Joke (budget) brands (?)

SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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Yo!
What A/V equipment manafacturers do you think are a complete joke?

I'd vote for Alba - cheap, poor crappy parts and just generally dreadful. :D:p

Alex
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Comments

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,998
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    if you vote Alba you gotta vote Bush, i would say Comets own brad, Proline damm they got loads of returns when i worked there.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,508
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    i guess that it's all relative really,i mean if you are a multi millionaire then even sony and panasonic are a joke ;)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 289
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    yeah but its a matter of opinion... it doenst matter if it is the best brand in the world and you have a bad experience... coz then in your eyes its a bad brand...
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    i think alba and bush are very good for the price, panasonic are a joke though...

    Dan
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4
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    You Only Get What You Pay For :d
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,086
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    I would say Sony are a joke - two micro hifi systems, bought around the same time, well looked after, and on both, the CD players broke. The first one just wouldn't read anything, and the second the laser died (cheaper to buy another hifi)

    They were only just over a year old, too, and were different models, so it wasn't just bad batch or anything.

    I would say Alba plc is good - Goodmans, Bush, Alba etc., especially for the price. My Goodmans GDB2 is :cool:

    I have get to get a bad JVC product, too.

    Gdb :)
  • kevkev Posts: 21,070
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    Sony are a joke - all the VCR's we have had off of them have failed within 6 months, the portable FM radio is crap (87.5-96.5 = Trent FM, 96.6 - 103.8 except 102.8 and 97.1 = BBC Nottingham), and the Sony phone i owned stopped working after it got damp during a typical British downpoor :(

    (oh just noticed that GDB2freeview says the same!)

    The only reliable brands i've ever had are Logik (VCR lasted well over a decade - used daily), Matsui (TV that lasted well over a decade, and would still be going if it was cheaper to fix the power supply than buy a new tv, VCR's that have lasted > 7 years) and Panasonic - quality VCR and Sky boxes still going strong.

    Aiwa (Sony's cheaper brand( unfortunatly have not been so good - my walkman gave up the ghost, and my hifi's front panel volume control only turns it up, tuning down also turns the volume up :( - also the play only tape deck has packed in :(
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 18,132
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    Of course the majority of consumer electronics regardless of branding are all made in the far east/eastern europe/china etc on state of the art production lines, badged and in house electronics being produced side by side.

    The idea that respectable branded AV and other electronic gear is made in the US, Europe etc has long gone, the likes of SONY, Pioneer, Panasonic can't maintain profit margins and compete in price unless they use the same facilities as the unkown brands supermarkets sell and that means producing to a price point not for build quality and performance.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,790
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    I have had many bad experiences with Sony and Sharp. I wouldn't touch a sony now unless I've seen it and used it long before buying it and many a sharp mini disc recorder has failed on me and my friends.

    However I've been lucky with panasonic so far, having bought several panasonic items, and my old NAD310 amplifier is still going happily, as is the cheap ECLIPSE CD101 player I bought in Richer Sounds eleven years ago.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,931
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    Hmm, I don't know. I've been buying Matsui and Bush TV's and stereos for ever, then went into Bennets one day and saw a really good Sony Amp, DVD and 5.1 speaker set. I spent a week thinking about it, and eventually went with out food for a month to buy it. Now I'm adicted to buying Sony stuff to match.

    When our TV gave up we got a Black Diamond (off shoot of Mitsubishi - I think) and that seems to be ok, as is the 14" that came with it, which has the same on screen menu, remote and casing as my friends Bush TV.

    Still not had anything to rival my parents ex-radio rentals Baird TV (I swear it was one of his prototypes even though it was brand new in 1997/8), it had veneer casing and you had to hit it like Onslo to stop the picture thinking it was widescreen... Happy Days :D

    Just looking at another post, my Dad bought a JVC Amp about 20 years ago, and it still sounds miles better than anything the chap at Bennetts or Currys could show us.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,634
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    Aiwa! I've owned 2 Hi-fi's and 1 VCR - all of which are complete rubbish.

    In comparison - LG. Only a few years ago people wouldn't touch LG products with a barge pole. Now I love them!
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    LG are excellent, i like them!

    Never realised aiwa were sony though?

    Dan
  • kevkev Posts: 21,070
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    ***dan*** wrote:
    LG are excellent, i like them!

    Never realised aiwa were sony though?

    Dan
    http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0KZC/2002_Oct_17/94126071/p1/article.jhtml
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4,170
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    Mitsubishi Black Diamonds were extensively promoted by the dreaded Power House before they went into retrenchment...

    What they failed to mention was that the same sets were on sale at a third of the price with a Beko brand badge in many other shops.

    Not a good deal!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,931
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    Ahh right, I think that rings a bell. Both of them are silver and came from there or a local supermarket. I'd never heard of them before we got it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,330
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    Oooer! Do you people leave your A/V equiptment to soak in cola overnight or something ;):D:)

    Never had an awfully big problem with any of my branded equiptment. My Sony midi system I purchased over 10 years ago is still going strong, as is my Surround Sound system that's getting on for 4 years.
    Same with my Sharp Mini-disk recorder - an absolute steal at £130 (RRP at the time was £250) and that's at least 6 years old now!

