Need cross reference for Theta Data basic II Laser disc\cd player

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Does anyone know what sony model crosses to the Theta DATA basic II universal laserdisc/cd player. I know Theta took other people's designs back then & moded the electronics. Mine has a bad cable & bad pick up so I had planned on finding the sony equivilent & changing the whole mechanism. The pickup is a sony. If anyone is knowledgeable of these players any help would be appreciated. Donald
 
The Theta Data universals I've worked on(and it's been years) have been 100% Sony inside. The nearest Sony model was the MDP-333. The laser is a KHS-130A, which was a terrific laser, HOWEVER, with a very unreliable tilt sensor built onto it, which was not a replaceable part. Tilt sensor goes, whole laser unit has to be replaced. Some players that used the same laser, e.g., Denon LA-2000 I think, actually used the tilt sensor as also a disc-load sensor, so the player would register 'no disc' always when the sensor inevitably crapped out. Don't recall if this was the case on the MDP-333/Theta, but was not the case on the earlier MDP-320/520, where the bad sensor symptom was unpredictable video crosstalk and various mistracking, depending on the disc & where the bad sensor caused the tilt servo to stay fixed at. Dalbani used to sell the KHS-130A, but they don't show stock on it anymore, so you'll have to look around. Trouble with finding an MDP333 to scavenge is that it is 90% likely to have a bad tilt sensor already, so you'd have to find a machine that still plays laserdiscs perfectly to be sure.
 
old thread, i know.

i have a Theta Data II that crapped out last year. the front display just keeps blinking - and it's got my stone roses cd stuck in there. THE HORROR! :-(

as far as theta "hot-rodding" the laserdisc players, well, sort of. my data II is basically a Philips CDV-400 LD player. which i a pretty average player with mediocre comb filtering. i ended up getting a free CDV-400 as a stop gap for my dead data II.

turns out when you pop both chassis open, the theta is EXACTLY THE SAME. as the CDV-400. not one fricken cap was upgraded. all theta did was some sort of reclocking by bypassing the spdif on the stock philips board with two theta pcbs bolted to the inside back of the chassis.

comparing the two (meaning remembering how my data II sounded before it died, the CDV-400 sounds like 95% just as good. in fact, nearly the same. the theta did have more impact and slightly less harsh high frequencies. most likely from their reclocking scheme.

the data III was based on a Pioneer CLD-D703/4. which is basically the Elite CLD-79, but without the nifty shiny plastic front panel. i think the comb filtering might be better on the 79 as well.

i ended up saying "screw it" to both the philps and the data II players and bought a used Pioneer Elite CLD-79 as a transport through my Theta DSPro GEN III DAC. doubt it sounds much different than a data III - and i got it for $100.

see ya,
Robby
 
Have not seen that DataII, but the DataII versions I have worked on(torturously) were bone stock Sony MDP-333 dropped into a nigh-unserviceable bucket chassis, with, as you observed, nothing but the crappy little Theta output boards added.

However, if you really want a super nice transport, the Pioneer CLD-95 is BY FAR the best Pioneer ever made(I say better than the PD-S95), provided you make the simple mod of adding a properly run coax digital output from the YM3813 DIT chip. It far better built than the CLD99/etc., far more reliable, and just drop dead gorgeous, too. Only better tranport than a coax-equipped CLD-95, in my view, is the C-Lock version of the Meitner Museatex CDD.
 
Thanks for the info Stephen.

yeah, the CLD-95 is beautiful and built like a tank. i'll keep an eye out for a cheap one. but i still like to watch laserdiscs when i want to relive the 1990's ;-)

and from a video standpoint, the CLD-79 has a much better picture, from my understanding than the older CLD-95.

but you are right. the higher-end pioneer LD players make better transports than most audiophile snake-oil ;-)

i assume you've seen this site:
Theta

see ya,
Robby

Have not seen that DataII, but the DataII versions I have worked on(torturously) were bone stock Sony MDP-333 dropped into a nigh-unserviceable bucket chassis, with, as you observed, nothing but the crappy little Theta output boards added.

However, if you really want a super nice transport, the Pioneer CLD-95 is BY FAR the best Pioneer ever made(I say better than the PD-S95), provided you make the simple mod of adding a properly run coax digital output from the YM3813 DIT chip. It far better built than the CLD99/etc., far more reliable, and just drop dead gorgeous, too. Only better tranport than a coax-equipped CLD-95, in my view, is the C-Lock version of the Meitner Museatex CDD.
 
I've never thought the CLD99/79 video was quite as good as the CLD95/3080, but, then again, I hate the cheapo construction of those newer machines that I may have had some bias. Had not seen the Lampizator page on the Theta, but it's very amusing. Too bad he didn't mention how TORTUROUS it is to get that completely stock player out of that Theta 'bucket' chassis that it's hardwired into.
BTW, although the CLD3080, the non-Elite 95, lacks the 95's beautiful brushless platter motor(but makes just as good a cd transport despite that), I prefer it for video, due to a button on the pop-out control panel labeled "D. Ext", which is luminance dynamic extension. Makes the blacks blacker & whites whiter, without detail loss. Makes for far better 'apparent noise reduction' than the digital video NR on the 95 & later machines. Really makes LD's look great.
 
wow stephen, you really know your stuff!

