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At last... (Audiolab) - part II

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TimR,

Certainly it takes time form power-up for electronics to reach optimal SQ performance - anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour in my experience - cold electronics tend to sound "cold and hard". Apart from OPS biasing I believe it’s the E-Caps that are happier when they are warm - atleast their ESR drops and becomes "Flatter" across the audio band.

I tend to leave my CD player pwered on all the time - unless I'm leaving for a trip...
 
GWM,

Sorry QDAC does not have 12V trigger, it’s designed for "PC type environments" rather then a full blown home system – DQ has the 12V triggers.

I cannot comment either way about iPod support for QDAC as Apple has a policy of strictly enforcing any public disclosure about products before they are approved under there MFI (Made For iPod) approval process – so sorry “No Comment” :(
 
lindasbum said:
Dude!!! You're scaring me now.

Hope the first batch aren't bugged up????

:-(( Panic !!!!!!

That's cos £900 is a fortune to the unemployed qnd this is the first new bit I've bought in ten years.

Ok so I'm a wimpy twat.
Click to expand...

Hi lindasbum

So do we!!!

The CD section of the 8200CDQ is the same as the 8200CD, and the 8200CD reliability has been pretty good todate - but you will always get a few Pcs. that let the side down... typically 5% which sounds high - but that's the nature of CD players with Laser optics I'm afraid.

If you compare to a product without CD Mech - then you’re looking at 0.5% to 1% failure rate as typical numbers.
 
lindasbum said:
Cheers John!

I always flap before spending money. Especially whenit's spent but the goodies haven't arrived.

I'm quite surprised at that failure rate. Considering the enormous numbers sold it seems a bit odd that a relatively foolproof disc system hasn't been proffered by someone.
Click to expand...


Its not high, electromechanical systems are almost always more unreliable than pure electronics. It would be possible to make them more reliable but if it added 200UKP to the cost, not enough people would be prepared to pay it.
 
lindasbum,

I can fully understand - no problem :)

If anything, moneys been spent to design "cheaper" optics not more reliable / longer lasting. The OPU blocks have become commodity items.

In every laptop I own, the CD / DVD drive has failed or has gotten troublesome...

I hate to say this - but from experience 5% reliability for CD players is rather good.

If a Lasers going to fail, it will fail in the first 3 months - otherwise there's a very good chance it will be good for the next 5 years. Semiconductor lasers are very sensitive and flakey beasts.
 
Lindasbum,

Yes, from a reliability perspective it’s going to be the OPU that’s the lowest common denominator - as you say...
 
Hi John,

After the eject and loading, the CD plays OK overnight.

I have been using the same CD to burn in the CDQ overnight so far and only encountered the reading error yesterday.

Just returned from overseas though. So the CDQ is powered off while I am away.

Before that, I have been doing the burn in overnight without any issues.

Room temperature is constant. I only turn on the aircon before I go to bed. So it should not be affected by the room temperature.

But as mentioned, the CDQ gets quite hot (top casing) when used for some time. Maybe that is the cause of the reading error.

I will monitor it and feedback if I do encounter any reading error again.

Thanks,
CS.
 
Hi CS,

You should not need to worry about room temperature to such a degree - so don’t worry about the Aircon etc - that’s a normal temperature variation.

Yes - CDQ gets warm on the top of the case - that’s the result of x20 Class A stages!!!

I would also not worry too much about an occasional read error - you can never tell the condition of a CD - only if it has read errors with new discs or many discs etc.

I have CD's that play on some brand of machines - and not others, just depends on the type of "disc" error / condition.
 
cstanpfm,
rather than 'burning in' with a cd on repeat, how about connecting to a laptop or streamer with digital or usb output? that way you save the cd drive and opticals of the CDQ and still burning in the circuits of the CDQ..
John W please correct me if my idea is wrong..
 
dane,

Yes, that’s a good solution, but I find you don't even need to be playing audio though the system, just powered-up to allow what ever "change" to happen.

I have no real idea what "changes" during the Burn-in period, but I can for sure hear it.

My educated guess would be the E-Caps are "re-forming"

John
 
Hi dane, my laptop not near my CDQ. Still sourcing for a good long USB cable (like 5m) but so far, those I found is too ex. And not wish to turn on another device at night. Waste electricity. :p

Anyway, prefer to "burn in" the CD machanism as well. If it fail, better fail within the 1 year warranty. :D

Hi John, actually dominik had reply me regarding the heat issue and know that it is class A. But i do feel that it is hot and not warm. I place the CDQ on a rack, on the 2nd tier. My TV is on the top tier. There is a spacing of 175mm for the component and the CDQ is 74mm. So i have about 100 or so of ventilation. Should be enough I think. And I do turn on the aircon at night for about 3 to 4 hours and the timer will off it. I usually feel the top of the CDQ in the morning when i woke up and it really feels hot to the touch, not warm. If possible, maybe I will try to place a thermometer on the top of the CDQ and see how hot it gets. I will inform you and you let me know if the temperature is normal? Would that be OK? My normal room temperature is about 25 degree c in the morning.
 
Hi CS,

Depends on what you are used too, you could consider the top of the CDQ "Hot" - I recall numbers like 40 to 45Deg C. - That’s the effects of true Class A operation.

Class A = heat, anybody who claims Class A operation and the units don't get hot - well it’s not Class A!

So anyone who Claims x20 Class A stages must be getting hot...

The CDQ has x20 Class A biased stages and multiple cascade stages of regulation - these results in the heated top lid.

John
 
Hi John,

I guess I will monitor and try to do a tempreature test and feedback later.

But it does feels like it is more than 45 degress c though. :p

CS
 
Due to the potential problems with the cdq I have read about I am holding off on a purchase of one for the current time , waited for two months but im going to wait for the Q Dac when it comes around, I think its a bit risky to buy one of the first batch now Wayne
 
I have had Audiolab products all of the past 20 years and none have had any problems , 3 x 8000s amps , CDM , 8000DAX , 3 x 8000a amps, im just going to wait till I see a few reviews by you people, after reading Johns input on the Q Dac and the westlake addition my heart and head have been drawn towards that. I only play cds via the computer thru the DAC anyways , so am going to wait for the Q DAC or one of the other dacs

Wayne

Oh and the reason why so many audiolabs is once skint and had to sell them on, once financially viable again bought Audiolab again.

The 8000 cdq will be a brilliant product for sure, still no sign of them as yet in England, so im being wise and waiting a couple more months
 
Hi John,

Can you just confirm if the newer CDQ is still going ahead with the 12V triggers?

As a dealer i have just spoken to said that his Audiolab rep said it was an option they were considering but is now definately not going to have them?
Coincidently this UK dealer currently have the CDQ in stock.

thanks
 
CS,

As I said dont worry, the units get Warm / Hot (depending on your point of view) - they are designed that way!

The products are designed with IR thermal imaging to insure no hot-spots etc... I should even have the "IR shots" stored somewhere...

MI55ION,

Finally :)

vishnu737,

Yes the current batch which is making its way down the production line this month has the 12V triggers fitted - but they will not hit the shelves for 3 to 4 months.
 
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