If we consider a scale of 1-10 (X) with 1 being the easiest, and 10 being the most difficult, here is a player breakdown:
| X | Brand/Model | Specific Install Notes | 4 | Denon LA-2100 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 4 | Denon LA-2300 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Denon LA-2500 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Denon LA-3100 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 4 | Hitachi VIP-RX8EX | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 4 | Hitachi VIP-RX10EX | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 7 | Kenwood LVD-300 | Difficult soldering, nothing to remove | 7 | Kenwood LVD-320 | Difficult to locate tap points | 7 | Kenwood LVD-700 | Difficult to mount, 2 boards to move | 5 | Magnavox WRV100 | Tedious soldering, nothing to remove | 3 | Marantz LV-500 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Marantz LV-510 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 5 | Mitsubishi M-V6021 | Fairly straight-forward, nothing to remove | 3 | Mitsubishi M-V6022 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Mitsubishi M-V7025 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 5 | Mitsubishi M-V8000 | Difficult soldering, nothing to remove | 7 | NEC LD-2000 | Difficult mounting, Remove 1 board | 4 | Onkyo DXV801 | Remove 1 board, mostly jumpers | 6 | Panasonic LX-101 | Difficult mounting | 8 | Panasonic LX-200 | Difficult mounting, remove 1 board | 7 | Panasonic LX-600 | Move 1 board, Difficult mounting | 7 | Panasonic LX-H670 | Solder points difficult to get to | 7 | Panasonic LX-K700 | Move 1 board, Difficult mounting | 8 | Panasonic LX-900 | Remove 1 board, Difficult mounting | 7 | Panasonic LX-1000 | Difficult mounting, remove 1 board | 5 | Philips CDV-400 | Tedious soldering, nothing to remove | 4 | Philips CDV-484 | Remove 1 board, easy soldering to wires | 4 | Philips CDV-485 | Remove 1 board, easy soldering to wires | 4 | Philips CDV-487 | Remove 1 board, easy soldering to wires | 4 | Philips CDV-488 | Remove 1 board, easy soldering to wires | 5 | Philips CDV-600 | Tedious soldering, nothing to remove | 5 | Pioneer CLD-A100 | Remove 1 board, all jumpers | 4 | Pioneer CLD-S104 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Pioneer CLD-D501/550 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 4 | Pioneer CLD-D502/560 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Pioneer CLD-D503/570 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Pioneer CLD-D701/750 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Pioneer CLD-D702/760 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 4 | Pioneer CLD-D703/770 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Pioneer CLD-V710 | 1 Slightly difficult solder point | 4 | Pioneer CLD-S201/250 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Pioneer CLD-S260/S360 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 4 | Pioneer CLD-M301/350 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 4 | Pioneer CLD-M401/450 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Pioneer CLD-M403 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 4 | Pioneer CLD-V720 | Fairly straight-forward, nothing to remove | 6 | Pioneer CLD-V820 | Difficult soldering, remove 1 board | 3 | Pioneer CLD-V840 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Pioneer CLD-V850 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 4 | Pioneer CLD-V860 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 7 | Pioneer CLD-2070 | Difficult mounting, Remove 1 board | 4 | Pioneer CLD-2080 | Remove 1 board, mostly jumpers | 5 | Pioneer CLD-2090 | Fairly straight-forward, nothing to remove | 4 | Pioneer CLD-2710K | Fairly straight-forward, nothing to remove | 7 | Pioneer CLD-3030 | Difficult mounting, nothing to remove | 7 | Pioneer CLD-3070 | Difficult mounting, Remove 1 board | 5 | Pioneer CLD-3080 | Difficult soldering, nothing to remove | 5 | Pioneer CLD-3090 | Remove 2 boards, easy soldering | 5 | Pioneer CLD-3390 | Remove 2 boards, easy soldering | 7 | Pioneer LD-V8000 | Difficult soldering and mounting | 5 | Pioneer LD-838D | Remove 1 board, easy soldering | 2 | Pioneer CLD-980 | 1 Slightly difficult solder point | 4 | Pioneer CLD-990 | Fairly straight-forward, nothing to remove | 5 | Pioneer CLD-1010 | Remove 1 board, easy soldering | 7 | Pioneer CLD-1030 | Difficult mounting, nothing to remove | 6 | Pioneer CLD-1070 | A couple of difficult solder points | 3 | Pioneer CLD-1080 | 1 Slightly difficult solder point | 5 | Pioneer CLD-1090 | Difficult soldering, nothing to remove | 3 | Pioneer CLD-52 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 6 | Pioneer CLD-53 | Remove 1 board, average soldering | 5 | Pioneer CLD-95 | Difficult soldering, nothing to remove | 5 | Pioneer CLD-97 | Difficult soldering, nothing to remove | 5 | Pioneer CLD-98 | Difficult soldering, nothing to remove | 7 | Pioneer LD-S1 | Remove 1 board, easy soldering | ? | Pioneer LD-S2 | Coming Soon | 7 | Pioneer LD-W1 | Remove 3 boards, easy soldering | 4 | Pioneer CLD-M90 | Fairly straight-forward, nothing to remove | 4 | ProScan PSLD40 | Remove 1 board, mostly jumpers | 5 | ProScan PSLD43 | Fairly straight-forward, nothing to remove | 5 | ProScan PSLD45 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 4 | RCA LDR310 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 5 | RCA LDR400 | Fairly straight-forward, nothing to remove | ? | RCA LDR500 | Coming soon | 5 | RCA LDR600 | Fairly straight-forward, nothing to remove | 3 | RCA LDR610 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 6 | Samsung DV-530K | Straight-Forward, but hard to find tap points | 6 | Samsung DV-xxxx | Other models appear identical to 530K as far as this install | 10 | Sharp MV-D1002 | Very difficult... | ? | Sony MDP-200 | Coming Soon | 9 | Sony MDP-333 | Remove boards, difficult soldering | 9 | Sony MDP-355 | Remove boards, difficult soldering | 7 | Sony MDP-455 | Difficult mounting, difficult soldering | 8 | Sony MDP-500 | All surface mount, nothing to move | 8 | Sony MDP-510 | All surface mount, one difficult soldering point | 8 | Sony MDP-550 | All surface mount, nothing to remove | 6 | Sony MDP-600/A-1 | All surface mount, nothing to remove | 7 | Sony MDP-605 | All surface mount, nothing to remove | 8 | Sony MDP-650/A-3 | All surface mount, nothing to remove | 6 | Sony MDP-750 | All surface mount, nothing to remove | 6 | Sony MDP-800/A-7 | All surface mount, nothing to remove | 9 | Sony MDP-1100 | Remove boards, Difficult soldering | 7 | Technics LX-1000 | Difficult mounting, remove 1 board | 10 | Theta Data II1 | Not recommended for DIY | 5 | Toshiba XR-W70 | Fairly straight-forward, nothing to remove | 3 | Toshiba XR-W75 | Mostly jumpers, nothing to remove | 3 | Toshiba XR-W90 | All jumpers, nothing to remove | 7 | Yamaha CDV-870 | Difficult soldering, nothing to remove |
Legend:
1 - We're earning our money on this install. VERY difficult to get to appropriate components.
2 - DIY possible, but not recommended. Many components to remove and tap points still difficult to get to.
Notes:
All surface mount - Means all points tapped in the player are on legs of surface-mount components, requiring a fair knowledge of soldering.
Mostly jumpers - Means points tapped are wire jumpers and are generally the easist solderable points.
Remove (X) Boards - Circuit boards inside the player must be carefully removed to get to points on other boards beneath them.