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What do i do when it dies?

MeatInStereo

MeatInStereo

Can outrun 80% of snakes
My Marantz SA-1 is built like a tank is is in mint condition and works perfectly....but one day that laser is going to die....do they still make replacements for older models?
 
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If you like the unit find the laser NOW. My Denon DCD 3560 uses a laser that is now unobtainium, meaning there are none. Unless I buy a working unit and cannibalize it for parts. I have a spare, but funny this is ONE thing they do not tell you about CDP's: lasers die. Makes me wonder about all the high end players they sell today. At the cost you would think they would include a laser for longevity. But no.
 
I'm considering myself pretty lucky: my CDM 12.1/VAM 1201 laser's dying in my Marantz CD-46, and it's from 1997. Yesterday I found brand new ones at MCM for just $15, the entire transport for $29.

According to this list of DACs and transports
http://www.marantzphilips.nl/the_complete_d_a_dac_converter_list/
The Marantz SA-1 and the Philips CDV496 used a CDM-10 transport... which at this point is about 10 years old. I can't find one in my searching.
I've read that many of the Philips/Marantz transports from the 1990's are pretty bad... anyone remember the lousy CD-ROM and CD-RW computer drives? Rumor has it that since D&M bought Marantz, they've switched to Sony transports.

I'd be contacting Marantz for parts or service: http://us.marantz.com/Contact-us.asp

Tom
 
blackfly said:
If you like the unit find the laser NOW. My Denon DCD 3560 uses a laser that is now unobtainium, meaning there are none. Unless I buy a working unit and cannibalize it for parts. I have a spare, but funny this is ONE thing they do not tell you about CDP's: lasers die. Makes me wonder about all the high end players they sell today. At the cost you would think they would include a laser for longevity. But no.
Click to expand...

A lot of these units with failing lasers are ~20 years old, or more. You didn't really think they'd last forever, eh?

BTW, I have a DCD-1560, and a spare, brand new, still in the box KSS-151A. I shoulda bought more had I known...
 
blackfly said:
... but funny this is ONE thing they do not tell you about CDP's: lasers die. Makes me wonder about all the high end players they sell today. At the cost you would think they would include a laser for longevity. But no.
Click to expand...

Yeah that happens eventually. I wonder if the current generation of CD players will last any longer, it's too early to tell.

I would definitely be seriously ticked off if I'd dropped thousands or tens of thousands on a CD player or transport and there was no way to replace the laser when it died. Someone here on AK actually mentioned that to me a while back. He had one of those super-expensive Esoteric transports, bought it used, then it died, and Esoteric said they couldn't help him.
 
MeatInStereo said:
Mine is about 10 years old but it sat for 8 years in the box....does that give me some hope?
Click to expand...

You'll be fine with it. I think you need to relax and listen to your system. You are over thinking everything. I do it sometimes too and really its just a big waste of energy. Enjoy your system its not going to blow up on you! If it does then get something else.
 
Mr. Lin said:
I would definitely be seriously ticked off if I'd dropped thousands or tens of thousands on a CD player or transport and there was no way to replace the laser when it died.
Click to expand...

You would be utterly foolish to spend that kind of money on this technology given the quality of the media and its longevity not to mention it 's just not worth that kind of cash!
 
I don't see it foolish at all....its your money you can do as you please with it.

My cd player is 10 years old and I bought an Arcam CD17 for a grand and it couldn't compete at all with the Marantz IMO. The Marantz Sa-1 came out with a price of $7800. To me a TOTL quality player a few years back will beat a newer high end player most of the time. The Marantz is great cause i enjoy the CD playback but the SACD is the cherry on top.

I don't see myself buying anything but hybrid cd's because I know one day this player will die and I may or may not find a laser to replace it and my next player may not be an SACD. Hopefully i don't have to worry about this for 20 years :D
 
As a collector of "vintage" cd players, I do want to add that usually other components fail in a CDP before the laser. Not saying lasers don't fail, but often what is thought to be a failed laser is something else.
 