I'll keep an eye out for a CLD-95 (also because it's so pretty ;-)

you said you worked on a Data II or Data III? i've had my older Data II apart and saw the theta boards on the back, but from the online data III photos, i don't see any theta boards in it.

i think we are in agreement that the theta transports are snake-oil? and a high-end pioneer LD player like the the CLD-95 would better anything at any price from theta?

Robby
 
Pretty darn sure the few I've worked on were DataII, and were Sony machines, but it's been a long time. And, yes, snake oil, big time. The good Pioneers are definitely better, and also far less prone to having tilt sensors go bad(HUGE problem with KHS-130A laser), in fact, pretty much never go bad. Only downside, other than needing to add the coax output, is that none of the Pioneer players have any way to lock the diffraction grating alignment on the laser, which is the most critical adjustment in the unit, and which takes the most practice to get right. So, be very careful about shipping.
The other cd/ld players that I consider as good as the CLD95/3080 are the Panasonic LX200/600/900/1000, which all have beautiful brushless platter motors, a quicker & more logical side change mech, and lasers that are both damn reliable & which can't get knocked out of alignment in shipping. Never did a side-by-side, but I would bet that the LX900/1000 players could even compete on video quality, if not the lower two models. The horribly expensive Runco cd/ld transport was a re-badged(just new front panel) LX900 with the dac sections deleted, and more robust digital out hardware. Oh, the Panasonics all need coax digital installed, like the 95/3080, as they are all toslink only, as far as I recall.
 
Thanks for the info Stephen.

yes, you are correct, the data II is basically a sony player. but i think philips rebadged it the CDV-400 as well. if you look at the lampizator link - he compared the CDV-400 to the Data II. you can see that the front panel buttons are exactly the same.

now you got me searching for a CLD-95 ;-)

see ya,
Robby

Pretty darn sure the few I've worked on were DataII, and were Sony machines, but it's been a long time. And, yes, snake oil, big time. The good Pioneers are definitely better, and also far less prone to having tilt sensors go bad(HUGE problem with KHS-130A laser), in fact, pretty much never go bad. Only downside, other than needing to add the coax output, is that none of the Pioneer players have any way to lock the diffraction grating alignment on the laser, which is the most critical adjustment in the unit, and which takes the most practice to get right. So, be very careful about shipping.
The other cd/ld players that I consider as good as the CLD95/3080 are the Panasonic LX200/600/900/1000, which all have beautiful brushless platter motors, a quicker & more logical side change mech, and lasers that are both damn reliable & which can't get knocked out of alignment in shipping. Never did a side-by-side, but I would bet that the LX900/1000 players could even compete on video quality, if not the lower two models. The horribly expensive Runco cd/ld transport was a re-badged(just new front panel) LX900 with the dac sections deleted, and more robust digital out hardware. Oh, the Panasonics all need coax digital installed, like the 95/3080, as they are all toslink only, as far as I recall.
 
I dread the thought of shipping, but if you ever happen to come down through Tucson, I do have at least one very nice CLD-95 available for sale.

The CDV400 did use the same Sony KHS-130A & perhaps whole mech from the Sony unit, but the electronics were by Philips, and were far more prone to flakey circuit problems than any of the similar Sony units, which rarely had any problems other than that damn tilt sensor failing. The MDP320/520, which were the predecessor models to the unit that Theta used, were actually DAMN good sounding cd players on their own, with twin PCM58 dacs used. The next model onwards, though, unfortunately, all used Sony's 1-bit dacs.
 
thanks stephen!

well, i don't frequent tuscon, but i'll keep it in mind. i bought my CLD-79 for $100, but i doubt you'd take a C note for your 95 ;-)

and yes, from my experience, shipping LD players usually results in a damaged LD player.

see ya,
Robby

I dread the thought of shipping, but if you ever happen to come down through Tucson, I do have at least one very nice CLD-95 available for sale.

The CDV400 did use the same Sony KHS-130A & perhaps whole mech from the Sony unit, but the electronics were by Philips, and were far more prone to flakey circuit problems than any of the similar Sony units, which rarely had any problems other than that damn tilt sensor failing. The MDP320/520, which were the predecessor models to the unit that Theta used, were actually DAMN good sounding cd players on their own, with twin PCM58 dacs used. The next model onwards, though, unfortunately, all used Sony's 1-bit dacs.
 
With Pioneer ld players, the biggest shipping problem is the damn diffraction grating alignment. So, the trick to safe shipping, if one lacks the original box/packing(in good shape), is to find a large enough double-wall box(or two) to have at least 2" thick slabs of firm foam rubber(upholstery shops are a great source) all the way around the unit. The bitch is the big enough, strong enough box.
 
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