now I'm researching televisions. I don't need anything larger than 32" and it has to be wall-mountable. At this size, that means an LCD television. I've been drawn to the Sharp AQUOS line. Does anyone have any opinions about these? Should I be looking elsewhere?

(Yes, it's no coincidence that this is happening around the same time as tax season. Preliminary estimates say I need to adjust my W4 withholdings so next year's return isn't so large....)

I don't have any advise on TV models, but I know up here in Canada the Costco's have wicked deals on LCDs right now, probably the best place in Calgary to pick up an LCD is at Costco.

Also, and I am sure you have already considered this, you could just wall mount your existing speakers, wouldn't take up THAT much more room than the W series, and then you could put the money you were going to put towards the Ws to a better and BIGGER LCD?

First, Peter, in accord with my usual practice, you're sentenced to 10 lashes with a wet noodle for giving the federal government an interest-free loan instead of owing a little bit. Be that as it may, consider this TV .

Brilliant John, I thought I was the only one who felt that way about "interest free loans".

Peter that sounds like a great use of the room, a win-win situation.

Funny you should mention this. I spent a few hours yesterday looking for an LCD or Plasma set for a friend.

I don't remember the size of your current TV, Peter, but if it's a 32",4x3 TV, keep in mind that by getting a 32", 16x9 TV, your 4x3 image, when watching standard TV programs will be comparable to a 26", 4x3 TV. You'd need to get a 40", 16x9 TV to get a 32", 4x3 image.

Regardless, though I don't consider CNET the end all and be all of sources, it's not a bad place to start.

CNET Editor's ratings of 32" to 41.9" LCD TVs (The Samsung LN-S3251D caught my eye)

I recently purchased a 32" Viewsonic LCD, after being happy with the 27" model I bought for the bedroom ~ 18 months ago. I purchased the 27" from costco.ca and the 32" from tigerdirect.ca.

The 32" has a noticeably better picture than the 27" on standard definition television. I feel the picture on the 32" Viewsonic is almost as good as my old Toshiba Cinema Series 32" CRT. But where the Viewsonic really shines is on HD material. The picture with a 720p feed is stunning. Costco.com has the TV on sale right now for $600, which is a real bargain. My suggestion while shopping is to ensure you view standard definition TV (if that's your main source) and DVD material to see how the native 720p television resolves these lower resolutions. The main weakness of LCD is an often poor picture quality on SD material. Having lived with the 32" Viewsonic for ~ 3 months now, I can say that I'm very pleased with the unit.

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....giving the federal government an interest-free loan instead of owing a little bit.

I love that quote, my dad was famous for it as well. Not many people look at it this way.

Congrats, Peter. But where will you put the equipment?

I have a Toshiba 32" tV That I am happy with. When I have had to call Toshiba concerning the on screen TV guide, or with problems with my Toshiba DVD Player, they were quick to get on the phone with a person I could understand. I will say My brothers 60" Sony rear projection LCD TV has better black levels, but I dont think this is what you are looking for.

Randy

>>I told all this to my wife, and her eyes lit up. I don't want to repeat myself, so let me rephrase: her eyes lit up after I described acquiring new audio and video equipment.

>>

Its good to be a part of the "supportive wives" husbands club isn't it?

How about something like this as an alternative to LCD? Panasonic

Still wall mountable and reasonably priced.

I feel I must reiterate this point, as it really is pretty amazing to anyone who knows Peter's wife:

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her eyes lit up after I described acquiring new audio and video equipment.

That's pretty sweet, Peter!

Every time I've ever glanced at flatscreens when at an electronics store, I've always been impressed by Samsung's picture quality. Not that I've done any serious comparisons, but they do seem to be quite sharp with great color.

Ok, time to fill in some details. We really want the TV to be black so it will easily match with black Axioms. Also, I'm the one who specified 32" as a minimum. My wife would prefer something smaller, but I really put my foot down. Also, after going to Costco last night and seeing how cheap some of the sets are, I'll have a hard time convincing her that we need to spend over $1k.

One aspect that really concerns me is the ancillary costs of moving to an HD flat screen display. My existing source material (a Sony DVD player) is an SD device. Also, my Onkyo is quite old and doesn't have video switching of any kind. I'm pretty sure I'd be taking a big hit in image quality until the rest of my equipment leaves the stone age (relatively speaking). Perhaps I should also be researching upconverting receivers...

My wife ain't gonna like the new ballpark figure...

1 word for keeping costs down:

Harmony.

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My existing source material (a Sony DVD player) is an SD device

If your Onkyo is still doing the job why replace it, progressive scan DVD players are a dime a dozen and have great picture quality.

One minor clarification. I said 32" was the minimum. My agreeable wife has stressed that it's also the maximum. I'm not pushing it on this one.

Peter, perhaps you should consider this EVO system for setting up that wall. I think i'm going to buy a setup for our main floor living area. The wall would fit the units nicely and help get alot of things up off the floor, except the speakers.

http://www.theevosystem.com/

I'm not an expert when it comes to LCD technology, but I shy away from Samsung. They give me headaches and personally I think they pale when compared with the Viewsonic offerings. I have 2 of their monitors now, a CRT and an LCD and I couldn't be happier with them.