I don't think people buy expensive CDP's to not be able to use them for years. I did not know high end audio was disposable. Related another way, do you think anyone would buy a high end turntable only to find out they can no longer get a cartridge for it years later? Didn't think so.

In my opinion the reason I am so insistent on older players is the fact the transports are MARKEDLY better in construction, robustness and longevity, which matters when you are going to get something to last for years. I agree a new laser gives about another 20 years to the player, but this is something I think most DO NOT know, and it is a shame. Think of all the high end players that no longer have lasers for them that now are junk, simply due to a lack of lasers, not because they sound bad.

And I think it foolish to think the CDP is done, OLD TECH. For one, my CD collection is large, and all are in new shape. What do you think is going to happen, I am going to throw them out? As long as I have a player, they will remain viable, and with a new modern DAC I can use ANY digital feed. This is to say nothing of the fact the current DAC in my CDP is tremendous, providing me reference quality sound from a player that is 20 years old. Not bad at all. Definitely worth keeping around at least.
 
blackfly said:
And I think it foolish to think the CDP is done, OLD TECH.
Click to expand...

I don't think it is done. I am saying it's foolish to spend mega thousands on players is all while everyone seems to be saying the format is dead. Thats all I seem to be hearing lately!

I love my CD's and my players and would really like to buy another.
 
Mr. Lin said:
Yeah that happens eventually. I wonder if the current generation of CD players will last any longer, it's too early to tell.

I would definitely be seriously ticked off if I'd dropped thousands or tens of thousands on a CD player or transport and there was no way to replace the laser when it died. Someone here on AK actually mentioned that to me a while back. He had one of those super-expensive Esoteric transports, bought it used, then it died, and Esoteric said they couldn't help him.
Click to expand...

It has been my experience that the new lasers do not last as long as the ones in the older units. Probably due to cost cutting measures. The esoteric companies, AFAIK, do not make their own laser pickups or transports. So a smart move no matter what kind of player you have, is to find out who made the pickup and buy a spare. I have a wonderful Onkyo Integra DX-5700 that is a doorstop now because I didn't buy a laser when I could.:sigh:
 
Old_Tech said:
while everyone seems to be saying the format is dead.
Click to expand...

There are some people in the business that have a different opinion on this. For example, this seems not to be the case in the classical music market. Here there is an extract from an interview to the classical music label Naxos founder published in Gramophone (Naxos is one of the most active labels):

Gramophone: Describe the challenges the rapid growth of online music has posed you.

Klaus Heymann: We have to be quite clear about the fact that there will be the CD – or a physical carrier – for many more years to come. The classical CD is not declining at the same rate as pop or rock. This year, if we look at various territories for the first four or five months, it’s actually pretty stable – some are down, some are up, but on average I think CDs this year will be the same as in 2009. We don’t have that rapid decline.

G: How would you explain that – is it the collecting aspect connected to classical music?

KH: I think we are basically down to the core collector. And I think that’s at a stable level. Any changes in sales are more due to repertoire, or one-offs – like in Japan, where Harmonia Mundi sold 100,000 copies of Nobuyuki Tsujii [pianist, and Gold Medal winner of the Van Cliburn Competition]. These kind of things can change it dramatically. But by and large I think we’ve now found a fairly stable market for physical product. Beyond that of course we all look at where will it happen online – what is there beyond the physical business? And it looks like downloads will not be it.

Source: http://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature...ce=ADESTRA&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_content=Click
 
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The Philips CDM-0 and CDM-1 based mechanisms are the longest lasting lasers, period. I have 27 year old decks that still test perfect on the output. And play just as well.

Anything else, buy a spare laser while you can.

Marc
 
Tinman said:
The Philips CDM-0 and CDM-1 based mechanisms are the longest lasting lasers, period. I have 27 year old decks that still test perfect on the output. And play just as well.

Anything else, buy a spare laser while you can.

Marc
Click to expand...

I wonder if my CDB-650 has one of these? It has run perfectly for 22 years now.
 
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