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Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
https://forum.lddb.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2012		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  jjhunsecker [ 03 Dec 2012, 02:03 ]
Post subject:  Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
Considering that the McIntosh MLD-7020 laserdisc player is basically a re-badged Pioneer Elite CLD-97, why does the McIntosh sell for nearly twice as much as the 97 does on ebay? One recently sold for over $800, for instance, while the 97 usually sells for around $400-$600. Is there something extra included with the McIntosh? (I know some have AC-3 out, but that wouldn't make the price of it double, would it?) Are the electronics better?
Author:  Guest [ 03 Dec 2012, 02:06 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
The ones I've had and sold went for a minimum of $1000.00 and all went to folks who wanted to match all their other McIntosh gear. Internally there's no difference from the 97, only the AC-3 added to late production models.
Author:  rein-o [ 03 Dec 2012, 02:10 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
that's what i was thinking, but wanted to wait for someone else to post who knows more about the inside.
or they are possibly paying for the name?
Author:  jjhunsecker [ 03 Dec 2012, 02:18 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
Did the folks who spent the $1000 on the McIntosh know that it wasn't any different from the Pioneer, or was it simply that matching their other components was so important that price was no object? Seems very strange to me.
Author:  rein-o [ 03 Dec 2012, 03:02 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
probably just wanted to match, and it might even be that they never use it.
Author:  Guest [ 03 Dec 2012, 03:24 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
rein-o wrote:
probably just wanted to match, and it might even be that they never use it.

Hopefully they are being used but I know they were purchased for the McIntosh match.....
Author:  publius [ 03 Dec 2012, 03:43 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
jjhunsecker wrote:
Did the folks who spent the $1000 on the McIntosh know that it wasn't any different from the Pioneer, or was it simply that matching their other components was so important that price was no object? Seems very strange to me.

If you buy McIntosh components, generally, price is no object by definition.
Author:  rixrex [ 03 Dec 2012, 04:24 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
Yeah, that's right. Sometimes it's just to match things for the sake of matching them.
Only in my case, I was doing it with all RCA components before and now trying to do it with Pioneer. All depends upon your budget and sense of order. Getting a Pioneer VCR is pretty tough though.
Author:  Guest [ 13 Apr 2013, 11:01 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
McIntosh MLD-7020 runs on 240 V and have AC-3 RF out and wood panels I would only use in my fire place. Living in europe the choice was easy what player to buy.
Author:  Guest [ 13 Apr 2013, 17:10 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
Yeah, the McIntosh cult is solely responsible for the premium this unit costs over a stock 97. My beautiful silver/champagne CLD-98 was half (or even less) of what this Mac 97 costs, and it has thick metal side panels (so there is nothing to toss in the fireplace :lol: ). It even runs on 240V (in addition to 220, 120, and 110!):

Image
Image

This is a pretty rare unit, though: I have seen plenty of the Mac 97s, but only one of these (mine) turn up on eBay.
Author:  signofzeta [ 13 Apr 2013, 18:48 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
The $400 price premium is nothing to anyone who does Mcintosh. They'll spend $2000 just to overall a 30 year old preamp.

And there are people here who will spend $400 on a terrible LD they won't even watch.

$1000 is about the cheapest Mcintosh anything you can get. Of course, if its based on a CLD-97 it's also the flimsiest...
Author:  Guest [ 14 Apr 2013, 05:18 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
signofzeta wrote:
The $400 price premium is nothing to anyone who does Mcintosh. They'll spend $2000 just to overall a 30 year old preamp.

And there are people here who will spend $400 on a terrible LD they won't even watch.

$1000 is about the cheapest Mcintosh anything you can get. Of course, if its based on a CLD-97 it's also the flimsiest...


What do you mean by flimsiest? My CLD 97 from ebay quit working on me, but that sucker is built like a tank! Nothing but my TX NR809 compares to the build quality of that machine.
Author:  Guest [ 14 Apr 2013, 06:31 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
The CLD-97 is the best you will get for a two sided player with less processed analog picture. The CLD-97 build quality is about as good as it gets, aside from behemoths like the X0 and S2, as the CLD-97 chassis is built to true "Elite" standards (separate power supplies, exotic "r-core" transformers etc.) which far exceeds that of, say, the CLD-99 (which was not at all to the same standard mechanically, but uses processing to compensate). As others have pointed out (Kurtis Bahr mentions this at times, on USENET and other places, as he's a real proponent of the 97), the 99 is for you if your prefer a more processed look and the 97 is for the analog look.

