[alex_r_pc]

I am hoping to return my faulty Acoustic Solutions televsion to Argos but the television is no longer for sale so if I can bring it back i'll need a new television to get.

I have found this television which is around the same price as my one was though if not within my price range(about £30 more so about £460 altogether)

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...7C14419676.htm

though i'd prefer a 37 inch or smaller given how close I am to the screen most of the time and I gather if I am quite close(as I am in a small room) it won't look as good on a bigger tv.

I would be happy to go for this one though

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...7C14419684.htm

if Alba are reliable and the 40 inch really won't look as good as it can.

If not i'm happy to again go down to 32 inch or something.

Just wondering if Alba were reliable and your thoughts

[nobbynolan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex_r_pc

I am hoping to return my faulty Acoustic Solutions televsion to Argos but the television is no longer for sale so if I can bring it back i'll need a new television to get.

I have found this television which is around the same price as my one was though if not within my price range(about £30 more so about £460 altogether)

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...7C14419676.htm

though i'd prefer a 37 inch or smaller given how close I am to the screen most of the time and I gather if I am quite close(as I am in a small room) it won't look as good on a bigger tv.

I would be happy to go for this one though

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...7C14419684.htm

if Alba are reliable and the 40 inch really won't look as good as it can.

If not i'm happy to again go down to 32 inch or something.

Just wondering if Alba were reliable and your thoughts

Just go for a nice looking 32inch Samsung for £350 and buy something else with the change. Cos frankly, that TV "looks" horrible. This on the other hand, looks great.

[Neck_Romancer]

They are made of Lego.

HTH

[hanssolo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nobbynolan

Just go for a nice looking 32inch Samsung for £350 and buy something else with the change. Cos frankly, that TV "looks" horrible. This on the other hand, looks great.

The Samsung set mentioned is "HD ready" whereas the Alba sets mentioned are full 1080p HD, however on the majority of HD material there may not be much noticable diffference, depends on if you have a full 1080p HD sourceand into "even more minute detail".

Quote:

High Definition is reliant on the number of pixels on the screen to display high levels of detail. 1080p HD uses twice as many pixels as a HD Ready TV, taking an already superb high definition picture and adding even more minute detail.

Alba had a poor reputation, but quality was improved and is now a Argos own brand and may give years of good service, the displays may probabaly even come from Samsung or LG!, but the build may not be as good and might be worth taking out an extended guarentee!

[rjb101]

For not much more you could get a Panasonic TXP37X10 37" plasma

£489.00 from Richer sounds or £490 from Dixons

Much nicer in everyway

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex_r_pc

if Alba are reliable and the 40 inch really won't look as good as it can.

If not i'm happy to again go down to 32 inch or something.

Just wondering if Alba were reliable and your thoughts

Alba, just like Acoustic Solutions, is purely a badge put on cheap crap - so both perform poorly and have reliability issues.

[Andy Carlton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

Alba, just like Acoustic Solutions, is purely a badge put on cheap crap - so both perform poorly and have reliability issues.

Exactly correct!

I remember ALBA as being a once quality manufacturer back in the late 70's - early 80's...not so the case these days though.

[onthewood]

I must admit i'm a little sceptical about whether buying a better brand like say a Sony really makes much difference these days. Aren't even the top brands now made in China? I know in the old days made in China products were considered cheap and poorly made but I don't think they're today.

I've noticed when i've been looking at LCD TV's in electrical stores that to my untrained eyes there seems liitle difference in build quality between the better brands and the so called cheap ones. I know I may be judging by just looking at the TV from the outside and it's cabinet. They just seem to be black and plastic to me.

I guess the extra you pay for the better brands is what is spent on research and design by these bigger companies. I don't doubt for a second that said better brand TV maybe even made in the same factory as a cheap one along side it, but I don't doubt for a minute that the important internal components are completely different.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy Carlton

I remember ALBA as being a once quality manufacturer back in the late 70's - early 80's...not so the case these days though.

