Interesting comment above. The basic HiFi shop was always selling very cheap Teac stuff.
When I was working at a CD replication company, it seemed like an interesting pass-time for senior management to import/buy very exotic CD players.
One of these was a Top Line Teac player. Its primary purpose was to provide a digital-stream from client's CDR masters, to then supply replication.
After some time, it increasingly exhibited miss-tracking with CDR's. I was given the task to 'look at it' and investigate. It had many internal adjustment
pots which I was very happy about > most players with this kind of adjustment do lend themselves to very simple tracking-error corrections. HOWEVER
I experienced something that I never had before or ever since.
Using a variety of discs for testing, I finally discovered that placing the steel/metalic cover-lid over the player introduced significant miss-tracking >
removing the cover removed the miss-tracking ?how strange? SO, I tried a dark non-metalic cover, and things worked fine!!! ( I did investigate earthing )
SO, this is how that Teac CD player continued its life > without a metalic cover 😳
When I was working at a CD replication company, it seemed like an interesting pass-time for senior management to import/buy very exotic CD players.
One of these was a Top Line Teac player. Its primary purpose was to provide a digital-stream from client's CDR masters, to then supply replication.
After some time, it increasingly exhibited miss-tracking with CDR's. I was given the task to 'look at it' and investigate. It had many internal adjustment
pots which I was very happy about > most players with this kind of adjustment do lend themselves to very simple tracking-error corrections. HOWEVER
I experienced something that I never had before or ever since.
Using a variety of discs for testing, I finally discovered that placing the steel/metalic cover-lid over the player introduced significant miss-tracking >
removing the cover removed the miss-tracking ?how strange? SO, I tried a dark non-metalic cover, and things worked fine!!! ( I did investigate earthing )
SO, this is how that Teac CD player continued its life > without a metalic cover 😳
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I think a lot of companies in those years had the basic and then the "upper class" series....like ITT/SEL .Teac had the 500 series and the 500i.Gold plated connectors and a slightly different output stage where the main differences ....As long as we demand a higher standard,I think to hope that this sort of quality to the end product is not dying out😱😢😇Frank
Talking about quality ...I never quite understood why the minidisc stationary hifi standard-and there are really some fine examples arround- never really took of....After the old cassette tape with the constand mayhem with the tape-salad and the cd's you need to take actually out of the cover and smear it and scratch it,until your amp couldn't decide of noise and music any more,I've come across this minidisc.Some recordings go 20 odd years back flawless😱❤️🎶😇Frank
Along with superior products like BETA vs VHS, Sony have a great history of research & development, but sometimes 'couldn't win'.
Sony was the company behind the 'quite revolutionary and excellent' MiniDisc. It had functions never seen before.
However, due to the audio-compression format of MiniDisc being slightly inferior to CD, Sony 'lost' again 😎
Sony was the company behind the 'quite revolutionary and excellent' MiniDisc. It had functions never seen before.
However, due to the audio-compression format of MiniDisc being slightly inferior to CD, Sony 'lost' again 😎
And from that day onwards, my friends, I was known only as Mister Audio...
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The mini disc was audible a bit less quality than the CD. The consumer had just experienced the terrific quality improvement the CD had over the consumer class record player, which was a lot worse than todays cheap audiophile analog players. They expected better not "a little bit worse" than CD sound for anything new.
So the only real advantage was the smaller size, portability and option to record your own music. Anyway, this was more a car (compact cassette) and young people's thing. No one wanted to get another car radio and the young audience did not have the funds to buy the overpriced MD stuff.
Then there where all these completely new copy protection insecurities, never known before. That made people think they would not be able to copy what they liked, without extra cost or getting criminalised. No one in my audiophile community bought one. We wanted affordable car CD player and changer and until then used our compact cassette recorders and car cassette player.
It was a great product no one needed.
So the only real advantage was the smaller size, portability and option to record your own music. Anyway, this was more a car (compact cassette) and young people's thing. No one wanted to get another car radio and the young audience did not have the funds to buy the overpriced MD stuff.
Then there where all these completely new copy protection insecurities, never known before. That made people think they would not be able to copy what they liked, without extra cost or getting criminalised. No one in my audiophile community bought one. We wanted affordable car CD player and changer and until then used our compact cassette recorders and car cassette player.
It was a great product no one needed.
Exactly. The initial compression algoritm Sony had developped for Minidisc wasn't very good and degraded the sound quality significantly. So much that this was quite noticable even for the not so critical average consumer that was used to cheap audio gear. Later on I believe they improved it a bit, but it was never a match for CD, DAT or even for DCC (that also used compression but Philips had done a much better job there).
I remember wittnessing a demo where some identical recordings were played over CD, analog tape, Minidisc and DCC. I quickly decided to stick with my trusted Nakamichi cassette deck for the coming years.
Add to that the reliability problems of some of the early Minidisc players (DCC suffered from this as well), and the damage was done. Not so much later CD-R became available and affordable and the rest is history.
