Marantz CD63 vs Audiolab 8000CD

[jazzdude]

I have a Marantz CD63 MkII KI Sig which after many years of faultless service has sstarted skipping. I understand it is a common fault. If it cannot be fixed, I am wondering whether to look for another one on eBay or to go for an Audiolab 8000CD. I have an Audiolab 8000 amp but not sure how the two CD players compare. Any advice/opinions please?

Thanks

Andy

 

[Glenn2]

I have a Marantz CD63 MkII KI Sig which after many years of faultless service has sstarted skipping. I understand it is a common fault. If it cannot be fixed, I am wondering whether to look for another one on eBay or to go for an Audiolab 8000CD. I have an Audiolab 8000 amp but not sure how the two CD players compare. Any advice/opinions please?

Thanks

Andy

You can buy the laser mechanism sub-assembly (or rather it's new equivalent the VAM1202) for about £20.

Depends how handy you are with a soldering iron!

This shows you what to do. It's a CD46, but they use the same mechanism so the procedure is almost the same.

 

[jazzdude]

Thanks Glenn. I have had the unit apart to see if the gears and track were clogged up but they seemed quite clean actually.

Anyway I am confident to replace the laser assembly. Where can I obtain one of these?

Thanks

Andy

 

[Glenn2]

You can try here but they are also available from Dalbani (Nikko) and Grandata though I don't recommend Grandata.

The quality control is a bit dodgy, and a few of us have had to send new ones back for replacement.... but they are cheap.

 

[Glenn2]

they have a few varieties....

...this one here claims to be Japanese.

All the ones I've seen were Chinese.

 

[AndrewT]

Hi,
I like my Ebay Sugden two box CD player.
They don't come up very often, but there is a single box version in just now.

 

[jazzdude]

Sorted

Thanks for your advice. I ordered one of these and have fitted it. It is working perfectly as I type. No excuse for me to buy a new player now though.

Andy

 

[Glenn2]

He he...

Reminds me of the time I fixed my friend's Musical Fidelity amp.
He wasn't expecting it to be repairable (don't know why) but asked me to have a look anyway. He'd been busily thumbing through all the hifi rags.

He looked quite disappointed when I handed it back working perfectly!

The 63KI still fetches a good price on eBay by the way. The extra you'd get from selling one with a brand-new laser would outweigh what it cost.