Let me add my congrats on the news and appreciation of your telling of the tale of the WAF!

When I can get you down here to Stately Swing Manor, you are welcome to view my Sharp Aquos 37" TV. I love it, especially for ESPN HD. And you could hear my W3s.

When can I sign you up for a tour?

That EVO system looks really cool. If someone gets that, let us know how it works out.

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That EVO system looks really cool. If someone gets that, let us know how it works out.

I hear it got an award at the 2007 CES.
Alan should be working hard on his upcoming update on how the CES show went this year.

There is a very good chance we will be purchasing the EVO system. I'm just not sure how to setup for a future tv for the piece since the 32" Phillips lcd we have there now is destined for the bedroom. It will take some planning to sort this out. Perhaps mounting a 50" Toshiba DLP rear projection (about 64lbs) would work.

Today is a sad day. I finally received my W2 for 2006, and the final numbers are much smaller than I estimated. You see, my company didn't settle all my moving expenses until 2006, even though I moved in December of 2005. Some of those expenses counted as income for me... So, no Axiom Ws and no wall mounted TV for me.

Unless my wife's business really thrives. Hey, ya think we could count Axioms and a TV as a business expense if our motivation for buying them is to make our home a better/safer place for the kids to play?

I'll give a nod to Samsung's current TV's, they're quite nice. I don't actually own any of them personally, but I've recommended / help friends buy more then one.

Just my 0.02

- D

As for the EVO system, I don't think I can consider it anymore. I was piecing one together on their designer thing, and it turned out to be around $3800, which is an ouch for me. I think I'd rather buy the Rives Audio acoustical consultation/design. Still, I'd like to see what that system looks like in your place when you have it!

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As for the EVO system, I don't think I can consider it anymore. I was piecing one together on their designer thing, and it turned out to be around $3800, which is an ouch for me

Yes it certainly is not cheap, but it really looks like a near perfect system for us. As long as i can mount it overtop of the cable and electrical jacks, then virtually all the cables will be hidden with the only exception being the speaker cables.

Well, Peter, I'll offer a sad face for you!

Thanks. I was starting to feel invisible. Kinda like that money I though I was getting...

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Well, Peter, I'll offer a sad face for you!

And, Peter, if you really feel down, then just remember - at least you don't have a room as bad as Mark's!

Don't try to ruin the pity party Mark and I are having by pointing out that he has worse issues. We were bonding just now.

Hi pm,

Sorry your refund won't generate the funds but since I've read through this thread I thought I'd comment anyway since I've just finished the Axiom newsletter (it should go out today) and my notes are in front of me.

Some of the best-looking LCD panels I viewed at this year's CES in Las Vegas included the Sharp Aquos models as well as a new line of larger 1080p Toshiba LCD panels that were a knockout. The Samsungs are very good but not quite up to the Sharp, Toshiba and Sony LCD panels.

Sharp and Toshiba have doubled the frame rate of their LCD panels to 120 Hz (Toshiba's name for it is "Motion Vector Frame Interpolation") to essentially eliminate blurring with rapid horizontal action. The side-by-side demos were very convincing (60-Hz LCD panels vs 120-Hz panels).

I don't recall seeing any Viewsonic LCD panels.

Regards,

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.. Hey, ya think we could count Axioms and a TV as a business expense if our motivation for buying them is to make our home a better/safer place for the kids to play?

IANAA (I am not an accountant), but I bet you could. I have a couple of friends that run their own businesses, and am constantly amazed at the things that can be declared as business expenses. I would talk to an accountant/tax lawyer and see. If your wife is collecting taxable income from the day-care business out of the home, and if the kids are ever entertained by the TV/stereo system, I'd think you have a legitimate reason for declaring the new system a business expense.

I'm in the same boat - awaiting a couple of the wife's W2's in anticipation of a small refund. Also in the process of re-roofing our house, but I am thinking there might be an extra grand lying around that could go into the M80 fund

Thanks for the notes (and the letter -- got it a couple hours ago) Alan. I'm still eager to move to a slimmer profile setup in the living room. It's just further into the future than it was a week ago.

Well Peter, Mark's a most compassionate fellow, but you're not getting any sympathy from me. Still a little interest-free loan to the federal government even after the "surprise" income on the W2? And a deduction for making the place safer for the kids with the Axioms? Safer with the EP500 shaking everything up and making things fall on them? The Service is more likely to find a way to assess additional taxes plus penalty.

A bit more seriously tax-wise, I hope that you've double-checked that the moving expenses were handled correctly. I assume that an "accountable plan" for reimbursement of expenses is in effect and that you're familiar with it because of accounting for travel expenses in the past. Briefly, if they reimbursed you for moving expenses which you accounted for and which were tax-deductible expenses, that reimbursement isn't taxable and shouldn't have been shown on he W2. If they reimbursed for some expenses which didn't fall within the deductible category, that would be taxable to you and would be reported on the W2. You said that "some" was taxable, so maybe this is the situation, but I've run into cases where even major businesses have screwed-up on this.

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John, you have a PM.

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