A friend of mine picked up a set from the trash for me... A Sony KV-40XBR800 direct-view WEGA CRT HD with original stand and remote... Mint condition! $5000. set in the early 2000s. I have to go get it this afternoon. We already have one, so I wanted this one for parts. Also, I just found a 36" WEGA Sony in nice shape in the trash, but left it.
Slightly off topic, but I just won a rare Sony on eBay; their very last top-of-the-line 16:9 flat CRT HD set, the KV-34XBR910. 2005 model. Absolutely mint condition and working like new with original remote and papers.... Opening bid 99 cents; my wife bid for me since I wasn't home when it ended, won it for $81.
http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-KV-34XBR910...d=p3286.c0.m14
They're just dumping these sets at an unbelievable rate. Anyone like me, who wants high-end CRT sets for daily use, needs to go out & grab!
Charles