I can't recall Alba ever been a quality manufacturer, even back when it was A. J. Balcome (or however it was spelt).

They used to sell cheap radios and record players even back in the early 70's.

Quick edit:

Quote:

The company was originally formed in 1917 by Alfred Balcombe and went into receivership in June 1982.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by onthewood

I must admit i'm a little sceptical about whether buying a better brand like say a Sony really makes much difference these days. Aren't even the top brands now made in China? I know in the old days made in China products were considered cheap and poorly made but I don't think they're today.

Made in China is still pretty crap these days, better makes aren't made there.

Sony are made mainly in Barcelona, with factories for the cheaper sets in Eastern Europe.

All the factories though simply assembler ready made panels mostly from Japan.

The only way to get decent stuff made in China is to set your own factory up and run it yourself. I know someone in America who was having electronic toys made out there, the first batches were excellent, and met the specifications - the next batches even used leaded paint and in no way met the specifications.

[Chris Frost]

Agree with the above...

I know of Chinese people who won't buy Chinese made goods because they say it's crap quality. That tells you most of what you need to know

[Orbitalzone]

But a decent brand might setup factory in China, Poland or the Congo but their products are still usually far superior to no name brands that are made in China.

Sony/Panasonic etc won't go to China for cheap crap to be made, they go their for cheap labour and train the locals on how to press buttons, insert bits and assemble panels that are made on a quality production system that may or may not be made in China.

Being made in China doesn't necessariy mean crap although it certainly can mean crap depending on what it is.

I had some Intel Pentium processors made in China and they worked, my Chinese made Panasonic shaver works as well as my old one etc.

Note that I am in no way suggesting that an Alba or Acoustic Solution product made in China or anywhere else come to that is going to be any good though.

[Chris Frost]

^^^ Decent enough point and valid too. Where a manufacturer takes the time and trouble to set up a factory in China and run it as an 'island' where they have total control of the processes and parts then the quality can be equally as good. The rub is that the cost of doing that is huge. The difference in wage rates has to be enormous to justify the setup and running costs. Labour rates between Japan or W. Europe compared to China then there's a justifiable case...but E. Europe to China...not such a big difference.

Throw in the difficulties of culture, logistics and rising Chinese economic standards pushing up wage rates...

But the bigger problem with Chinese quality is when Chinese manufacturers offer brands a ready made badge-able product. The brand surrenders control of quality in exchange for an aggressively low price and the opportunity for a hit and run profit.

Speak to anyone who has done business in China and they'll tell you that the Chinese have a very different view of contractual obligations than us in the West. A signed contract to a Chinese producer is the start point of an ongoing negotiation on price and quality.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orbitalzone

But a decent brand might setup factory in China, Poland or the Congo but their products are still usually far superior to no name brands that are made in China.

Just as I said in post #10 - as long as you setup your own factory, and run it yourself, there's no problem.

[Orbitalzone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

Just as I said in post #10 - as long as you setup your own factory, and run it yourself, there's no problem.

oops I somehow missed that bit

D'Oh!

[nancyboy]

DO NOT buy any TV - EVER - that does not have Panasonic or Sony written on it.

DO NOT go to Argos, it is sh*te and full of sh*te products.

Buy ONLY from (1) John Lewis (free delivery, 5 yr guarantee), or (2) Richer Sounds (terrible service but a stable company and cheap extended warranty), or (3) your local electrical retailer if (a) they have a good reputation (b) they can get within £50 of John Lewis prices and (c) you are reasonably sure they are not going to go bust.

You are far better off with a £10 CRT from ebay than Alba, Acoustic Solutions, or any other no-name brand.

IMHO.

[Matt-08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nancyboy

DO NOT buy any TV - EVER - that does not have Panasonic or Sony written on it.

DO NOT go to Argos, it is sh*te and full of sh*te products.