I remember wittnessing a demo where some identical recordings were played over CD, analog tape, Minidisc and DCC. I quickly decided to stick with my trusted Nakamichi cassette deck for the coming years.
Add to that the reliability problems of some of the early Minidisc players (DCC suffered from this as well), and the damage was done. Not so much later CD-R became available and affordable and the rest is history.
For anyone interested in Minidisc (and post #37 has an additional file comparing the higher compression modes):
Back then, Teac made some huge goofs with the CD mechanisms on their upper CD players. I did warranty for them and hated those upper machines. Overly complicated mechanical adjustments and wear points that did need to be there.
There are two basic non-starters for CD players. #1. CEC's belt drive (stupid). #2. "Stable platter" (even more stupid, upper model Teac). Both 1 and 2 try to gain sales through a connection to turntables. CD players need to run constant linear velocity, turntable are constant angular velocity. What's the difference? Turntables run at the same RPM the entire time. An off-centre record makes the pitch change with rotation. With CDs, the data rate must remain constant, so the rotation speed changes with the position from centre, and with off-centre pressings. That means it has to change speed rapidly, never mind when you skip tracks. Therefore, you absolutely do need the lowest rotating mass possible. A "stable platter" adds a huge amount of mass, and Teacs were metal, Pioneer plastic. Both a failure in engineering. Now using a belt to drive the spindle adds a compliance between the motor and spinning assembly. How is that going to correct quickly as is required? A belt is completely unnecessary and counter-productive (= stupid beyond belief).
For a very rough set of numbers, a CD player may rotate around 500 rpm near the centre, closer to 200 rpm on the outside edge. These numbers came from seminars from the manufacturers, so if anyone wants to dispute them, fine. Go measure and let us know. I never felt it important enough to waste my time doing so. The concept is what is important.
The best CD transports use a magnetic clamp, lightweight. Adding a weight like you see on turntables (bad idea anyway) again runs you into the increased rotating mass issue. There is no need to mechanically clamp the CD either.
There are two basic non-starters for CD players. #1. CEC's belt drive (stupid). #2. "Stable platter" (even more stupid, upper model Teac). Both 1 and 2 try to gain sales through a connection to turntables. CD players need to run constant linear velocity, turntable are constant angular velocity. What's the difference? Turntables run at the same RPM the entire time. An off-centre record makes the pitch change with rotation. With CDs, the data rate must remain constant, so the rotation speed changes with the position from centre, and with off-centre pressings. That means it has to change speed rapidly, never mind when you skip tracks. Therefore, you absolutely do need the lowest rotating mass possible. A "stable platter" adds a huge amount of mass, and Teacs were metal, Pioneer plastic. Both a failure in engineering. Now using a belt to drive the spindle adds a compliance between the motor and spinning assembly. How is that going to correct quickly as is required? A belt is completely unnecessary and counter-productive (= stupid beyond belief).
For a very rough set of numbers, a CD player may rotate around 500 rpm near the centre, closer to 200 rpm on the outside edge. These numbers came from seminars from the manufacturers, so if anyone wants to dispute them, fine. Go measure and let us know. I never felt it important enough to waste my time doing so. The concept is what is important.
The best CD transports use a magnetic clamp, lightweight. Adding a weight like you see on turntables (bad idea anyway) again runs you into the increased rotating mass issue. There is no need to mechanically clamp the CD either.
Hi Calvin,
Can you describe please? Just curious if I've seen one.
Nakamichi made a mechanism that shook the CD tray on the way in because customers couldn't be trusted to place the CD properly in the tray. We called it the "shaky-shaky" mechanism. This was a firmware "fix" for the problem. They should have made the tray shape so a CD would self-centre.
Can you describe please? Just curious if I've seen one.
Nakamichi made a mechanism that shook the CD tray on the way in because customers couldn't be trusted to place the CD properly in the tray. We called it the "shaky-shaky" mechanism. This was a firmware "fix" for the problem. They should have made the tray shape so a CD would self-centre.
I don’t think it’s possible to give customers a good value for their money and make a living simultaneously from any business these days. Customer always gets less than what he pays for. Doesn’t matter what business, or the scale. All the way up to giants like Microsoft.
And the quickest way to hate doing something is the hassles associated with making a business out of it. If you enjoy doing something, either find a way of subsidizing it or get a job doing it. Let someone else deal with the headaches.
Even if you DO end up with a rewarding career, it will eventually become a J-O-B, and you’ll be looking (and hopefully planning) for an exit.
And the quickest way to hate doing something is the hassles associated with making a business out of it. If you enjoy doing something, either find a way of subsidizing it or get a job doing it. Let someone else deal with the headaches.
Even if you DO end up with a rewarding career, it will eventually become a J-O-B, and you’ll be looking (and hopefully planning) for an exit.
Hi wg_ski,
Completely agree!!!!
