I'm shopping for a spare bulb for my KDS-50A3000 -- and would like to know if it's enough to replace the bulb only, or if it's necessary to replace the lamp receptacle at the same time.

The Sony manual uses the terms "lamp" and "lamp receptacle" -- and it's not clear (to me) what has to be replaced.

A search (for model XL-5200) returns both choices. The bulb only costs around $125, and the receptacle with bulb costs about $250.

Any feedback about lamp replacement would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

You can buy just the bulb and place the new bulb in the housing yourself.

It's cheaper that way.

BTW: Think you should be doing a search for (model XL-5200)

Thanks (and I corrected my mistyping of the lamp model number in the original post).

Is there any deterioration of the receptacle (e.g., from heat or dust)?

None

Thanks (and I corrected my mistyping of the lamp model number in the original post).

Is there any deterioration of the receptacle (e.g., from heat or dust)?


If the lamp burst, then you would probably want a new housing. If not, should not be problem. I have read you need to not get your fingerprints on the front of the new bulb though, as that could cause problems.