Time for a facts of life discussion I can see.
First off, with the TV, response rate, viewing angle, and contrast ratio are the primary things you want to look for. Don't get suckered in by all this 240Hz garbage, since it's a bunch of funny math how they get to that figure anyway. Look for the response rate. This is how fast any given pixel can change from black to white (all other colors are somewhere between those two). THAT will have the biggest impact on the overall fluidity of the image. Viewing angle should be pretty self-explanatory. It's mostly good for a tie breaker sort of thing. If two TV sets are identical in pretty much every way, but one has a bigger viewing angle, then go for that one. Contrast ratio is also important, since that basically tells you the range of colors the TV is capable of displaying.
HOWEVER, and I really cannot stress this enough, DO NOT buy a TV without having seen it for yourself first. Not all display panels used in TVs are created equal. So some TV set may look really good on Amazon, but if you compared it to some others with seemingly lesser specs, it would be blown out of the water. You can certainly buy the TV off a place like Amazon AFTER you've seen it in a store, but on physically large items, and also big ticket type items, buying from a local retail store is generally the better option. If something's wrong with the thing, it's far less hassle to take it back. Some place like Amazon, you'll probably have to eat about $50 just shipping it back to them, then waiting a week or two to get a replacement. Local retail you'll be in, out, and done probably within the hour.
Now, onto the audio part of things, where basically you will absolutely need some kind of a receiver. There's just no getting around this if you're planning to use HDMI for video. You could potentially go component video, but then you still only have composite audio, and it sounds like you want the full experience with this. If you want the full surround sound experience the PS3 is capable of (and on games like FFXIII where it's mixed in full surround sound, it sounds AWESOME), you absolutely need a receiver, and you probably shouldn't skimp on this either.
Everyone has their favorite brand, Onkyo has always served me well, but plenty of people speak highly of Yamaha and even Sony. Point is, you want a receiver capable of 7.2 audio. Even if you only end up going with stereo speakers, you may as well have the potential for the full surround sound experience if you decide later on you want that. And good luck finding a receiver that doesn't do at least 5.1 these days. But if you're going to use HDMI for video, then the PS3 is going to send the audio signal over HDMI as well, and take it from someone who's tried a bunch of alternate solutions, a receiver is both cheaper, easier to set up, and gives far superior sound quality.
Now, when you're looking for speakers, you want to look primarily at the frequency range. The bigger the range the better. That means that they will be able to more accurately represent sounds, and they won't come off sounding tinny or hollow. You want at least 2-way speakers, 3-way is better. The number of "ways" refers to the number of speakers in each speaker assembly. A 2-way speaker typically has the main speaker and a tweeter for high frequency sounds. A 3-way speaker tends to add a small subwoofer to the speaker -- as well as a tweeter -- for lower frequency sounds. A good sub can help make up for this, but the broader the range of frequencies the speakers themselves can handle the better, since the sub is only one giant speaker. The physical size of the speaker does play some part in things, since it's easier to put bigger, more powerful, magnets in a larger housing, but pay more attention to frequency range and the number of ways a speaker is.
The subwoofer is kind of a matter of taste. Some people like big booming bass, others are like me, and like to hear something OTHER than the thudding of the sub. Again, frequency range is key. You'd be surprised at the subtle impact a good sub can have on sound quality. If you like the big booming sounds, get a sub with a lot of watts behind it.
But again, as I've already mentioned, make sure you factor into your budget the cost of a good receiver. This is going to be an unavoidable component of your setup unless you want to use the crappy speakers in the TV.
I've been using my roommate's tv and HDMI cable for my ps3, but he's moving out in June/July. I own the ps3; I'll buy my own HDMI cable, but I'll need to replace the TV rig.
Pretty much I want to buy a 1080P display and external speakers; but without paying for internal speakers/tuners that I'm not going to use. I want the display to look great, so I'm worried about buying a display which is flawed or that I'm not looking enough into other characteristics outside of resolution. I also am at a total loss for speaker selection, I just want some serious quality there, and not some tinny integrated airwaves. I want to think the money I'm spending is all going into exactly what I want to use it for, without any bells or whistles.
I don't watch TV; it's not my thing, so I don't care about the tuner. (If, somehow, a TV was better looking and cheaper than a speakerless monitor of the same caliber, I'd head in that direction. It doesn't logically add up to me - but I wouldn't be on this forum if I didn't expect to be told I'm wrong!)
I'm also looking to shell out on some actual speakers, too, so if the best display is just a monitor and thus, has no speakers, I'm already cool with that. My problem there is that I don't know what to do about my HDMI cable, which will go directly into the display, leaving nothing left to hook into the speakers. I think there's ways around it, but I think they need to be considered WHILE choosing the speakers and display.
Honestly, I know nothing of audio. I just find it awesome when it all works out - I want to get into that. I'm not looking to run wires everywhere - I'm certainly not handy and cringe at the appearance of cruddy wiring jobs I've seen, but I thought a couple of towers for speakers might have decent aesthetic and still give some decent quality. I'm really open on this - what say you?
What speakers can still work, even if the monitor eats up the ps3's HDMI cable; assuming I buy whatever cables/other equipment necessary for the solution.
Overall, I'm looking for near the state of the art, right where it's all great notch, but right before the advances in tech start making those exponential leaps in price.
My roommate's not going anywhere until June/July, and I've got a small, tinny TV which could easily hold me over for months if it needed to, something I'd be fine with if you think there's some advance in tech or major drop in price or both coming to the market this year. Black Friday? ![]()
Ultimately, what's the best way to go here for something I'm going to use for a long while and remain satisfied with? I feel like I'm being pretty picky, so thanks for digesting all of this. Any feedback on any or all of these concerns would be great ~
-Kando

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