well, according to ONE guy I trust, he advises against Sony, at least the entry level. read here.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=606415&postcount=29

otherwise, for CR, you need to dig deeper into reviews. try projector reviews, for instance. When CR is rated with dynamic iris, it's just not the same as with native. the aperture will close or open, for a darker scene, or a lighter scene, but the unit can NEVER see both ends of the contrast scale simultaneously.

Then you have that whole overblowing specs thing, that LCD panels are so famous for, for instance.

I've been helping the above guy help his dad, with the FANTASTIC deal going on b stock JVC RS2 (which was considered the best PJ at under 10k just a year ago), and it's selling for 2.3k, with full 2yr intact. You won't see a deal like this particular one for about 1.5 yr, or longer.

Last time there was such a deal, they had open box RS1. They sold out in one single day, however the RS10 wasn't yet released. Why am I typing this.... it's 3x the budget still for the rs2. if you want to read about the deal, there's a long thread i strated.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57672