LD Players: Kenwood vs Panasonic?
Tony Lau
I am planning replace my CD player (Rotel RCD-955AX) with an LD player.
There are two features I definitely would like to have:
1) digital out (to connect to an external D/A converter in case my
hearing improves 8-) )
2) a high quality S-Video out (say "digital 3-line comb-filter" or better,
since the comb-filter in my S-VHS VCR is not great).
In general, I hope the LD player is well-built and reasonably quiet, especially
when playing CD's. It should sound quite good without an external D/A
converter. And it should be reasonably priced too ( say < CAN$850 or < US$630
street price ). Dual-side play and CLV-freeze are NOT important.
Here are the models I am considering:
Panasonic: LX-600 (does it have digital out?), LX-900
Kenwood: KV(?)-320, KV(?)-930R
Please share your good and/or bad experience with the LD players above and
any currently available LD players from other brands with the features I am
looking for. I am espcially interested in hearing about the Kenwood models
since they are not mentioned much in these groups so far.
e.g. Pioneer (503/4, 604, 703/4), Sony, Denon, Marantz.
Thank you very much in advance!
--
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// Tony Tat Chung Lau // email: l...@mprgate.mpr.ca //
// MPR Teltech Ltd, CANADA // voice: (604) 293-5182 //
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Robert Vincent
> I am planning replace my CD player (Rotel RCD-955AX) with an LD player.
>
> Panasonic: LX-600 (does it have digital out?), LX-900
> Kenwood: KV(?)-320, KV(?)-930R
>
> Please share your good and/or bad experience with the LD players above and
> any currently available LD players from other brands with the features I am
> looking for. I am espcially interested in hearing about the Kenwood models
> since they are not mentioned much in these groups so far.
> e.g. Pioneer (503/4, 604, 703/4), Sony, Denon, Marantz.
>
!
I doubt if you will be pleased with the CD sound of any of the listed
models of laserdisc players compared to your Rotel RCD-955. Sound seems to
be almost an afterthought on most moderate priced laserdisc players. One
laserdisc player that has fantastic sound is the Denon 3500. Great player,
but $2200.00. I suggest you keep your Rotel and simply add a laserdisc
player to the system. When you want to upgrade your laser disc player,
Denon has a nice D/A converter @ $499.00 and Rotel has a new one @
$599.00.
Erik Olson
: Panasonic: LX-600 (does it have digital out?), LX-900
: Kenwood: KV(?)-320, KV(?)-930R
I own a Panasonic LX-900 and I am happy with it.
The picture and sound quality are great but there are a couple things
that bother me about it. It is audibly loud when playing and
it is not as robust to disc flaws as even a low end Pioneer player.
But on the plus side the jog/shuttle knob on the remote is snappy
for fast forwarding, backwardsing, and single stepping. In comparison
the jog/shuttle controls on the Pioneer and Sony LD players are sluggish.
The digital freeze frame effects on the LX-900 are the best I have ever
seen except of course, for one of the high end Pioneer Elite models.
Runco uses the Panasonic LX-900 mechanical assembly for their $5000
THX approved LD player. I think the LX-900 is a discontinued product,
but thats not really important since I would NOT buy a LD player that
didn't have an AC3 output. The LX-1000 should be out sometime.
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Erik Olson er...@appsig.com
Howard Helbein
: : Kenwood: KV(?)-320, KV(?)-930R
: I own a Panasonic LX-900 and I am happy with it.
: The picture and sound quality are great but there are a couple things
: that bother me about it. It is audibly loud when playing and
: it is not as robust to disc flaws as even a low end Pioneer player.
I have a Panasonic LX-600. I bought for $400 a few months ago. I
was comparing it mainly to the Pioneer 503 in several stores when I
was shopping for an LD player. The 600 seemed to have a cleaner
picture in my very subjective tests. I must admit I am biased by having
Pioneer audio equipment die an early death on me in the past. I beleive
the main difference between the Panasonic 600 and 900 is that the 600
lackes digital effects. I can live without this. My only problem
with the player is that it is very noisy but I fixed this by putiing it
in my audio cabinet behind doors. Disc side changing time is a little
slow but I think its competitive to other players in its price
range. Overall, I love it - great pictures and great sound for
great movies.
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Howard Helbein
helb...@nova.voicenet.com
Erik Olson
My LX-900 is only noisy when playing CAV discs or during the
first 15 minutes of a CLV disc. And you can't hear it when its
playing CD's. I found that I could lower the level of the
players mechanical noise by placing a cardboard baffle in front
of the player, thus blocking the direct sound. A cardboard LD
shipping box like what Columbia House ships its discs in works
perfectly.
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Erik Olson er...@appsig.com