What I do was my hobby, something I loved and was interested in. I also love helping people. The two together meant I didn't make near as much as I could of. Eventually it was impossible to keep the doors open on a 6,000 sq ft shop with employees. I sold it for that and other reasons. Distributors didn't want service, they wouldn't invest in a parts department and competent repair staff - or even service manuals. Training? That went away much earlier in time. The entire industry coasted on guys like me for a bit, then the entire things devolved. The end loser? Every person who buys audio. They went to contract manufacturing, so no support, no service ECO's or field fixes for engineering errors.
With government intervention in Canada (all businesses) and possible union involvement, you need to be a criminal or insane (or just plain stupid) to operate a business these days. I would classify Microsoft as a criminal organization. Being honest and fair is a ticket to financial ruin. This drives anyone good to operate from home, and watch who they do business with. I'm still stupid to do what I do.
Completely agree!!!!
What I do was my hobby, something I loved and was interested in. I also love helping people. The two together meant I didn't make near as much as I could of. Eventually it was impossible to keep the doors open on a 6,000 sq ft shop with employees. I sold it for that and other reasons. Distributors didn't want service, they wouldn't invest in a parts department and competent repair staff - or even service manuals. Training? That went away much earlier in time. The entire industry coasted on guys like me for a bit, then the entire things devolved. The end loser? Every person who buys audio. They went to contract manufacturing, so no support, no service ECO's or field fixes for engineering errors.
With government intervention in Canada (all businesses) and possible union involvement, you need to be a criminal or insane (or just plain stupid) to operate a business these days. I would classify Microsoft as a criminal organization. Being honest and fair is a ticket to financial ruin. This drives anyone good to operate from home, and watch who they do business with. I'm still stupid to do what I do.
Hi,
the CD-drives from SONY´s higher ranked ES series I´m talking of, fixed the position of the Readout Diodes in X- and Y-direction.
Just the focus (Z-direction) was left to the pickup mechanism.
The tray or loader mechanism was moveable and took over the task to position the CD and CD-motor exactly where the Pickup needed it to be.
Simple logic alone tells anyone that the X- and Y- drivers needed to be much more potent than in a conventional CD-drive to shake the increased mass of the whole tray/motor and the CD around. 🙄
Of course did the highend press rave about those ´special´ CD drives, which were indeed ´special´, but not any better than any cheap ordinary CD-drive.
They certainly never equalled the great Philips CDMs.
jauu
Calvin
the CD-drives from SONY´s higher ranked ES series I´m talking of, fixed the position of the Readout Diodes in X- and Y-direction.
Just the focus (Z-direction) was left to the pickup mechanism.
The tray or loader mechanism was moveable and took over the task to position the CD and CD-motor exactly where the Pickup needed it to be.
Simple logic alone tells anyone that the X- and Y- drivers needed to be much more potent than in a conventional CD-drive to shake the increased mass of the whole tray/motor and the CD around. 🙄
Of course did the highend press rave about those ´special´ CD drives, which were indeed ´special´, but not any better than any cheap ordinary CD-drive.
They certainly never equalled the great Philips CDMs.
jauu
Calvin
If you're talking about the Sony player that had a fixed position laser, and it was the disc that moved over it, that was another player 'the Company' bought.
I always thought it was to a degree fascinating, but also thought > why would they build this > maybe it was just to prove a point ???
Hi Calvin,
Okay, that Sony drive is the height of stupidity! All I can say is wow! What drugs are Sony engineers using?
Okay, that Sony drive is the height of stupidity! All I can say is wow! What drugs are Sony engineers using?
!@#$&* bedroom light switch in the trailer. Sick and tired of it flashing and not staying on.
Real switch and real blue box, replacing the other POS. I can’t even see how that meets code. Not that anything is enforced here but this is just ridiculous.
Every damn box in the shop is metal, and the house is getting wired the same way.
Real switch and real blue box, replacing the other POS. I can’t even see how that meets code. Not that anything is enforced here but this is just ridiculous.
Every damn box in the shop is metal, and the house is getting wired the same way.
Attachments
Is it a mobile home or travel trailer? Mobile homes have their own section in the NEC but are largely wired like a house. Travel trailers, RVs and boats are another thing all together and the NEC doesn't apply.
Fwiw, with romex, I really like the FRP boxes.
Fwiw, with romex, I really like the FRP boxes.
Plastic will not corrode as easily as metal, but heat may cause fast degradation.
Depends on the environment. And reasonable wall thickness, and proper plastic material, many types exist.
I would prefer it to metal as there is less risk of electrocution in damp or otherwise conditions.
As for the switch, it seems we in India are not the only ones struggling with cheap junk.
Depends on the environment. And reasonable wall thickness, and proper plastic material, many types exist.
I would prefer it to metal as there is less risk of electrocution in damp or otherwise conditions.
As for the switch, it seems we in India are not the only ones struggling with cheap junk.