Buy ONLY from (1) John Lewis (free delivery, 5 yr guarantee), or (2) Richer Sounds (terrible service but a stable company and cheap extended warranty), or (3) your local electrical retailer if (a) they have a good reputation (b) they can get within £50 of John Lewis prices and (c) you are reasonably sure they are not going to go bust.

You are far better off with a £10 CRT from ebay than Alba, Acoustic Solutions, or any other no-name brand.

IMHO.

Argos sell both Sony and Panasonic. Agree that John Lewis is top class though, if you've got a full wallet.

[mlythaby]

I bought a goodmans TV, 15" for my daughters bedroom.

Now i thought and thought about it before buying, but the price was right.

I alway said I would never buy goodmans or alba, I have added bush also as its the same group as goodmans. See their website http://www.harvardplc.com/html/Products.htm

The TV is a piece of ************************************** It was repaired by comet, no matter what I did I could not get a refund.

Never ever buy a cheap make, its just not worth it.

My current TV's (forgetting the goodman's) are Samsung and LG.

[nancyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt-08

Argos sell both Sony and Panasonic. Agree that John Lewis is top class though, if you've got a full wallet.

John Lewis is not generally expensive.

For instance, a Panasonic TX-P42S10B is £799 at John Lewis today including delivery and a free 5-year guarantee.

The same TV at Argos today is £799 plus £199 to extend the guarantee to only 3 years. Plus £5.80 delivery.

Plus if anything goes wrong, you can always talk to someone reasonably intelligent at John Lewis. In my experience Argos staff are not over-burdened with either brain cells or product knowledge.

[bignoise]

I hate to be a "brand snob" but Alba, Bush, Goodmans, etc, just have a terrible name for quality and reliability. After returning something like 10 different videos, hi-fis and radios by Alba and Bush I decided (not nearly soon enough) that I'd never buy them again. Then I made the mistake of buying a Goodmans TV, not realising that it was the same company. Sure, the TV was OK for about a year - then it went pop and the TV repair shops totally turn their nose up at them, say that you're lucky to get a year out of them and that generally once they go wrong they're just unrepairable.

Recently I was very tempted by a 1080p Bush TV but decided against it in the end, and paid a little bit more for a "known name" instead. (And, happily, got a 5-year warranty for free as well.)

Buying "big names" may cost a little more, but if you're buying something like a TV which you want to last you for a good few years, it's worth the extra. The alternative is that you spend nearly-as-much on something cheap which dies after a year. It quickly costs you more in the long run.

There are some exceptions - occasionally a discount brand's particular line will be uncommonly good and a real bargain - but you just can't guarantee it, and it's often just not worth the risk.

[Andy Carlton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Frost

Agree with the above...

I know of Chinese people who won't buy Chinese made goods because they say it's crap quality. That tells you most of what you need to know

This has made me think...

Aren't 'Denon' made in China? yet they are supposed to be a top brand? (far better than Alba)

[Andy Carlton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

I can't recall Alba ever been a quality manufacturer, even back when it was A. J. Balcome (or however it was spelt).

They used to sell cheap radios and record players even back in the early 70's.

Quick edit:

Hmm...well I still have an old Bush valve radio (Model VHF 81) which is still just about going from the mid 1960's and it has just started to make spluttering noises on FM - but the MW & LW bands work perfectly ok and the sensitivity is better than my ONKYO 925 system! Not bad for something over 40years old

These days you are lucky to get 4 years out of either Bush or Alba...let alone 40.

[onthewood]

Yeah, and Denon lifestyle systems are not usually put together cheaply either. I'm sure if you looked around tha back of most of the mainstream Japanese Hi-Fii equipment you'd see made in China there on the back.

As has been said, i'm sure when the reputable brands use China to make electrical goods they are on top of quality control and the design will have been created in another country.

[Raven8472]

Just to add John lewis will price match a store retailer.

[Eye Sea]

Alba stuff are the lower end of the market, but I've owned a couple of Alba things and they may be cheap but they last.

Not always the best quality though.