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Quality of KDS Trinitron monitors?

J

joburnet

Senior member
I was thinking about buying a Sony G400 19" monitor with a trinitron monitor but I keep seeing KDS monitors for much cheaper. Does anyone own one of these or can they tell me something about the quality compared to sony? Thanks.
 
I've got one, and do enjoy it, but i've only had it for about 4 weeks, so i cannot comment about quality. It did on two occasions, "go out of focus" and appear to become blurred, a simple turning off and turnning on fixed the problem.

EDIT: Their warranty coverage is reported as excellent, but the build quality is reported as a love/hate sort of thing, some users love, some users hate.
 
Their quality definitely isnt Sony-like, but they're very decent, I dont have problem recommending them.
 
I have a KDS AV-21TF monitor and I feel that the quality of their monitor is HIGHER than that of the equivalent Sony G500. (They may have fixed the shortcomings with the G500 in the new G520, but I'm not entirely sure.)
 
I have their 19" Trinitron model. I love it! I've used a G400 and it's definately higher quality. I have a couple of issues with the geometry of the KDS, but nothing serious. It also tends to blur at the edges, which, with me isn't much of an issue, especially when I consider how much I paid for it.
 
I've owned them both, plus a few others in the same class.

IMHO, all these Trinitrons (or the equivalent Diamondtrons) display some blurriness in the corners. The Sony is better than others in this regard, but still not perfect.

Geometry-wise, the AV-195TF that I had displayed some of the best geometry I have ever seen on an aperture grille monitor (using DisplayMate).

Color-wise, and especially with regards to contrast, the Sony is definitely better. In fact, I'd say this is where it excels.

The KDS is not a bad monitor though. And their warranty is decent, although pretty much the standard - for first 90 days they will send you a new monitor and pay shipping both ways. After 90 days and up to 3 years, they give you a refurb and you must pay shipping one way (to them).
 
I had the 17" KDS Trinitron monitor and my friend had a 17" Sony. I must admit that the Sony definitely had a better picture, but the KDS is a pretty good monitor for the price. Like others have already said, the text was a bit blurry. Bottom line, if you have the money and don't mind spending it then get the Sony. If you want a thriftier solution and don't mind sacrificing a bit of quality then get the KDS.
 
Well, I got my AV-195TF a few weeks ago and thought that I hated it.

I thought the geometry was horrible and staring it it would give me headaches. But I thought "OK, I'll stick it out until my GF3 comes, see if the video card has anything to do with it."

A friend came over, looked at it, and said "That geometry is pretty good for an AG!" and I was like "Really?".

After a few days of waiting for the GF3, I magically got used to the monitor. I only see any distortion when I LOOK for it. If I'm gaming, or surfing, or doing anything other than staring intently at the edges of the screen looking for imperfections, it's great.

I now love it to bits. Tons better than my old no-brand 17". Vibrant colors and the whole 9 yards.

If you get one and think you don't like it, give it some time. You'll usually have at least two weeks to decide if you want to take it back, depending on where you bought it from.
 
And the three year warranty is incredible... My first AV-21TF had some convergence problems in one corner. I called up KDS, and they shipped a brand new one to me via Fedex and gave me 30 days to box up the old one and call them to come pick it up, at no cost to me. And believe me, that is one HEAVY monitor, so I'm sure the shipping isn't cheap! Easiest customer service I've ever dealt with.
 
hmmm... provided they use the identical tubes, how could they have different color saturation and whatnot? geometry could be a bit of an issue, i would presume. last summer i had a chance to compare mass quantities of KDS's and sonys, and i really couldnt tell the difference. but then again, i have untrained eyes...
 
I have a AV-195T...I'm guessing it's close to a year old. I like it...never any problem with it. I would have no problem buying another KDS monitor.
 


<< hmmm... provided they use the identical tubes, how could they have different color saturation and whatnot? >>

For starters, how about different screen coatings? Different phosphor spec levels. Just because Sony makes the CRT doesn't mean the specs are the same for all the OEM users of its tubes.
Maybe its just me, but I can definitely tell a difference between a Sony and its clones. Black and white are what makes the most difference, ie. they seem much &quot;truer&quot; on the Sonys. On others for instance, whites are off and blacks are a bit duller.

But like I said, the KDS is not terrible, and at $299 after $70MIR at Best Buy, it's a good deal.
 
hmmm i am not monitor expert, but how much differnce could screen coatings make as far as image quality goes? contrast/brightness settings can have a huge impact on the exact same monitor, maybe the clones didnt have the same configuration when you tested them? just a thought 🙂 a hallmate of mine has a dell OEM FD trinny, which is supposed to have the exact same tube. mine looked much better, the reason being he had his brighness set too high. once he adjusted it, both monitors looked pretty much the same more or less...
 
Bingo, my old 17&quot; KDS monitor (which is in monitor heaven now) had pretty bad blacks, compared to this Hitachi monitor I got now. For the money, KDS can't be beat. Their quality stinks, and I personally rather pay more for quality, regardless of warranty! Waiting for the 18&quot; flats come down to at least $1000! 🙂



<<

<< hmmm... provided they use the identical tubes, how could they have different color saturation and whatnot? >>

For starters, how about different screen coatings? Different phosphor spec levels. Just because Sony makes the CRT doesn't mean the specs are the same for all the OEM users of its tubes.
Maybe its just me, but I can definitely tell a difference between a Sony and its clones. Black and white are what makes the most difference, ie. they seem much &quot;truer&quot; on the Sonys. On others for instance, whites are off and blacks are a bit duller.

But like I said, the KDS is not terrible, and at $299 after $70MIR at Best Buy, it's a good deal. >>

 
linux23, thx for your input but we are talking there top of the line FD trinny tube monitors, not the value line...
 
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