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- Average user rating: 4.5 stars out of 13 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Best 'band for the buck'"
Pros: Picture quality superb; Low reflection screen (unlike higher end 650 & 750 models); Relatively inexpensive
Cons: Poor out-of-the-box sound quality
Summary: I did a lot of research before purchasing the Samsung LN-52A550. I decided to go with this product mostly because of the breadth of features for the relatively low price. I am definitely not disappointed!
The picture looks great. The colors are vivid. The image is sharp. The blacks rival some plasmas that I looked at.
The sound... well, the factory settings are sub-par. With a little tweaking the sound quality can be improved to adequate. This is the only thing that kept me from giving the LN-52A550 a 10. If you have a home theater system that uses an A/V receiver, then this isn't really an issue.
The Samsung LN-52A550 doesn't run on 120Hz, but I don't really miss it with the 5ms response time (compared to 8ms from last year's model and its just 1 ms slower than the next step up 650 model).
It's by far the best flat panel LCD you can buy for the price.
- 2 replies to this review
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@stiver244: you'll need a pair of powered speakers - no HDTV sets (that I know of) have external speaker connections, except for those that feature their own detachable speakers. A good set of ~$50 PC speakers will make a noticeable improvement without impacting your wallet too much! You might look for a deal on the Creative GigaWorks T20s which I've seen on clearance for $49 or so.
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Agree totally with your review. I, too, had researched extensively the pros and cons of the different Samsung series. The shiny screens of the other series was an issue, so I picked the 550. Your comment helped me to make the decision and am very happy with this purchase, so far. I tweaked the sound system, and it is satisfactory, but would like to enhance it with twin speakers. I can't find out for sure if the LN52A550 has an internal amplifier so that it would be a simple connection to the audio hook-up in the back of the tv. Not interested in a home theatre or worrying about receiver/exterior amplifier, etc.
Where to buy
Samsung LN52A550:
$1,149.95 - $1,309.88
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$1,309.88 | Yes |
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$1,149.95 | Yes |
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