Found an MSB LS-1 Gold on Ebay . . .

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LS1-GOLD-LASER- ... 35b79bbb74



Looks exactly like a Runco LJR II, but with that glossy bonnet and flat base (rather than the feet most players have.) But yeah, if it's described as a transport, probably doesn't have a D/A convertor.

Soooooo . . . Joe D, you wouldn't be the same guy selling this player on Ebay would you?

that MSB model looks like a single sided player?

If it's like a Runco LJR II or Panasonic LX-900, then it's dual side player.

My main player is a pioneer DVL-700 extensively modified by MSB. They changed out all the power supplies and added upgraded parts with major modifications to the audio and video boards. I was going to have an actual AC-3 demodulator installed but ran out of money. I know some of the parts for the audio and video boards came from Japanese Elite players, but I don't know which ones... It definitely wasn't the Hi-Vision players. I've never seen a better standard LD picture than the Hi-Vision LaserDisc players from Pioneer.

One weird thing, after the MSB mod, on still frames, the digital video noise reduction turns off and you can see any small drop outs or noise on the disc that is completely eliminated during normal playback.

Pioneer is my main brand of choice but I picked up a Quasar from a guy in town and have determined it to be a Panasonic LX900 clone. It seems to be a really built unit and throws up a good picture as well.

Nice! I take it that's the Quasar LD-700?

I have an LX-900u I've been using for my bedroom LD player, and I've been enjoying it as well.

Pioneer all the way for me!

My main players (In various rooms) are:

Pioneer Elite LD-S2
Pioneer Elite CLD-97
Pioneer Elite CLD-99 (2 of them)

I have more than 60 Pioneer players, 4 Sony players, 2 Philips, 2 Panasonic, 1 Yamaha, 1 Telefunken (which is actually a clone of Pioneer CLD 1500)

My main LD player is a Sony MDP-600 model with optical out for sound, s-video and composite outs for video. My backup players are a Pioneer CLD-980 and a Sony MDP-MR1.

What is interesting about the MDP-MR1 is that it has a switch on the back so that it can run on 110 VAC or 220 VAC. Also, the end of the power cord has a US plug which can be pulled off to reveal a European plug. Now, I know that the A/V output is NTSC; but, what country uses 220VAC and NTSC for video?

As an aside, when I got one of the Sony's ( I don't remember which one), it had been shipped with a laserdisc inside. That is something I don't think is very recommended. The funny thing is that the disc was 'Saturday Night P0rn, part II' which was a shocker (lol).

I agree, the R7G really has a great picture, and the d-ext function is quite useful at times!

Main Setup:
Pioneer Elite Kuro Pro-141Fd 60" Plasma Monitor
McIntosh Mld-7020 Laserdisc Player
Lexicon Ldd-1Rf Demodulator
Dvdo Vp30 with Abt102 Deinterlacer

Bedroom Setup:
Sony Kdl-40Xbr2 40" Lcd Television
Pioneer Cld-97 with Rf out by Msb Technologies
Lexicon Ldd-1 Rf Demodulator

Media Room
Panasonic Lx-U1000

wow, you are hooked! Your account status says' shows curiosity, but I think it goes a little deeper than that. LOL

I have been a drum collecting fanatic but have recently turned to laserdiscs (they take up much less space). I have three Marantz LV520 players. I understand that "under the hood" they are the same as a Pioneer Elite CLD59.

I voted Marantz in the overall poll but Pioneer cld54 in the breakdown poll.

CLD 704, Elite 59 and a DVL 919 now I upgraded

I have a Toshiba XR-W90A, which was their top-of-the-line player at the time. I know that it is a Pioneer clone, does anyone know which model? My guess is something in the 500 range.

that's very interesting. there were never any elite models in japan, and why they h.. did you want to upgrade a dvl 700? they suck a**! you can change as many parts as you want, but it still wont be able to produce a picture like any high end ld player, unless this MSB built completely new DNRs and Y/C separation circuits

My DVL-700 produces a really good picture... MSB upgraded the caps and stuff and added their low Z power supplies, Electromagnetic MU Metal shielding, new High frequency output stage and line drivers and a new low jitter master clock circuit. When I got it back I was shocked at the improved picture and sound.. It was sharp and noise free with rock solid color and none of the fuzzy softness the image had before. They also lowered the amount of DNR so the image no longer had that digitally processed look. The comb filter was changed to one from a high end Japanese player, it was great then... Now, its not so hot. The picture really is beautiful from the composite out... I've seen other DVL-700's and know how bad the image can be.. Mine doesn't look like that. As I said, the only drawback is the DNR turns off when you freeze frame and you can see what the disc really looks like and how much the player improves it in playback. It cost me over $400 for the mods, but was well worth it. My Panasonic LX-900 produces a slightly sharper image with a bit less noise, but the DVL holds up well in comparison. Of course my 900 is broken now and I'm having Duncan fix it.
Since MSB did my 700 as a one off custom job it's kind of a Frankenstein model. I actually made a new name plate for it, "Chamberlain Technologies" -yes, I know that's stupid, but since the player was so modded, I figured it was my product.

BTW, it was my mistake saying Elite player from Japan... I just was told parts like the comb filter came from a high end Japanese model and I assumed it was Elite, not knowing that name wasn't used in Japan.

PM me if you are interested in seeing the pic quality on DVD's I've made.

it would be interesting to see a before and after picture!

Sadly DVD recorders didn't exist in 1997 when I had my DVL-700 modified, so I have no way of showing a before and after picture from my particular player. One thing I did learn from a Pioneer tech was that the 700 was a better LaserDisc player than the Elite DVL-90... The 90 was designed first and the 700 done a bit later with some improvements. It's DVD performance isn't too good but even in its unmodded state, it's LD performance is better than the later DVL players... And there is a lot of player to player variation in quality, even within the same model, so one could be great and another of the same model looks like junk. I think I got a good basic model because other 700's I've seen look worse than mine did in its unmodded state.

Player to player variation was one of LaserDisc's big problems... Since the system was analog, it was totally dependent on everything being adjusted and performing perfectly. Only Pioneer and a few Panasonic models (LX-900, LX-600 and LX-H670) could produce players that were truly good, and both companies had their share of clunkers, like the Panasonic LX-1000u or the Pioneer CLD-95 and CLD-3090. Other companies players always looked like junk, even when working perfectly. And then there were the true junk players like the Zenith or Carver or Radio Shack. Oh, and Sony.

Besides the chroma time delay problem through s-video (which I wouldn't use anyway these days), what else is the problem IYO with the Elite CLD-95?

TLK

It had real reliability problems with tracking and breakdowns that Pioneer never seemed to get a handle on - the CLD-97 was its quick replacement.