What is by far the BEST Laser Disc Player ever? (2 Viewers)

[Echolane]

Just wondering….
This is an old thread and I’m wondering if there any folks around still interested in laser discs??
After reading this thread I’m curious as to why the CLD-97 got more love than the CLD-99.
I have a Pioneer CLD-99 and about 100 laser discs. My player just scared me a bit this month. I thought it had lost its audio, but thankfully not, it was just unhappy being plugged into my AVR. it works fine plugged into the TV.

But actually it is not entirely fine. It tends to open the drawer when I press Play and I have to press Play again to get it to Play. I’m sure something is failing and it raises the question as to whether I should find someone to repair it. Or whether I should keep playing it until it does die on me and then let it go.

 

[YANG]

we're now roughly 25th year after the last Laserdisc player was made. so... your player could be much older that the physical control circuit contacts may got "contaminated" in certain ways such as oxidation or micro-bug infestation. circuit aging could also contribute to behavioral wonkiness. my friend's DVL-9 is also acting oddly as well.
hence, it's your set either crying out loud for "intensive" clean up or replacement. once u got the problem resolved, i would suggest that u get also a HD-based DVD recorder/burner to get your collection backed up into smaller discs.

 

[Bartman]

Any that are still working 30 years later? I have two Pioneers in my closet, a single sided & double sided (that has to be nudged to swap sides). I was considering donating them to VRCMCT with my remaining laserdiscs. Are parts (& service) still available for Pioneer players?

 

[Robert Saccone]

I have a Pioneer that is a single sided player. Last time I pulled it out it refused to play Laser Discs but would still play audio CDs. I go the name of someone who does repairs locally but never pursued it. In fact I hadn't thought about the player at all until this thread popped as updated. I still have all my Laser Discs but I think there are really only couple that may of be interest such as the Star Wars Trilogy boxset. My gut tells me that if I could watch the discs I would probably think they look horrible compared to where we are today with 4K content.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I have the Pioneer CLD502, CLD702 and the DVL919 and they all work so far. Still have my 200+ laserdiscs and even though the picture quality is not the best i still watch them sometimes especially the movies that are not out on any other format.

 

[Bartman]

I have a Pioneer that is a single sided player. Last time I pulled it out it refused to play Laser Discs but would still play audio CDs. I go the name of someone who does repairs locally but never pursued it. In fact I hadn't thought about the player at all until this thread popped as updated. I still have all my Laser Discs but I think there are really only couple that may of be interest such as the Star Wars Trilogy boxset. My gut tells me that if I could watch the discs I would probably think they look horrible compared to where we are today with 4K content.

Sounds like a weak laser. That's happened on my DVD/Blu-ray players after years of use & they play the next lower format fine. My CD player is a 25 year old Panasonic DVD A110 that skips on DVD but plays CD fine & has luvly DVDA DACs.

 

[Bartman]

I have the Pioneer CLD502, CLD702 and the DVL919 and they all work so far. Still have my 200+ laserdiscs and even though the picture quality is not the best i still watch them sometimes especially the movies that are not out on any other format.

I watched mine on a CRT TV bedroom system until I bought an 4K OLED & moved the plasma to the bedroom several years ago. I wonder if there's any interest in a working Panasonic 30" CRT widescreen TV with tuner & stand? Perhaps I'll donate that to the VRCMCT as well?

 

[Worth]

I watched mine on a CRT TV bedroom system until I bought an 4K OLED & moved the plasma to the bedroom several years ago. I wonder if there's any interest in a working Panasonic 30" CRT widescreen TV with tuner & stand? Perhaps I'll donate that to the VRCMCT as well?

There are hardcore gamers who might be interested in one of those.

 

[Robert Saccone]

Sounds like a weak laser. That's happened on my DVD/Blu-ray players after years of use & they play the next lower format fine. My CD player is a 25 year old Panasonic DVD A110 that skips on DVD but plays CD fine & has luvly DVDA DACs.

Any idea how expensive that would be to repair?

 

[Indy Guy]

The Macintosh 7020 may have been built on the Pioneer transport, but it sure looked great! Still working after nearly 30 years!

 

[Bartman]

Any idea how expensive that would be to repair?

No idea. New CD players are expensive & there's no guarantee I'll like the sound without listening first, that's difficult. My approach is to buy a used A110 cheap for spare parts. My spare happens to have a strong laser but intermittant tray. I have several options when my main A110 fails. Good luck!

 

[Lord Dalek]

Still trying to find a Pioneer CLD-D704 although I'm beginning to think ones in working condition may be a bridge too far.

 

[Bartman]

I have working CLD-1070 (single sided) & CLD-D504 (double sided but side change operation frequently needs a nudge at the front panel or remote). Both have about four years frequent use (2-3 times a week) on them.

 

[VisionMan]

I've had my Pioneer LD S2 player for about 30 years. At the time, I had a consulting job which put some unexpected extra funds in my pocket, so as a LaserDisc fan with several hundred discs, I sprang for it, and have never regretted it, although it receives very little use today. It weighs over 30 lbs, and was one of the only players that had a direct drive disc motor and a linear sled for the laser pickup. AFIK, it was the most expensive Pioneer LD player intended for the US market. It was also one of the very few units that digitized the video for noise reduction and control of the laser position and disc rotation speed. It still performs flawlessly, but did require re-lubrication of the disc drawer several years ago.

Here you can see it sitting below my Marantz 8805 Pre-pro and a JVC analog video switcher that allows my Beta, S-VHS and Hi-8 players to be connected to my system for legacy purposes.

 

[cinemel1]

I've had my Pioneer LD S2 player for about 30 years. At the time, I had a consulting job which put some unexpected extra funds in my pocket, so as a LaserDisc fan with several hundred discs, I sprang for it, and have never regretted it, although it receives very little use today. It weighs over 30 lbs, and was one of the only players that had a direct drive disc motor and a linear sled for the laser pickup. AFIK, it was the most expensive Pioneer LD player intended for the US market. It was also one of the very few units that digitized the video for noise reduction and control of the laser position and disc rotation speed. It still performs flawlessly, but did require re-lubrication of the disc drawer several years ago.

Here you can see it sitting below my Marantz 8805 Pre-pro and a JVC analog video switcher that allows my Beta, S-VHS and Hi-8 players to be connected to my system for legacy purposes.
View attachment 212815
View attachment 212816

 

[cinemel1]

I have 2 Pioneer players, both play 2 sides. I have very many LDs but wouldn’t know how to get rid of them. I would only keep the deluxe boxed sets:like the Star Wars trilogy and the terrific Disney boxed sets. The Disneys have some terrific extras not available elsewhere. The Snow White box includes a full color sequence of the Queen and the poisoned apple with scenes not in the final film. It’s not on any of the blu-rays or 4Ks either.

 

[John Sparks]

The Pioneer I had played both sides, DVDs and freeze framed CLVs.

The best LD I owned was THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with beautful coffee table book and goldplated CD...a thing of beauty!