Well here are the results after reassembly.
All seemed well, playing various discs including cdr. Great, got it cracked I thought! No, apparently not!
Put in an original CD, TOC read quickly, start to play 1st track, a few seconds in it starts to skip. OK I thought I'll try other tracks further towards the outer edge of the disc. All of these played fine.
Put the same disc into another player and first track played like new. Now I'm puzzled!
Could this mean that the first track on this particular disc is challenging a weakening laser/mech which is not being a problem in the other player in which the laser/mech is in better condition?
All seemed well, playing various discs including cdr. Great, got it cracked I thought! No, apparently not!
Put in an original CD, TOC read quickly, start to play 1st track, a few seconds in it starts to skip. OK I thought I'll try other tracks further towards the outer edge of the disc. All of these played fine.
Put the same disc into another player and first track played like new. Now I'm puzzled!
Could this mean that the first track on this particular disc is challenging a weakening laser/mech which is not being a problem in the other player in which the laser/mech is in better condition?
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Its hard to say without you doing basic checks on the amplitude and quality of the RF signal. That tells us so much about what is happening.
It is very very rare to have a pressed (commercial) CD that is out of spec or has play-ability issues although some older discs can have reflectivity problems giving low output, again pretty rare. Players with a good pickup and with the mechanism in good order are remarkably tolerant of electrical misalignment. When things start getting critical adjustment wise is often a sign of problems.
Skipping at the same point in the sleds travel suggests mechanical issues.
(yes, polishing CD's helps keep them dust free)
It is very very rare to have a pressed (commercial) CD that is out of spec or has play-ability issues although some older discs can have reflectivity problems giving low output, again pretty rare. Players with a good pickup and with the mechanism in good order are remarkably tolerant of electrical misalignment. When things start getting critical adjustment wise is often a sign of problems.
Skipping at the same point in the sleds travel suggests mechanical issues.
(yes, polishing CD's helps keep them dust free)
I have just made a copy of the offending CD. The copy works fine in the X-Ray. I assume this is either because the copy machine read the original disc as well as the other player OR this is checksum working. None the less I would still like to know why the X-Ray trips up when the marantz (other player) doesn't. Could it be an awkward disc that is showing up a weakness in an ageing laser assembly?
I have found what I believe to be an original new laser assembly online as it has the brass/bronze bushes whereas it looks like the generic ones even at CPC Farnell are just plastic.
Copy disc is a CDR.
I have found what I believe to be an original new laser assembly online as it has the brass/bronze bushes whereas it looks like the generic ones even at CPC Farnell are just plastic.
Copy disc is a CDR.
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Thank you very much for your input Mooly.
I know it isn't a great way to go about it but I think I will fit the new assembly when it arrives. The way I'm justifying it to myself is that even if it is not the source of the problem, I will have a spare and won't be caught without if needed. I have a Teac VRDS 10 and can't find a KSS151a anywhere which is a REAL shame as it should be a fantastic CDP. I wish I bought one when they were still available, I don't want to be in the same position with the X-Ray.
I have no scope but it is something I would like to get and learn to use in the future. I have seen several scopes from Rigol, Hantek and the like. What would be a good spec list to aim for for this kind of hifi/audio repair? Is it worth buying one with a function generator built in for instance?
I know it isn't a great way to go about it but I think I will fit the new assembly when it arrives. The way I'm justifying it to myself is that even if it is not the source of the problem, I will have a spare and won't be caught without if needed. I have a Teac VRDS 10 and can't find a KSS151a anywhere which is a REAL shame as it should be a fantastic CDP. I wish I bought one when they were still available, I don't want to be in the same position with the X-Ray.
I have no scope but it is something I would like to get and learn to use in the future. I have seen several scopes from Rigol, Hantek and the like. What would be a good spec list to aim for for this kind of hifi/audio repair? Is it worth buying one with a function generator built in for instance?
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I'd probably suggest you go for a good analogue scope initially. Something with at least 30MHz bandwidth. It really depends on your budget and whether you want to buy new or not.
If you just want to try a cheap scope then analogue gets you much much further along than digital. Looking at the RF in a CD player is a piece of cake for an analogue scope, even a very modest one whereas you need a very highly specified digital scope to display the complex waveform accurately and without digital artefacts.
If you just want to try a cheap scope then analogue gets you much much further along than digital. Looking at the RF in a CD player is a piece of cake for an analogue scope, even a very modest one whereas you need a very highly specified digital scope to display the complex waveform accurately and without digital artefacts.
Just a little input,
Using washing up liquid on cars is mainly bad for stripping the wax off your vehicle rather than scratching it. Many people use it for cleaning CD's and not heard of any problems
Some automotive silicone sprays from trade supplies have 100% silicone, Autosmart being one. It's funny as I've used them before, as with glass polish/cream with good results with them both.
I've noticed some use Mr Sheen on the top of CD's to make them anti-static to apparently enhance sound quality
Using washing up liquid on cars is mainly bad for stripping the wax off your vehicle rather than scratching it. Many people use it for cleaning CD's and not heard of any problems
Some automotive silicone sprays from trade supplies have 100% silicone, Autosmart being one. It's funny as I've used them before, as with glass polish/cream with good results with them both.
I've noticed some use Mr Sheen on the top of CD's to make them anti-static to apparently enhance sound quality
Back again.
I managed to find an (what I believe to be) genuine sony KSS-240a with the brass/bronze bushes.
Fitted. The problem disc is no longer a problem. So I decided to give it another potentially awkward test. Fail in X-Ray, plays fine in Marantz CD67SE.
Are some laser mechs better at reading than others. Im assuming the Marantz uses Phillips parts as opposed to the Musical Fidelity's Sony.
I managed to find an (what I believe to be) genuine sony KSS-240a with the brass/bronze bushes.
Fitted. The problem disc is no longer a problem. So I decided to give it another potentially awkward test. Fail in X-Ray, plays fine in Marantz CD67SE.
Are some laser mechs better at reading than others. Im assuming the Marantz uses Phillips parts as opposed to the Musical Fidelity's Sony.
Ah, thanks. Big and bulky but more tolerant vs not so much. Quite large differences. Interesting how the two manufacturers use lasers very different to each other.
Thanks for the link.
As if to illustrate the point, the X-Ray has just won through where the CD67SE failed. It played a cd without fault that the Marantz couldn't play through and even stalled.
I guess they both are good at overcoming different types of damage. I don't think the Sony mech is as good as the Philips at playing through radial damage for instance.
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