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CD player. Keep and repair or renew?

Rockmeister

pfm Member
Now 14 years old and still faultless, my Luxman CD 05 sounds amazing, but as it approaches it's 15th birthday I'm wondering if I should trade it in for a newer model.

I don't want to, and i'm sure that it's repairable if stuff happens.
Question is, IF if happens what will it likely be? I guess the drawer mech (tho no sign so far) or the laser??

Is the cost horrendous?
etc.

Anyone help me weigh up the odds and costs of new vs repair? Thanks.
 
I'd say do a little research and see how much you can buy a spare laser mech for. Then put that somewhere safe so you'll have it when you need it and can just hand it to someone to do the swap. It seems like a player that's worth holding on to.
 
Laser/transport is the most likely part to fail but DAC chips have been know to pack in occasionally. Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. Just enjoy the player and deal with any issues as and if they come up. While it's true that most transports are going to fail eventually many very old machines still work perfectly. It's an impossible thing to predict so there is little point in trying.
 
15+ year old Cambridge Azur CD player, built like a tank and sounded great with an external DAC. The player started to exhibit problems reading discs after they were loaded and I would often need to load and unload the disc several times until the machine could recognize it and start to play. It eventually got so bad the machine couldn't play at all.

I went online and found a replacement Sanyo laser and associated mechanism for about $20.00 Canadian so I ordered one just for fun. The new laser mechanism arrived about a month later and it only took an hour or so to remove the old one and replace it. All the motors for the drawer and laser were part of the mechanism so they got replaced too.

The machine now plays great again and I had a bit of fun doing the repair.
So, continue to enjoy the machine you have and try not to worry about repairs/replacement until something breaks down. Chances are it could be a very inexpensive repair like mine was.
 
Keep it !
These machines are often built like a tank compared to what we see on the market nowadays.
As said, the laser may stop working (or not) eventually but if it’s a standard part from Sony or similar, they can be replaced.
A drive belt is very cheap and usually easy to replace as well.
I still run a Linn Mimik after a belt replacement 3 years ago and everything’s fine.
 
If you still enjoy it and it isn't giving you any problems, then definitely just enjoy it for what it is. Even now, you can probably divide the price you paid by 15 years of use and it probably shows a relatively cheap figure for the yearly enjoyment. It might go on for another 15+ years, but it might fail tomorrow. To me, if you still enjoy it, it's a risk worth enjoying.
 
You could buy a laser replacement just in case.
My 30 year old Pioneer needed a replacement when I bought it. (found a new one for around £100)
Now the laser mechanism is no longer available.
I do tend to do that myself and would recommend people do it with any valuable player... when I had a CD12, I bought two spare mechanisms for it which I sold with it when I moved it on. I have a couple of spares for my Mimik (will also fit a later Karik if I decide to buy one. I have a couple of spares for my Ikemi too although those are readily available.
 
Del monaco said:
Not a 965BX is it?
I have a 965BX Limited (Discrete) in regular use (2nd hand purchase), my original 965BX (new in '92) has been put into a box until I can hopefully get it serviced (noisy drawer closing), although it was playing discs without fault.
Sadly my Meridian 200 transport is also 'back in it's box', waiting for attention to it's similarly noisy drawer mechanism.
Regards
Mike Kelshaw
 
I have a spare Rotel 965BX, which I put through it's paces yesterday. Still sounds fantastic and a great transport according to PFM members. :)

Oddly, I had the discrete version around the same time to compare (now sold) and it didn't sound all that different.

Great machines.

OP, glad you are keeping.
 


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