Loewe flat screen TVs

[ray70]

Went to John Lewis TV dept today and was met by a mass of black, faceless screens from Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung et al. I must admit that I do not particularly like the thought of having one of these in the living room.

B&O are stupidly expensive, but Loewe is within my price range and I have to say they look very nice aesthetically compared to the other brands. Does anyone have an opinions on them? I know I should be judging on picture quality, but if I have to live with the thing for about 5 years, I should at least like the look of it, no?

Also, I think the Loewe range is LCD only. No plasmas, even on the bigger screens. For a 37-42 inch TV, are plasmas better than LCD? Assume you are talking to a total ignaramus who knows nothing about TV technology.

[darrenm]

Picture is very good. Design is nice too. I think they might be a little expensive considering the picture quality of the latest Panasonics at a fraction of the price, but the Loewe do look lovely, and I can understanding not wanting the generic-looking screens of the mainstream brands.

[RichardG]

I've got a Loewe 32" Vitros CRT and I'd put it up against any 32" HD flat screen I've seen (incl Panny/Pios).

I had a minor technical query when I first had it, contacted Loewe via the German website feedback form (English language) - within 1 day, I'd had a response from Linn the UK distributor with a proper email from a real person with a specific response to my exact query (i.e. not some faceless .pdf printout) and an unpromptedfollow-up email a month later asking how I was getting on.

Very highly recommended!

[darrenm]

IIRC the Individual and Spheros ranges are really nice.

The Modus isn't bad.

The Connect has pretty cool WiFi features.

The Xelos isn't that great.

I think that's how I recall it.

[ray70]

Thanks Guys. I was thinking about the Individual range (saw them at Grahams over the weekend). How could you not like the look of this?



Compared to this:

[notevenclose]

Very poor in my experience. I had 4 of them(including loan sets) before I lost interest and got my money back from the dealer. Unacceptable variation in setup accuracy at the price, and Linn's (sub-contracted) after sales support was a joke. First 'authorised' engineer who turned up took one look and said 'never seen one of these before...' Hardly inspired confidence.

I believe they now handle their own sales/support. Could hardly be worse.

ray70 wrote:

Went to John Lewis TV dept today and was met by a mass of black, faceless screens from Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung et al. I must admit that I do not particularly like the thought of having one of these in the living room.

B&O are stupidly expensive, but Loewe is within my price range and I have to say they look very nice aesthetically compared to the other brands. Does anyone have an opinions on them? I know I should be judging on picture quality, but if I have to live with the thing for about 5 years, I should at least like the look of it, no?

Also, I think the Loewe range is LCD only. No plasmas, even on the bigger screens. For a 37-42 inch TV, are plasmas better than LCD? Assume you are talking to a total ignaramus who knows nothing about TV technology.

They are nice looking bits of kit but I think their LCDs have a poor press from some people on AVforums - although you will find bad reviews for everything everywhere if you look on the net of course . The issues I seem to recall were around reliability rather than picture quality. In any event Lewis do a 5 year guarantee for TVs don't they so that should put your mind at rest in some ways.

Crusty might have some words of wisdom around Loewe as I think Sevenoaks are a stockist or ceratainly were.

There are supporters around both plasma and lcd and it seems to prompt very much the equivalent arguments that vinyl v cd prompt . My advice to you is that style is important and that lcd or plasma to a large extent will not be significant to a lot of the general public - both types can produce top class pictures but please remember than 'rubbish in, rubbish out' applies too. Some standard definition broadcasts from Sky & the like can look poor on even the best plasma or lcd. I'd recommend you buy a cheap blu-ray player or as a minimum an upscaling HDMi dvd player too. You will really appreciate the increased image quality. Buy what you feel comfortable living with and don't get into chasing the holy grail. The Loewe's have always looked really nice to me and if you can get one at a price that suits with a 5 year warranty personally I'd go for it. There are undoubtedly better TVs around or indeed those that claim there are but looking nice in your own room has always been an important part of the equation for me.....

[ray70]

Sumdumgi wrote:

They are nice looking bits of kit but I think their LCDs have a poor press from some people on AVforums - although you will find bad reviews for everything everywhere if you look on the net of course . The issues I seem to recall were around reliability rather than picture quality. In any event Lewis do a 5 year guarantee for TVs don't they so that should put your mind at rest in some ways.

Crusty might have some words of wisdom around Loewe as I think Sevenoaks are a stockist or ceratainly were.

There are supporters around both plasma and lcd and it seems to prompt very much the equivalent arguments that vinyl v cd prompt . My advice to you is that style is important and that lcd or plasma to a large extent will not be significant to a lot of the general public - both types can produce top class pictures but please remember than 'rubbish in, rubbish out' applies too. Some standard definition broadcasts from Sky & the like can look poor on even the best plasma or lcd. I'd recommend you buy a cheap blu-ray player or as a minimum an upscaling HDMi dvd player too. You will really appreciate the increased image quality. Buy what you feel comfortable living with and don't get into chasing the holy grail. The Loewe's have always looked really nice to me and if you can get one at a price that suits with a 5 year warranty personally I'd go for it. There are undoubtedly better TVs around or indeed those that claim there are but looking nice in your own room has always been an important part of the equation for me.....

Thanks SDG, you can always rely on a Mackem for good advice;). I'll be back in God's Own Country for a few days over the first May Bank Holiday.

ray70 wrote:

Thanks SDG, you can always rely on a Mackem for good advice;). I'll be back in God's Own Country for a few days over the first May Bank Holiday.

