This website and forum is a terrible influence. After reading up on many posts about the wonders of Japanese import players and arguments over which comb filter is better than another, if Y/C separation quality is determined by the number of chloride and ammonium compounds in platinum molecules that destabilise if elevated more than 13cm above sea level in your uncle's sisters next door neighbours aunt's second cousin twice removed's nephews born out of wedlock b*****d distant half brothers uncle's mum's husband's home theatre amplifier that is suspended on magnetically floating noise dampening blocks made out of marble, plutonium and myrrh.

I decided to import a new LD player.

Given my lowly setup of a VP50 Pro and Yamaha APD-2 and Yamaha YSP-2700 which couldn't possibly compete with some of the intergalactic mad gear some of ye lads have, I figured my CLD-925 needed an NTSC buddy to hang out with.

Here's my new Pioneer CLD-R7G.

The snaps below were taken by the proxy in Japan as I wanted to make sure the player was as described by the seller, he or she had mentioned dents (or at least the auto translation did so I was concerned). I got it for a really good price so was concerned it may be a lemon. The best part of it is that the player has (according to the seller) been maintained. He or she purchased it recently from another YAJ seller who maintains players and probably just flips them on for a bit of cash in the pinny. The seller says he or she has digitised there collection and now wants to sell the player as they don't need it any more.

I didn't get a reply to what maintenance had been performed on it from the seller, so I asked the original (i assume) seller what maintenance is performed on the players they have listed (same bundles offered with their listings: LD player, new old stock CLD-R5 remote control, new RCA cables and a photocopied manual). That seller did respond and said (I'll bullet point it instead):

1. New belts
2. Pickup lens cleaned with 'direct alcohol'
3. Upper and lower pickup rails were greased with silicone grease.
4. Pickup rails and switches disassembled and cleaned as needed.
5. Display panel disassembled and cleaned.
6. Dust removal cleaning around the internal frame and board has been made.
7. Appearance cleaning. And so on. Thank you.

Seems fairly good news to me. Hopefully it arrives in one piece. It didn't have the original remote so I bought one separately on YAJ and will have it shipped the same time. It's likely going to go by boat so I figured to post the snaps here rather than wait 3 or 4 months and it arrives smashed to pieces.

Here's the snaps the proxy took for me:









Now to source an outrageously expensive S Video cable and some of those magnetically floating marble blocks...

Well it looks cosmetically very clean and tidy to my eyes and if it performs like an R7G should then I reckon (as the saying goes....luck of the Irish & all...) you could have landed yourself a real bargain there Ted. Mind you after having spent 12 weeks on the high seas traveling between Japan and Europe the front panel and casing might just have a more rust than gold type of finish to it?

That looks very tasty..... hope it arrives in good time.

Enjoy spinning your big discs on it, please let us know how it performs.

Good luck, its a great player, I always enjoyed mine when I had one.

Remember you need to use the S-Video otherwise this player is the same as any CLD-D50X 60X

Thanks folks. The R7G has been on my radar for a good while. I think it feels (to me at least) like a good compromise to the otherwise next logical step of an HLD-X9 but far more affordable and will also fit in my AV cabinet!

I'll be running this solely over S-Video to the VP50 Pro. Also the colour scheme will match my APD-2 now.

I'll likely retire the CLD-D925 after watching and digitising my small collection of PAL discs and keep it safely stored for rainy days. You guys here seem to have a good opinion of the R7G, I hope I will too!

There are few better players than this, despite its originally affordable price point. The picture quality is 9/10 or better.

Don’t let the 925 freeze up in storage. Play a movie in it once or twice a year. Put it on repeat for 4 hours or so to keep it exercised.

Absolutely sound advice from rein-o there but I think you already got the message about s-video? I believe the comb filter in the R7G is actually a tad more advanced than that fitted to the X0/X9 or any other player bar one (one of the DVL models?) so it's really the perfect choice for use with the VP50. If you've a copy of say The Fifth Element in your possession then the first time you spin that up on your R7G I reckon you'll be blown away by the picture quality! Enjoy

If you have any devices do try running it straight from S-video of the LD to TV or Projector, its really amazing when all calibrated.

Yep, and that would be the DVL-H9.

Some really good info here: CLD-R7G Arrived!

Yup iirc the X0 is an NEC comb filter, but older than the R7G/H9 (not seen an X0 in action though).

The X9/S9 has a Mitsubishi comb filter which I personally hate. The checker-boarding on some motion is just awful.

Thankfully the recombined composite out of the X9 suffers no loss in quality; so pair it with a better external comb filter and all is good. Can't say quite the same for the RG7/H9/S9 - no matter how slight; the composite out just didn't look quite as sharp/detailed (even after fed through a superior external comb filter) in some aspects. Maybe my memory is bad (did all these comparisons several years ago) but all more modern players (probably all/most with an s-video out) feature a recombined composite out. Some do that transparently; some apparently don't.

The NEC filter in the R7G/H9 is great, and fully recommend hooking it up s-video.

Welcome to the R7 club!

I think Ted may have quite a bit of a wait until he can legitimately join your cosy R7 owners club Jake?

True, i only have it penciled into the clubs membership book at this stage

Sounds like that's one tight ship you're running there mate!

Hopefully its a tight ship thats taking his R7 to Ireland

I hope the membership card is as widely accepted as Diners Club, Green Shield stamps and LV vouchers.

I'm hoping the playback is as good as I hope it will be. I was watching my Riding Bean LD last night and it really is a lovely disc. If the 925 can produce the results I saw last night, then I can't wait to see what the R7G will spit out.

It's here! Just got the notification my R7G has arrived at the shipping port of New Delaware! The joy of import tax awaits though alas.

Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow and not look like this:

Great news! Got my fingers crossed for you Ted

Me too

I assume you used surface mail? What proxy?

I've been thinking about taking a gamble on "junk" players that I have the parts for.

I'll take it you are referring to the pile of junk in the picture and not the picture quality itself as if it was a screenshot from the CLD-R7G? Anyways, good luck with the player!