krbahr wrote:
substance wrote:
Ok I plugged it in for the first time and watched parts of Conan The Barbarian and Ace Ventura Pet Detective. The picture is very sharp maybe a bit sharper than my CLD97 clone but definitely has higher noise. I dont know how this player beat CLD97 back in the day(Runco LJR version) I think that magazine was biased because of the THX cert on the Runco. It is also very light comparing to a high end LD player(older elites)
I agree with your results. The Runco/Panasonic players do have a little sharper picture than the CLD-97 but the 97 does have lower visual noise. Which player you prefers depends on if you prefer a sharper picture or lower background noise. The MSB/Runco units really just specialized in Audio mods and the video AGC. Other than video AGC the video signal is the same as the LX-900U.
I have seen the inside of both the 900U and 1000U. The 1000U is has a far better power supply, waiting to see a good working 1000U but after seeing the insides I'd rather own the 1000U.
Pioneer doesn't have any THX units as they never bother to submit a unit for cert.
The problem with the 1000 is its CLV tracking due to wrong parts values in the majority of the players. I returned 3 when it first was released trying to get one that tracked well... No such luck, then a trip to Panasonic didnt produce any results so I tweaked the pots myself for side 1 and 2 play till I got it tracking 90% of CLV discs well. Once I got it working better, the only thing I didn't like was the video processing greatly enhanced drop outs and speckling on discs, and the player has no noise reduction to help reduce video noise - Pioneers Elite CLD-92 had the same video noise enhancement if I remember correctly. The Perfect Vision also got a bad player that wouldn't track CLV when they tested the LX-1000. I recall from reading Compuserve posts back in the day that Panasonic did finally fix the problem and produce good tracking players, but then the 900 came out and Stereo Review gave it a glowing review, especially it's video processings ability to reduce disc noise. The 1000 was built like a tank though and my brother in law has mine now and it still is working perfectly. The 900 seems more fragile, but I really like its picture and its tracking is superb.
Runco lied to TPV about the LJR I and II, claiming both had a different comb filter and other additions compared to the stock 900. I've always wondered why they and MSB removed the jog dial and other buttons on the front panel. Probably to try and disguise the 900.
I still have my TPV issues that review and compare the 900 with other players such as the CLD-95, LD-S2, LD-V8000, Marantz, etc... as well as the issue that reviews the Runco and Pioneer 97... And the LX-1000 review issue. I should scan them and make PDF's of the reviews.
Ty C.
I have an LX-1000 and I've noticed picture noise on CLV what pots did you adjust to change it? I've tried looking for a service manual and haven't been able to find one yet, or a regular manual for that matter.