Thanks again for your input. I was asking because I have the opportunity to pick up an X9 at a decent price and was wondering if the consensus is that it is on the bottom of the list as far as Hi Vision players go. I would ultimately like to own an X0. Crazy it weights like 80lbs.

I sold my X0 and I do not regret it one bit.

What I noticed about the X0 in terms of picture quality that if the disc was in very good condition and was 0% warped that the picture was extremely clean. No noise detectable whatsoever. It was impressive with some discs.

But overall I was dissatisfied with how it played warped discs. My older player CLD-D925 does not have any issues playing warped discs. You can only hear it (loud noise coming from the inside the player) but the X0 was way too sensitive to warped discs in my opinion which took away some of the fun!

I still love the laserdisc format and regularly play music titles or films. Being able to play PAL discs is very important, too.

I think there shouldn't be any difference in terms of picture quality between both models X0/X9 because all these players do is transport the MUSE signal to the decoder.

I paid for my new Technics (SA)CD player approximately the same amount that I did for my X0 years ago and if I had a choice between both I would always pick the Technics.

I totally agree with your comment about about warped discs, my X9 has always refused to play a couple of chapters on what appeared to be a perfectly flat purchased from new and sealed LD. Both my CLD-D925 & 2950 have no problems whatsoever when playing back this disc, only now after several weeks of corrective flattening will it play satisfactorily on the X9.

Yes, correct and that's simply not worth the effort.

The most annoying "feature" that I had with some discs that they played fine but somewhat towards the last minutes it was getting worse and worse and then the last minute or so could no longer be played.

I was very disappointed. It was a matter of luck whether a given disc could be played or not. Sometimes you could watch 90% but then it would become unwatchable.

I would have never sold my X0 if it played all of my discs just fine. I have some discs that are in a box (operas on several discs, etc.) and those are perfectly flat for obvious reasons and those always worked very well on the X0. But forget about playing factory sealed new copies. Those were the worst. If it was factory sealed I wouldn't even buy it.

My MUSE discs played fine, btw, but they had a different kind of packaging that basically prevented any sort of warping.

Somehow after this experience I started appreciating my old CLD-D925. At least it played all of my discs just fine. I got it more than 20 years ago and it's really sturdy. I watched a disc that I hadn't seen before last night without any issues whatsoever.

Same here with the 925, not had it for quite 20 years yet but purchased it to replace my first 2950 which I did own from new and it’s never once let me down up to now.

Tbh, that problem LD (Eric Clapton live in Hyde Park : Japanese issue) is the only sealed disc I ever bought and no others in my collection have any issues playing in the X9 so I’ve been perhaps a little more fortunate than you in this respect, just a thought but wondering if your X0 may have required some fine adjustments to improve the tracking capabilities - my X9 had a thorough servicing just before I acquired it so possibly a factor?


Just a final point in the HLD player’s favour though, I have yet another Eric Clapton LD - an earlier release from 1986 that is showing signs of mild rot on the video during playback on both the 925 & 2950. Swapping to the X9 there is no discernible hint of this, then again this is I imagine a fairly well known attribute of these players.

I was referring to the picture quality of regular LDs.

Fortunately, Japanese discs were factory sealed in a different way than US discs. US discs were sealed like a lot of present-day vinyl releases are. If you open them after so many years the edges are completely bent.

I had the same thought as you before. That the player might need to be recalibrated. However reading online that other people had similar experiences with their X9 or X0 does not convince me.

Do you know who difficult it is to open an X0 and try to reach the part of the player where the laser unit is located ? You have to remove a couple of boards first just to get there and reconnect all wires correctly once you are done. It's crazy. Plus it weighs almost 40 kilos.

And you would have to find someone who could do it.

I've had my fair share of Hi Vision players, and honestly, I don't think the HLD-X9 is that bad. Sure, it's not top-tier, but calling it the worst? Nah. It's all about personal preference and maybe the dude got a lemon.

I got a good deal on a X9 in box basically new old stock then a good deal popped up on a X0 so I have been comparing them both. X0 has better PQ but not to the point that I would think it would be worse of all the HiVision players when the guy said he thought the X0 was the best. I believe he must have just been being a snob about it.