How to fix Denon DCD-1520 cd player?

wsjoe

Well-Known Member
A friend of mine gave me his Denon DCD-1520 cd player. It's a well constructed good cd player weighin about 20lbs which is unheard of these newer cd/dvd players. The tray opens and pop a CD and it starts spinning but stops immediately. I tried with new and old cd's and same problem.

I tried blowing some canned air near the lens but not directly . Same result.

What could be wrong?

Where do I begin?

wsjoe
 
I don't know, there are plenty of good cdp these days, mine weighs 65lbs. This is one area of audio that vast improvements have been and are being made over cdp's of even 5 years ago. Yours dates from 1989, so you might want to consider that before putting any time or money into it.
 
some of the Denons from that period sound excellent. It's worth a shot.
First, turn the unit over and see if there is a locking mechanism on the bottom for the laser, it could be locked.
If not, Open the cover and then open the drawer. Look at the CD mechanism.
Put in a CD and push play. does the CD spin? If so, the laser is probably good.
See comments about cleaning.
If not, try turning the CD with your finger right after the drawer closes. Does it spin? If so the disc motor is bad. If not, the laser is probably bad.
Does it have a gear to move the laser back and forth? If so, look at the laser. there will be a small pc board on the laser assembly with a sticker on it with a part number, Either KSS150 or KSS152. which is it?
If there is no gear, turn the power off and gently try to move the pickup back and forth. It should move with very little effort. If it moves and locks up or snags the two polished metal rails the laser slides on must be meticulously cleaned with alcohol and a q tip until nothing comes off. Then you need to apply a very thin layer of Lubriplate to each rail and slide the laser back and forth to spread the lubricant. that may fix it.
 
Thank You!!! Laser Was Locked!!!

Dr. Audio,

Thank you!

I did not even know this one had a lock feature. It was locked. It's a very smooth and warm sounding cd player. Rock solic. I appreciate very much for guiding me.

As far as DAC's, have you tried modding the DAC's and replacing caps for even better sound. DAC's have evolved alot since then. THis is a 1988 model, so 17 years is alot.

I hear people replacing it with Burr-Brown dacs.

Any recommendations?
 
Congrats

I got that player when it came out and I think I paid around $400 new--in 1989 dollars.

I remember auditioning it against probably 15 other players and there was no comparison.
 
Dcd-1560?

I've got a Denon DCD-1560 that functions perfectly up until it is actually time to play the track.
The laser will pick up the # of tracks, and how long the cd is but when I select the track I want to play, it just sits there indefinitely at the selected track.
Obviously the laser is working to get the cd info and the disc is spinning so the motor is good.

Anyone hazard a guess as to what ails my 1560?

Tal
 
Does it do this on other discs?

If so clean the lens first.

If not clean the disc or replace it.

If this does not do it, ponder the expence of of having it professionally repaired and go from there. Of course somebody here will rescue you but I do not know ICs resistors and such well enough to say any more. Good luck.
 
wsjoe said:
Dr. Audio,

.

As far as DAC's, have you tried modding the DAC's and replacing caps for even better sound. DAC's have evolved alot since then. THis is a 1988 model, so 17 years is alot.

I hear people replacing it with Burr-Brown dacs.

Any recommendations?

Good to hear you like that player as well. These things put anything else I saw or heard to shame as well..when I bought my new one back then. As for dacs..these players do have Burr-Browns in them stock. Hand trimmed by Denon on this model and the top dog DCD 3520..I doubt that any dac mod would do much good.

Just play it :banana:
 
I have a DCD-1530 and I think you would be hard pressed to find a CD player made today that sounds better. No mods required!
As to the 1560,
1. Check the lock.
2. See the notes about cleaning in my previous post. Players that have a linear motor to move the laser over the CD instead of gears, need to have the machined posts they slide on meticulously clean or they will stick in one place. If it reads the TOC (table of contents) the laser and the disc motor are probably good. That leaves the sled motor or the posts. Some players have a motor and a belt to move the laser. the belt can be bad.
 
dr*audio,

Even though it's working great, we audiofanatics always want more. So I opened it again to see what laser pickup and DAC's it has.

KSS-151A for laser pickup
PCM54P for dac
There were several sony chips, one of them being:
CXA11882

I read that PCM54KP is a direct replacement that improves the sound. They also talk about replacing some opamps but at this time, don't know which ones.

Do you have have a schematics for this guy?
 
