Repairing older CD Players??

[bergun]

OK, I own several mid to late 80s CD players that are not functioning at this point due to various issues, I was wondering if they would be worth saving.

I have the following CD players;

A) Akai's first CD player, vert. front loading, Model ??
B) Yamaha CD-2
C) Yamaha CD-3
D) Yamaha CD-2000
E) Yahama CD-X1110
F) DBX DBX-5

On most of them, the lasers are bad or simply burnt-out and there are drawer issues since many of them will not open. Since these are at or over 20-25 y/o, can a newer quality laser be used in place of the original ones? I really don't want to trash them, but if the chances of getting them up and running is not realistic, I need to lighten my load of junk since I'll be moving from Alaska back to the Seattle area within the next 18 months.

One of my main hobbies in retirement will be maintaning my three vintage 2-channel systems, as well as a newer home theater system as well.

Thanks for looking!!

 

[dr*audio]

You can't retrofit a newer, but different laser in place of an old one. Theoretically it is possible but it requires a lot of work, mostly mechanical adaptation, and making a new wire harness. The Yamaha players are worth salvaging if you can get a replacement laser for $60 or less. I say this because you can buy a newer player on the used market that will sound as good or better and has a Sony KSS210A, KSS240A or KSS330 laser that can be replaced for $20. Denon and Onkyo made many great sounding CD players that only need upgrade of the opamps to sound as good as a high end modern player.

 

[FauxHall]

I've got a NAD 5100 CD player that looks sharp and plenty of bells and whistles, including a remote.

But of course, the laser is going out on it. Everything else seems to work fine. My tech doesn't think much of repairing it but I'd love a second opinion.

 

[Tinman]

I have repaired many very old CDP's. It's not always automatically the laser.
I have also done the AKAI which is actually a Kyocera. But they are fickle machines at best and usually not used as daily drivers.

I am willing to give any CDP a shot, but sometimes it's not worth the shipping both ways on top of a repair. For collectors only, most of the time.

Marc

 

[dr*audio]

I've got a NAD 5100 CD player that looks sharp and plenty of bells and whistles, including a remote.

But of course, the laser is going out on it. Everything else seems to work fine. My tech doesn't think much of repairing it but I'd love a second opinion.

This website allows you to look up the laser pickup and DAC for pretty much any CD player made.
http://vintage-audio-laser.com/DAC-liste-lettre-A

Looks like this player used a Hitachi MLP-10 pickup. I don't think you will be able to buy one for a reasonable price.
As Tinman said, it isn't always the laser. for a troubleshooting guide, go here:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=440522

 

[icarus44]

I hope it's okay to post on this old thread. I recently picked up a super clean CDP-45. I like its 1986 aesthetic and it works well except for one difficult problem.

The arm that comes down to latch against the cd does not go down or up to eject. If I gently nudge it then the cd plays fine. Getting it back up means asking for an eject and nudging the entire tray assembly forward.

As far as I can tell there's only two motors, the tray and the cd motor. I can't find how the arm is actuated visually cause the whole assembly is snapped together and I don't want to take it apart completely and risk breaking a clip. I believe that maybe the tray motor is supposed to pull back to release and latch the arm but it seems to move the tray nicely. When it tries to put the arm down or up there's a mechanical whine for a bit before it gives up. I can't tell if it's coming from the tray motor even while holding the whole assembly sideways next to my ear.

I'm new to tinkering with these players. This one seems to be very clean and in mostly good working condition. Does anyone know how to repair the issue with the arm?

 

[qpagoda]

I think you'll be more likely to get help if you start a new thread with the brand and model number in the title. A lot of members won't read too far into a thread that is already 3 years old. Plus those who are familiar with your machine won't know there is a question about it since it is not described in the thread title.

Try either this forum (Solid State) or the Modern HIFI forum. Navigate to the landing page for that forum. Toward the bottom, below the list of active threads, on the left side there is a "New Thread" button.

Be sure to visit the Introductions forum and introduce yourself, too.

Welcome to AK.

 

[CharlieBee]

Replacement CD players can be had for very little. Thousands of folks are dumping cds and cd players and going to music on phones, I pads etc. that must suit them just fine.
I find 5 disc cd players for less than $10 all the time and just about any brand. I just bought two Kenwoods for $3 each, one with remote, in the last two weekends at garage sales.

It is not worth my time or money repairing them.

Charlie