Buying Guide Cuts Through TV And Hi-Fi Hype

Electronics retailers are rarin’ to sell you a high-priced insurance policy for your new TV, VCR, audio/ video receiver, CD player or tape deck.

But by our book, the best insurance deal going is a $2.95 investment in the March 1995 issue of Consumer Reports. This Home Entertainment Guide special not only rates the relative performance and value of audio and video products, but also predicts their durability by brand - using repair information about older models supplied by CR subscribers.

The product guide is also quite useful in helping you sift through the dizzying array of features that differentiate competitors, to learn which are meaningful and which are not.

In 27-inch televisions, for example, CR touts the importance of a comb filter to sharpen resolution and clean up outlines, while minimizing videonoise-reduction filters and white balance controls.

In VCRs, they’re big on hi-fi sound, now favored by a majority of CR’s savvy readers and about 40 percent of owners.

I was happy to see the magazine pushing the cause of Dolby S noise reduction in cassette decks, for producing recordings remarkably close to CDs in quality.

The editors are also right on in suggesting that the biggest improvement you can make in a sound system is upgrading the speakers. I’m bothered, though, by their lack of attention to some very good speaker brands - from mainstream giant JBL to the qualityconscious independent Fried.

Here’s a brief summary of the products that rose to the top. While Consumer Reports policies prevent the makers from touting these honors in national advertising, you will see some retailers hailing the victories with wording like “rated No. 1 by the leading consumer publication.”

Televisions: Among 27-inch TV sets with stereo sound, CR found almost equal merit in the (first place) Panasonic CT-27SF11, the Samsung TXB2735 (best value at $430 list), Sony KV-27V55 and Toshiba CF27D50. Take special note of these model numbers, since others with similar designations but different chassis scored significantly lower.

In smaller, 19-and 20-inch sets, JVC’s AV-20CM5 took top honors in the stereo category, while the Sharp 20-FM100 was judged best among mono sets, especially for cable viewers without a cable box.

Repair histories found GE, JVC, Panasonic and Hitachi big-screen TVs needed the fewest trips to the shop; in smaller sets, Sanyo, Panasonic, Hitachi and JVC were the most durable.

VCRs: Among hi-fi video cassette recorders, the Mitsubishi HS-U550 and Panasonic PV-4462 were virtually neck and neck - with the former rated easier to use and the latter delivering better picture quality at the slowest recording speed.

In conventional monophonic decks, the Panasonic PV-4414 scored as a “best buy” at $250 list. (In fact, it’s often discounted to under $200.)

The VCR repair index shows Magnavox, Quasar, Emerson and Panasonic to be most reliable brands, historically. Of course, all that can change. Magnavox now buys from different vendors. And Quasar, formerly identical with Panasonic machines, is now being repositioned as a less expensive line.

Camcorders: CR found generally lower overall scores in this year’s models than last. I’m guessing it reflects a movement of production from Japan to other Asian countries. Among 8mm models, the Hitachi VM-E58A was judged best, while in VHS-C the JVC GR-AX70 was the winner by a nose. In “hi-band” models, CR likes the expensive Canon ES1000 (Hi8) and the JVCGR-S27 (S-VHS-C).

Receivers: With the sales price for surround-sound receivers down below $300, CR thinks such multichannel products represent a much better value than stereo-only receivers. Low-priced winners include the Technics SA-GX-470, Yamaha RX-V480, JVC RX515VTN and best buy ($240 list) Sherwood RV-5030R. Among more powerful surround models, the Onkyo TX-SV515PRO-II, the best buy Sherwood RV-6030R ($330), Technics SA-GX770 and JVC RX715VTN earned top honors.

Cassette decks: Sony’s Dolby S-equipped yet competitively priced TC-WR645S dual deck ($255) and audiophile-grade TC-K615S single deck ($305) rose to the top of the pack, with Technics’ dual-well RSTR979 and the single-transport JVCTD-V661 and Aiwa AD-F850 close behind.

CD players: There’s no reason to buy a single CD player when more versatile CD changers cost just a few dollars more, believes CR. Among the rotating carousel models, Onkyo’s six-disc DX-C211 came in first - and scored second in longterm reliability after JVC. In the portable realm, the Panasonic SLS180 was first, while the Sony D-131 was judged a best buy at $95 list.

Speakers: You may have never heard of Phase Technology, the brand whose 7T towers ($600 a pair) were rated tops in CR’s speaker survey. In fact, the company has been around for decades, building speakers to order for brands like Yamaha and Fried. Ranked second in the magazine’s grouping is the RDL F1, a bookshelf speaker selling for $580 a pair.