I don't have a schematic but the Opamps are gonna be the only 8 pin dip ICs in there, located near the output jacks. If they are NE5532, I recommend replacing them. I like LM833 opamps, available from both MCM and Digikey for $2.00 or so. Other people will have other favorite opamps. You can buy dip sockets and then you can just plug in different replacements and see what you like.
The KSS151 is the special laser. You have a linear motor to move the laser. Keep the sliders clean and lubed. The KSS151 is expensive and rare. If you want to keep the player you might want to buy an extra laser while they're still available. I think they're $150 or so! The Denon I have has a cheap laser in it, the KSS150A. I can get one for $25! The electronics appear to be the same as the KSS1520, cause the specs and features are identical. I think they saved a few bucks on the transport.
 
I have a problem along the same lines, except with a Pioneer PD-71 cd player I just bought off the ebay.
The "lock" on the bottom is unlocked.

It reads the cds, most of the time, but sometimes jumps to different times in the track when playing.

How do I "clean the lens?" is this a cover off procedure.?

Any tips before I take the cover off and snoop, or should I take it to a shop and have them fix it.(is that a viable/reasonable idea?)
 
You do it with a CLEANING CD. Many have audio tracks to guide you throught the cleaning process. When the messages are absolutely skip free and play clearly, the brushes have done the job. You might even find them in a dollar store, and they worked for three of my disc players (and for DVD too). No disassembly at all nor would I recommend such a thing as you will probably screw the thing up.

Less than ten bucks, sold all over. If that doesn't do it it needs alignment or better isolation from vibration (and that last one is more likely that you think).
 
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Actually, I doubt it's dust on the lens. It sounds like the motor that moves the laser is bad. That's why it keeps sticking in one place, playing a bit and jumping back. the laser isn't advancing. No Pioneer I know of uses a linear motor so cleaning the rails won't fix it. It needs a sled motor.
 
so those laser(lens) cleaners really work?
cool, I will look for one.

if the motor is bad, is it possible it would play a whole cd occasionally?
I have a jazz cd in there now,(that seems to be going) that is playing, so I set it on repeat, so I am hoping if there was any "sticking", the constant moving would "work" it in.
 
Yes, the motors for the sled operate on a very low voltage, so what happens is they get a bad spot on the commutator and it takes more voltage to get them to move, but the player only wants to put out .3 - .7V or so. Sometimes the motor will work and sometimes not. Eventually it won't work at all. Sometimes you can inject some contact cleaner into the back of the motor and it will clean the brushes and commutator, and it will work for awhile.
 
Be sure to check that the little black belt that drives the laser positioner mechanism is present and in good condition. I've used rubber bands in a pinch and even that works well.

As for mods around the DAC chips, if you like vacuum tubes, take a look
at my web page http://pw2.netcom.com/~wa2ise/radios/tubedac.htm#tubedac
I modified an older Denon DCD590 CD player with a pair of dual triode tubes and it sounds good. It has two separate DAC chips, left and right. Does your machine have two DAC chips, or are they using one DAC for both left and right, and using analog processing to split apart the left and right channels? The PCM54 does have a current output (pin 23) that can be split off from the op-amp inside the DAC chip. Disconnect pin 23 from pin 21 (op amp input) and disconnect pin 20 (internal feedback resistor that goes to pin 23) from pin 19 (op-amp output).
 
yep, just heard from Natural Sound, the laser in that cd player (Pioneer PD-71) is toast.
looks like ebay bit me.
kind of takes the fun out of it.
 
I just bought a used DCD-1520 for $25, could not pass it up at that price. Came with the box, remote and manual in excellent condition. Of course there is a problem.....the infamous drawer not closing all the way. I tried replacing the top belt with a generic belt purchased at an electronics store, but that did not work. I'm thinking about ordering a player specific belt and maybe a new tray motor from The Parts Store.

Can anyone give me tips or pics of how to replace the motor?

Thanks much.
 
1520 belts

There are two belts, long and skinny and short and fat. You need to replace both of them. Sometimes, you might want to clean the grooves of pulleys with qtip and alcohol or something.

You can go to www.pacparts.com or the part store you mentioned. Those are about $3-4 a piece.

Finally, clean off all the old lubricant and put a thin layer of white lithium grease. You need a little more than paper thin layer for a good layer of lubricant. You put too much and the drawer will no work very well.

The motor is usually good. I have owned more than 30 of DCD-1520 to DCD-3560 and never seen one with a bad drawer motor.

wsjoe
 
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