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Do these contraptions work effectively?
Can they be used with an SACD player?
Can they damage the machine?
What brand would you recommend?
Thanks.
Follow Ups:
Can't imagine using any aerosol cleaner on and optical lens.
We're not talking End Dust here. Dust Off is canned air. Even canned air has a high probability of releasing things other than air when would be highly detrimental to optics. The other problem is that canned air only has about 1/4 the force of even a cheap air compressor.
The air cans I've used over the years always has moisture content in it and leaves a visible residue.
I have a compressor but it is snot equipped with a dryer. Will it do?
I used to use one many, many years ago. It worked well, but eventually knocked the lens out of alignment.
Jack
CD lens cleaners are only slightly more useful than DVD rewinders. They are basically discs that contain a small brush and a TOC that directs the optical drive to put the laser where the brush is. Sounds great in theory, but in practice it is very unlikely to solve any read issues.
When a music/movie disc is spinning over the lens(often in excess of 1000 rpms) a small breeze is created that keeps the top of the lens pretty much free of small particles anyway. If the device is being used in a high dust area the particles will be swept into the mirrors and lenses inside the optical pickup block where no cleaning disc can reach. The only issue that cleaning would ever really fix is when just the top of the lens is dirty from being smoked around. A cleaning disc may help slightly, but is far from optimal. Think cleaning dirty glasses with a hair brush.
99% of the time, the drive will require disassembly and possible replacement of parts once it starts having read issues.
Well Sony Canada wants $675 for that, payable in advance and with no adjustment if such replacement was not required. And I am simply lucky since they don't repair components more than five years old...
Seems ludicrous to me that all that is offered is the swapping out of a central system in the unit with no real diagnosis or attempt to see if something less radical and expensive would fix the issue.
Well I tried three other discs yesterday (an XRCD, a two channel only SACD and a hybrid multi-channel one on two channel) and everything played properly.
So I don't know at this stage how serious the problem is and if it is just an issue with a few discs or not.
So, basically, am I to understand that top of the line players are no better built and reliable than much cheaper models?
Can a qualified independent technician simply not open up the player and clean out the transport and reader assembly for a decent price to see if that fixes the issue?
Can an owner do this with a blast of air from an aerosol without risking damage to the unit?
Thanks!
I open up the CD player and use an alcohol soaked cotton swab ( q-tip) to wipe the lens clean. You can find them in any pharmacists shelf, or ask your doctor for a spare.
Sony CD players (and others of similar design) suffer from their magnetic chuck. The continuous slamming of the chuck against the CD turntable eventually drives the TT a bit lower and out of focus for the laser lens assembly. Careful examination of the CD TT shows that it is a plastic piece press fitted to the motor spindle. Gently prying the TT upward just a wee bit normally works well to insure the disc is in range of the focus motor's range.
Of course being a 15 minute repair, most stations would rather charge you significantly more by changing out the transport. Sony Laser mechanisms have been one the longest lasting I have ever worked upon. HK used them and I have units in the field for close to 20 years now.
of course, YMMV
Stu
That is very usefull information!
Dave
With a computer audio system based on a desktop machine one can swap out the drive in a few minutes at a parts cost of under $30.00. On my Acer machine no tools were needed for this repair. As it turns out the inexpensive drive does a better job of reading scratched disks than any of the original drives on my other computers. (They all have no problem with the vast majority of disks.) Laptops are a bit harder to work due to their compact packaging.
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
Ask PS3 owners or anyone that had a Sony portable CD player during the 80's about the reliability of Sony's lasers and you are likely to hear a different story. I have replaced enough PS3 lasers to fill a 50 gallon bucket. None of them were just dirty or in need of adjustment.
It depends on how adventurous you are. Most players have a metal top that can be removed with 4-8 screws. There may be a few more screws to remove to expose the laser. If you have access to a compressor you can blow out the laser to remove small particles inside. Canned air can be dicey due to the probability of creating frost which will kill the laser for sure. The top surface of the laser can be cleaned by using a Q-Tip soaked with diluted window cleaner(not dripping) followed by 2 dry Q-Tips. Alcohol may damage the coating that is used on some lenses.
You would also want to make sure that the sled that the laser moves back and fourth on is clean and well lubricated. If the current lubricant is dirty or nonexistent, new white lithium grease should be added. If your read issues are intermittent this could indicate an issue with the sled mechanism rather than the laser its self. A hair in the wrong place could be causing trouble.
If none of this helps, you may simply need a new laser and or a new platter. If I can get the model number of your player I can probably give you more specific information on replacing the laser/platter including a source for the parts and maybe even a step by step teardown.
I will surely attempt to clean the lens. I was thinking of using Dust Off. Are you sure this stuff could be dangerous for the laser?
I guess it will probably look obvious as to where the lubricant goes once I take the cover off the player. I will go to an electronic equipment store tomorrow to get the suggested grease.
You make a distinction between the laser and the platter and indicate it could be one or the other or both. I will try to find a schematic or picture of these assemblies, but could you, in a few words, tell me what's what between these two?
I really appreciate your help.
Thanks.
Regards.
I would not actually buy anything until you get a look inside the player. The Dust Off might work, but you have to be sure that you can spray just air without releasing any of the propellant(not easy to do on some brands that I have tried)
The platter/transport is the entire playback assembly that the laser is part of which houses the turn disc and worm/ sled motors. In most players it is assembled into a metal substrate with soft rubber grommets in the corners and held in with 4 screws.
A model number on the player would be really useful to provide more specific info.
DO NOT use dustoff on optics.
Test: Spray some on a clear glass or a mirror. Look at the residue. BAD.
Too much is never enough
I use some lense cleaner I bought at Ritz Camera. I it even says on the packaging that it is good for cleaning CD and DVD player lenses. It seems to work fine.
Dave
Sorry, it is a Sony XA9000 ES, manufactured SKZ August 2005.
Wow! This unit is far and away more complex than what I was describing. I did find a service manual that describes how to remove the transport, but I had no luck finding a replacement transport. That and the procedure is not the sort of thing that a novice would want to mess with.
Apparently this model is known for reliability issues. So much so that some modders refused to work on it for fear that it would break and they would be blamed. You were able to get almost 7 years out of a player that for some broke within the first year of ownership. I would say you did good, but it may be time to move on.
Yup. I downloaded the service manual also and just a few minutes convinced me that this is not an easy task. Actually the player was stored for three years when we moved. So it is more like four years of limited use.
It is such a nicely made machine, it weighs a ton, the case is a complex affair with a copper bottom all in order to reduce vibration.
I don't think anything with this build quality is available today, not from Sony at least.
I hope the machine was just having some hiccups, as the thought of forking over $675 to have it repaired simply floors me.
I agree, going in there is not for the faint of heart, or at least not for a technically challenged person like me.
Well thanks for the help, and ain't Sony grand for spending all the money and effort on new technology that bests competing technologies quality-wise, but simply does not get enough sales and then is dropped or fades away.
Right now the machine is playing a Red Book CD of a Coleman Hawkins recording without any issues.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that it continues that way for a good while yet!
Thanks!
Hi all ! If you tell us the make and model we can look up the transport in your player . When you have reading problems it is probably better to replace the whole transport . Sometimes the motor doesnt spin the cd at exactly the correct speed which cause reading issues as well as a weak laser. I replaced the transport in my Cary and it was very easy , not all are though .
It is a Sony XA9000 ES, manufactured SKZ August 2005.
I will probably pop the hood at one point and see what I can clean before going with a replacement mechanism.
Let me know what you can come up with.
I really appreciate your help.
Thanks.
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