    I suppose the worst bit of kit I ever brought was my Rio MP3 player - the battery cover snapped after about a week and one of the buttons has a slight crack in it.
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    AndyM wrote:
    Aiwa! I've owned 2 Hi-fi's and 1 VCR - all of which are complete rubbish.

    In comparison - LG. Only a few years ago people wouldn't touch LG products with a barge pole. Now I love them!
    I'm sure LG are the Goldstar of 2004 as it were.

    And my friends Baird tele looks very suspeciously like my nans old Ferguson - who then changed to Thorn? and then now in 2004 Ferguson/Thorn EMI group are now Thomson??

    Alex
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,931
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    Hi Alex,

    The Baird TV you mention sounds a bit like our old one, it had a Baird label on the front, Thorn logo on the back, and my school had one the same which was a Ferguson.

    James
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    Thought so, thanks for clarifying that James

    Alex
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 321
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    farrjohn wrote:
    You Only Get What You Pay For :d

    I have to disagree. Most people would say Phillips is a decent middle of the road manufacturer, but in my experience they have been nothing short of awful. Off hand, I don't think I own anything made by them now because it has all broken. And I have tried quite a few over the years.

    I have had far better experiences with Alba, Bush, Matsui, Beko and even generic products and I would actually pay more for them.

    I would say LG and Samsung are two of the most under-rated brands. Ferguson TV’s seem tough too.
  • angel.vampangel.vamp Posts: 1,156
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    My old AWIA hi-fi is still going strong after 10 years or so it is now in my daughters bedroom and used every day . I replaced it with an AKIA pro logic hi-fi that died after about 13 months :( that has been replaced with a technics one and is going great guns . On my fourth dvd player , 1st one was a proline that only lasted a year and had a repair in that time as well so never again .2nd one was a phillips that was supposed to play everything , it didn't we just couldn't get it to play vcd, so that went over to my mums and it was replaced with a cyberhome dvd400. THis was a wonderful little machine i loved it ,so did my daughter so we bought one for her room as well. Sadly some nasty rat broke into our house and decided he loved the dvd players as well and they were gone. They were replaced with samsung dvd players and i am happy with that .My daughter wasn't and exchanged her samsung with a friends cyberhome 400 , sadly within a week the drawer stopped working right and a week later the machine sparked and died . We couldn't get another cyberhome as they didn't know when they were going to get some more in stock , so she now has the RONIN and was refunded the extra 13 pounds the cyberhome cost . This one is working fine and the only problem she has with it in the bright blue power light that can't be switched off with the remote but she solved that problem with a little bit of black tape . To be honest no matter what brand you buy there will always be someone who has a horror story about it , what is more important is the shop where it has been purchased and there customer services record. :)
  • SystemSystem Posts: 2,096,970
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    Speaking of problems,
    my (dads) that became mine - 7 year old Tv (Goodmans - "Crapmans")died last night - after 7 yrs. of constant use - its done well - might even get a cheap £89 21" Matsui for my loft - i dont watch tele that much but it'll do.

    Alex
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,931
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    I've got a Matsui TV in my room at my dads and used to watch it loads, its a great little thing and I don't think you can go far wrong with them. Only thing it lacks is a SCART input, but I'm not too worried about it, most (if not all) of their new ones have them.

    Just a quick thought - Dixons now have less staff working than products for the first time
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 321
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    Matsui seem great. Got the cheapest 'colour' portable available from Comet 15 years or so ago, and it has never given a single fault even though it has probably been on for at least 30 minutes a day, often much more. It lacks stereo headphones and Scart but you can't complain.
  • OrbitalzoneOrbitalzone Posts: 12,627
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    I'm sure LG are the Goldstar of 2004 as it were.

    And my friends Baird tele looks very suspeciously like my nans old Ferguson - who then changed to Thorn? and then now in 2004 Ferguson/Thorn EMI group are now Thomson??

    Alex

    LG are Goldstar actually!

    LG stands for Lucky Goldstar which is their original trading name. But I guess they thought it sounded far too cheesey in this day and age! and changed it to Goldstar then more recently LG

    Thorn EMI sold off their Ferguson division back in 1987 I believe. Thomson (French) purchased them along with all their technologies.
    Thomson are a very clever company, buying up struggling companies such as Ferguson, Saba, Telefunken, Normende and RCA of America. Clever in so far as these are the manufacturers that invented TV as we know it today.

    Telefunken held many patents on PAL colour TV, Ferguson co-invented NICAM digital audio (along with the BBC I think),

    Thomson also pretty much own all MP3 patents (I think they brought the Fruanhoffer company of something)

    Oh and of course Thomson own RCA which is a brand leader in America.



    Anyhow back to the thread, I've had many brands of equipment over the years and had almost zero faults - kind of ironic as I used to be a TV service engineer!
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