The weather should have improved for you by then I hope as, particularly on recent weekends, it has been bl**dy awful to be honest. I hope you enjoy your albeit short homecoming. Myself & Mrs SDG will be relaxing in Lanzarote for 3 weeks during May and hope to get suitably frazzled. Much as the north-east has to offer the sooner this global warming malarkey gets into gear the better for us up here

[darrenm]

We have the Individual on display (as shown above) and it really does stun people with picture quality. However, I don't like the motion, which I expect is a result of the BluRay and the 100hz mode. Once you notice it you won't be able to forget about it! I find this a lot with 100hz, there's just something weird to my eyes.

[Bourney]

my local dealer swore by the Loewe CRT's and wouldntrecommend anything else really, apart form Pioneer plasmas. then when flat tv's took off he dropped Loewe. he says they are improving but are still behind Pioneer in actual perfomance terms but he was going to consider them again maybe later this year.. you do get the badge kudos tho.

Gobind (Gsrai)has a Loewe CRT and it is completely amazing.possible the best picture i have seen in someones home.

[myrman]

I must admit that with almost every plasma/LCD set being black at present the Loewe set are a refreshing change and do look very nice. I really think manufacturers need to be a bit more inventive on the design front. What about changable bezels in different colours?

Having owned about 10 different plasma and LCD sets from Pioneer, Fujitsu, Panasonic, Philips & Sony, personally its Pioneer every time for me. I have always been frustrated with the pic quality on everything else but I have to admit I do not like LCD in general.

Like everyone seems to say - if you can buy something from John Lewis then at least you will get the 5 year warranty.

Just to add - I was in Divine Audio in Market Harborough the other week. They stock Loewe sets and myinitial impressions were that they looked superb as did the picture quality.

[goomer]

Unless space is of a premium or wall mounting is essential, buy yourself a s/hand 32" Loewe Aconda and use it until it dies would be my advice - picture quality on it is fantastic (although I only watch DVDs so can't comment on broadcast standard), and the styling is still nice in my opinion too, despite it being a few years old now. Can be had for £150.00 if you look around, which is a bit of a bargain I reckon.

[gsrai]

Bourney wrote:

Gobind (Gsrai)has a Loewe CRT and it is completely amazing.possible the best picture i have seen in someones home.

Thanks Steve, very kind of you to say so- mine is the Loewe Articos 32" CRT and cost just over £2k about 5 years ago from John Lewis'.

Funnily enough I am trying to track an Articos down for a friend and there is one on ebay with the motorised stand with a buy it now of £599 but open to offers

Loewe Articos CRT

I dont think you can beat the Loewe for looks but as you say they are all LCD and my friend bought the Pioneer plasma over the Loewe due to the dramatic difference in PQ and cost saving.

Just a thought but have you looked at the Phillips ambilight, all white bezels with a mood light thing going on - as different as you can get ;)

[Polarbear]

Get yourself one of these. Its one of the last Fujitsu's. Its one of the best pictures I have seen,



Regards



PB

[gsrai]

Good call mr Bear - actually you can get the 58 series in silver bezel if you can find it or the older 42 series was in silver.

[Chumpy]

Some good Loewe displays can be bought cheaply.

I prefer other things all in black with long warranty.

It is all pot-luck, but I agree that it is nice to buy the cabinet-thing in your choice of colour - I loved the late 60s/70s white or orange (sometimes in sphere-casing)until I settled in 1982 for black to match good vinyl.

[Alex A]

The Articos DLP rear projection range is absolutely magical - the 2004 model still one of the very best pictures I've seen on anything (and just with DVD). Their CRTs were the best screens around below B&O.

But I think they're struggling to compete with the huge production big players with the latest panel sets. They have to buy the panels in and the technology moves so quickly that they don't have chance to really develop their own technology/processing and implementation - many years of CRT at the same resolution spec allowed them to really develop expertise there. There is no time with LCD - at least not yet. So the role of 'boutique' manufacturers such as Loewe is restricted to very competent but not state of the art performance. They sell their set on the build quality and looks of the cabinet.

[ray70]

Alex A wrote:

The Articos DLP rear projection range is absolutely magical - the 2004 model still one of the very best pictures I've seen on anything (and just with DVD). Their CRTs were the best screens around below B&O.

But I think they're struggling to compete with the huge production big players with the latest panel sets. They have to buy the panels in and the technology moves so quickly that they don't have chance to really develop their own technology/processing and implementation - many years of CRT at the same resolution spec allowed them to really develop expertise there. There is no time with LCD - at least not yet. So the role of 'boutique' manufacturers such as Loewe is restricted to very competent but not state of the art performance. They sell their set on the build quality and looks of the cabinet.

A very perceptive observation Alex. I've done a lot of researchover the last few days and I've pretty much come to the same conclusion. Think I'm going to buy the Panasonic 42PZ85 instead, even though I think it looks fugly

[Alex A]

ray70 wrote:

A very perceptive observation Alex. I've done a lot of researchover the last few days and I've pretty much come to the same conclusion. Think I'm going to buy the Panasonic 42PZ85 instead, even though I think it looks fugly

Wise choice IMO. It may clash with the Decor, but there is a reason for the gloss black styling and it has to do with the cinematic appearence of the set. With Plasma especially it really shows off the quality of the black levels and doesn't distract when watching a film in dim light - allowing you to concentrate 100% on the picture. Pioneer got it right from the off, and Panasonic and others have picked up on it with the later models.