Arcam Alpha 7 CD Player – Sound distortion during play back of copied CDs

[Tripmaster]

Hello

I wonder if anyone has a solution for this rather irritating problem.

Over the past few months one of my CD Players fail to track copied CDs. It plays the track but the sound is very distorted, originals are fine.

I have ruled out media and also the CD writer used to copy the disk(s) because these disks work fine on other equipment.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Richard

[Ali Tait]

Maybe a dirty lens? As I understand it,blank discs reflect less light from the laser than the bought album,so perhaps if the lens is dirty,it's having a harder time reading the disc.Otherwise,it may just be coming to the end of it's life.Lasers don't last forever.

[Tripmaster]

Maybe a dirty lens? As I understand it,blank discs reflect less light from the laser than the bought album,so perhaps if the lens is dirty,it's having a harder time reading the disc.Otherwise,it may just be coming to the end of it's life.Lasers don't last forever.

Thanks Ali

I will have a go at cleaning it tomorrow

Richard

[Filterlab]

Definitely sounds like the laser is having difficulty, however the internal DACs can be troublesome on some Arcam players. I had a 5+ that occasionally distorted on recorded CDs. In the end the whole DAC gave up and got replaced under warranty.

[Tripmaster]

Definitely sounds like the laser is having difficulty, however the internal DACs can be troublesome on some Arcam players. I had a 5+ that occasionally distorted on recorded CDs. In the end the whole DAC gave up and got replaced under warranty.

Hi

Im using the Ebay TDA1543 dac so we can rule out the on-board offering.

I also think its the laser. When its playing a copied CD it sounds like the CD is spinning off centre (oscillating) this stops for a second between tracks. I think the laser is constantly trying to re-read the information on the disk.

I will have a closer look tonight.

Richard

[Tripmaster]

Good evening gentlemen

Well...I cleaned the laser and re-lubed the laser sled, popped in a copied CD and it started to play OK, but by track two the distortion returned

Its the mechanical worbberling tone that's key to this problem. I have been running the unit with the lid off this evening and I cant see any excessive laser movement. As soon as I change the CD for an original the worbberling sound stops and it sounds it fine...Hmm

[Filterlab]

That is an odd thing, what are you using to duplicate your CDs? Maybe the settings are creating something that the Arcam doesn't like yet the issue fails to manifest itself in other players. What other players are you testing duplicates on? If they are newer players the chances are that they're more compatible with duplicate CDs than the Arcam is, the Arcam transport is by no means new, although don't read that as 'bad', they are very well made bits of kit.

[Tripmaster]

That is an odd thing, what are you using to duplicate your CDs? Maybe the settings are creating something that the Arcam doesn't like yet the issue fails to manifest itself in other players. What other players are you testing duplicates on? If they are newer players the chances are that they're more compatible with duplicate CDs than the Arcam is, the Arcam transport is by no means new, although don't read that as 'bad', they are very well made bits of kit.

Hi

They are all much newer drives but the Arcam has read these disks in the past. I am going to post a link to a Youtube movie when the file finally uploads. Get ready for a block buster!

Richard

[Filterlab]

Get ready for a block buster!

Ready and waiting.

[Filterlab]

Oh, remember that software updates and firmware revisions can bring about codec changes without the user being aware of such, you may have to check your settings thoroughly. Also, it may be worth blasting an email over to Arcam themselves for help.