So the old 27″ Sony TV — a 32″ CRT in the bedroom is — finally dying. Turn it on, and the screen goes on and off until its warmed up. I want to replace it with a bigger flat panel — I want 37″, the wife insists on smaller. Looks like 32″ will be the compromise.

I am torn between getting something really nice or a something that’s a really good deal. I am leaning towards the latter.  The TV ^[1] in the den is kickass — and I really don’t want to be tempted to watch anything other than late night TV before bedtime.

I started looking around for a replacement, and I was stunned at how much prices have freefallen. The NYT runs full page J&R ^[2] ads most days, and the discounts have been pretty deep.

Here’s what I scared up:

^[3]Good (720p)

• Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-L32X1 ^[3] LCD HDTV ($400) (More info at Panasonic ^[4])

• Sony KDL-32L5000 ^[5] BRAVIA L-Series LCD Flat Panel HDTV ($449) (More info at Sony ^[6])

^[5]Better (1080p):

• LG 32LH30 ^[7] LCD HDTV ($449)  (More info at LH ^[8])

• Sony KDL-32XBR9 ^[5] Class BRAVIA XBR9 Series LCD HDTV ($599) (More info at Sony ^[9])

Are there any better suggestions?

I’m leaning towards the cheap Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-L32X1 — a 2009 model that comes with an iPod doc — it turns the tv set into a audio system.

And since the Beatles box set forced me to upgrade to a nicer pair of front bookshelf speakers ^[10] in the den, I have two pretty good satellite speakers ^[11] to use with this in the bedroom.

Any preferences/suggestions/ideas?