Perhaps next to McIntosh gear, however, even the mighty 97 does seem small. With amps tipping the scales well north of 100 pounds (due to the wonderfully anachronistic use of massive output transformers usually seen in tube amps), even the best LD player seems puny in the company of such beasts.
Author:  firehorse_44 [ 14 Apr 2013, 06:37 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
The answer to this thread is self evident - McIntosh is renowned for thier quality products .......................
Author:  Guest [ 14 Apr 2013, 06:48 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
firehorse_44 wrote:
The answer to this thread is self evident - McIntosh is renowned for thier quality products .......................

Yeah, but the MLD-7020 is nothing more than a McIntosh box with a Pioneer CLD-97 inside. You are paying for the Mac cosmetics here, as Mac did nothing more than add an AC-3 jack (no special Mac mods to 97). The CLD-97 is an excellent player, but the Pioneer version is much cheaper, so the extra $500, 600, or what have you is for the box. A McIntosh collector will not flinch at this cost, given the $$$ such gear runs, and this piece will fit in with their wall of glowing green Mac glass panels.
Author:  signofzeta [ 14 Apr 2013, 06:58 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
jpass992 wrote:
signofzeta wrote:
The $400 price premium is nothing to anyone who does Mcintosh. They'll spend $2000 just to overall a 30 year old preamp.

And there are people here who will spend $400 on a terrible LD they won't even watch.

$1000 is about the cheapest Mcintosh anything you can get. Of course, if its based on a CLD-97 it's also the flimsiest...


What do you mean by flimsiest? My CLD 97 from ebay quit working on me, but that sucker is built like a tank! Nothing but my TX NR809 compares to the build quality of that machine.


I would never say that the CLD-97 isn't a terrific LD player and very well built...by the standards of Pioneer.

Compared to Mcintosh gear though its a cheesy piece of plastic junk. No LD player made can come close to the build quality if their stuff.
Author:  remington [ 14 Apr 2013, 15:22 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
jjhunsecker wrote:
Considering that the McIntosh MLD-7020 laserdisc player is basically a re-badged Pioneer Elite CLD-97, why does the McIntosh sell for nearly twice as much as the 97 does on ebay? One recently sold for over $800, for instance, while the 97 usually sells for around $400-$600. Is there something extra included with the McIntosh? (I know some have AC-3 out, but that wouldn't make the price of it double, would it?) Are the electronics better?
The McIntosh simply looks good and gets away from the commonality of many Pioneer players. Cosmetically the unit is appealing. The McIntosh is a very nice player as well being equal to Elite 97 as you say.

I have a Mitsubishi M-V7057, which is a clone of a Pioneer 704. I like the panel on the Mits much better and its a great extra player to have around. Point being, looks may play a role like it did in my case.
Author:  substance [ 14 Apr 2013, 17:25 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
I bought my mcintosh for its looks. I love theta, ead gear too.
In todays world sony bdp s790 is just as good as or better than and bd/dvd player. It is only $250 and can easly be had for under $200.
I bought one but it looks and feels so cheesy, regardless its picture quality it doesnt excite me. I am looking for high end now, possibly a rebadged oppo. Placebo effect is nice for some.
Author:  Guest [ 14 Apr 2013, 17:58 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
In the end, this Mac 97 is a pretty reasonable example of using off the shelf guts from another manufacturer. Recall the story of the infamous Lexicon BD-30 Bluray player, which was a $500 Oppo unit encased in a Lexicon box at a premium of $3000 more than the Oppo (with no upgrades by Lexicon at all) :shock:.
Author:  disclord [ 14 Apr 2013, 19:51 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why does the McIntosh MLD-7020 sell for so much?
substance wrote:
I bought my mcintosh for its looks. I love theta, ead gear too.
In todays world sony bdp s790 is just as good as or better than and bd/dvd player. It is only $250 and can easly be had for under $200.
I bought one but it looks and feels so cheesy, regardless its picture quality it doesnt excite me. I am looking for high end now, possibly a rebadged oppo. Placebo effect is nice for some.


The EAD's, Theta's and MSB's, although many have mods to improve performance are what the industry calls "Hollywood False Fronts" and it started with high end company's modding standard low cost CD players, putting a new face on them and selling them for a several thousand dollar premium. They were small companies that couldn't build a player on their own so they modded existing players and tried to make them look different.

I think they are totally cool. Only the Runco LJR really qualifies as a player in its own right as the MSB mods massively improved the performance of the stock LX-900.
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