I've wondered this for a while, but what's everyones favorite LaserDisc player? My favorite machine operationally is my Pioneer CLD D701 but my favorite machine cosmetically is my CLD 97.

My vote goes to the LD-S2, looks great, plays great
AND, weighs a ton

I have to second Duncan's vote on the Elite LD S2. I had many of the top players back in the day, and my favorite was the Elite LD S2. The nice thing is the very natural film-like picture quality with zero noise in the picture. While other players, like the D704 or Elite 79 or Elite 99 had to rely on variable digital noise reduction, the Elite LD S2 had a noise-free picture due to the design of the player itself and you didn't really need to use the player's noise reduction button. I never did
Kevin

I'd love to have the LD S2 too, but what really makes LD for me is the machines that are overly built and the auto turn mechanism. That LD S2 is a beast! It goes along the build quality of the X9!

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you ditch your X9 after getting the S2???

For "lazy" I really liked my S9 and it looked great on my LCD TV. But, like everything else I bring home, I sold it
So now there's no LD player in the home system....though I'm building another S9

Elite CLD-95 & CLD-D702

I realize the risk, however I love my Pioneer DVL-919 !!!!!
Once the laughter dies down, I hope some will understand my deep seated feelings .......

Hey, I understand completely. I have the same player as my favorite. After that it's my LX-1000u or DVL 700, kind of a tie.

I've had Elites and 703s and 704s and didn't like them as much. Never had a Japanese market player, so maybe I'm missing something, but I'm okay so far with the US models that are plug and play. Do have two late model Sony players made for the Hong Kong market that are pretty nice, way better than any US Sony I've seen.

But I've compared the 700 and 919 to the "ancestor", the 604 and the like, and it's much, much better in so many ways. It played right through the laser rot LDs very nicely, and the others could not.

The LD-S2. I have two of them.

TLK

I'd love to own a CLD 99. However, I don't like that the player is only 23 lbs, compared to the 97, which is 40 lbs. The machine I really do want also is the LD W1, but, it doesn't have an S Video output, which I don't like, as I was brought up to believe S Video was superior to composite video.

Only seen a handful of players in action (ie: one's that I've owned)--CLD-406, CLD-505, CLD-V880, CLD-79, DVL-919, DVL-700, CLD-605, CLD-R7G, Sony MDP-A3, Panasonic LX-900u, LX-1000u, Runco LJR-II, Theta Data II.

Of those, my favorite would have the CLD-R7G, followed closely by the LX-900u. The R7G has great S-Video output, while the 900u has a great composite output.

Would love to get my hands on an LD-S2, HLD-X0 and/or CLD-97 since I've read so many great things about those players, but they're just out of my price range.

I will be posting a Faroujda VP-100 external comb filter to Ebay soon if you're interested. It's probably better than most comb filters in US LD players.

The nice thing about the LD-W1 is that during the side change you have enough time to go to the bathroom, fix a drink, fix a sandwich and get back to your easy chair just as the next side starts

Aesthetically the DVL-919 is a very elegant machine, particularly the champagne gold European and Asian models
which don't look out of place sitting beside an HLD-X9, although if you take a closer look they are worlds apart.
Sadly there are very few items with the build quality of the HLD-X9 these days so it is probably an unfair comparision to make.

For the price the DVL-919 still looks better than almost anything you might see in your local electrical store today and to be able to play DVDs into the bargain in
a laserdisc player is a very special trick that none of the high end players ever accomplished so it deserves a mention from me as well.

Ha, hopefully its not that long! Does it take that long that I can go to McDonalds, get a burger and fries, then come back? How does the LD W1 stack up against say my D701, and the 97, 95, 99, etc?

P.S. Today I did a test of which machine had the fastest side changing mechanism between my D701, 97, and 3080. I remember you saying that the 97 had a slower side change mechanism that the D701, but according to my tests, the D701 is a tad bit slower! That really shocked me. I still think that with all the 3 machines compared together, I like the fdp display better on the D701 and 97 than the 3080.

Surely the DVL 919 is better than the "fisher" price Blu Ray players out there. My Dad originally got a DVL 919 off ebay to replace the D701. To me, I think the 919 is inferior in many ways. The build quality is inferior to the older machines. (What can I say? I'm very critical as I like my components to have some heft to them. well built= quality for me.) I personally like the flip down door better than the pull out drawer like the 919 has. Also, the DVL 919 doesn't automatically have last memory when you turn off the machine, as you have to press a button on the remote. Also, the machine doesn't have the seperate A B buttons on the machine. I don't even like that the deck didn't display a frame when changing sides. However, the side changing mechanism is faster than the D701.

It all depends on how long the line is at McDonalds. On a not so busy day I'd say you could get your burger, fries AND a milkshake. For the lazy (like me) it's great as you don't have to get up for a two disc set (unless you want a snack )
The mechanics are a bit tricky, lots of switches measuring the mechanical functions...

Owned a few players including some Japanese ones.

Since I live in Belgium and found a way to purchase spare parts cheap I'm in love with the cld-d925 player(s)
They play any disc and with a bit of patience (and help from dvdo ) you can achieve surprising results
I agree Japanese machines are solid built and good performers but they lack PAL playback and where to go if they would breakdown?
I'm not keen to ship a player worldwide
If I could drive to a servicecenter I would get some Japanese machines but until that day I'm faithful to my 925 player(s)

I can imagine living in Japan one doesn't feel the need for a european player... to each his own I say