Denon DCD-1700 intermittent skipping

[davstev]

Hi all,

Picked up a nice player- the DCD-1700, for cheap. It's an 80's beaut: very nicely made, heavy, and sounds great.

Problem is, over the first couple of tracks on any CD, it'll skip ahead. Track 1, it skips almost right away to the middle of the song. Track 2, pretty much the same. Things seem to improve with each track, later tracks don't skip at all.

Any idea what this might be? What causes skipping on a CD player when the CD is in perfect condition?

 

[4really]

You may need to adjust the laser focus~

 

[benricci]

It was a great player, and aesthetically very nice for its day. But keep in mind it's coming up on 35 years old -- I wouldn't be surprised if the laser assembly needed a little adjustment or replacement after 3+ decades of use.

Getting 40 years of flawless service out of these old units is asking a lot. Not saying it can't be done, but it shouldn't come as a surprise that these old players are starting to skip and show signs of needing service.

 

[cpt_paranoia]

Clean the laser optics

Check the head assy guide rails (clean & lube).

Check out the CD problem sticky threads in this subforum. Especially this one on the DCD1500...

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/solved-denon-dcd-1500-ii-disc-not-reading.354435/

And this one:

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/troubleshooting-cd-players.440522/

 

[duncan]

What causes skipping on a CD player when the CD is in perfect condition?

There can be lots of possibilities, but you noticed a great clue that could narrow it down - because what's different about playing the first tracks of a disc compared to the later tracks? Different areas of the guide rails are being used by the laser pickup, and the spindle motor is being asked to run at a faster speed. Everything else in the process should be pretty much constant.