trustworthy people to setup/service CD players

[DSJR]

Just recently, my marantz CD94 based CD player has started to occasionally "crack" through the speakers when playing. Listening on headphones has isolated this to the player and not the amp, and only when playing. This is accompanied by a quiet rustling noise in the background, which is more audible on headphones - on both channels.

Now, I'm hoping it's just a connector needing some gentle exercise to return the continuity, but if it's a capacitor going down after 20 years of intermittant use, I have no idea where to send or take it.

Until a few years ago, HiFi dave and I had an amazing chap, who loved valve amps and who owned the same CD player as I. He had the proper setup tool to set the laser "pen" in a CD-M1 mech and he replaced the laser in mine twelve years ago (I doubt it's had a thousand hours use since then).

If it turns out that I need a service engineer to fettle my machine, who could do it with some TLC on such a vintage machine? I doubt marantz would wish to know and the UK importer of this machine would charge a hugely unreasonable amount, even if they'd take it... I'd hate to junk the player, 'cos it still sounds so very good.

[Spectral Morn]

I would try Audiocom Dave.


Regards D S D L

[StanleyB]

It might be worth touching up the solder on the legs of the power supply components, and in particular the ones around the various 78xx and 79xx regulators. If I remember correctly, the bottom of the player screws out. The screws were orange coloured. The regulators are situated at the back.

[DSJR]

Many thanks to you both.

The Micro uses an "extra" thick base, so I can't get to anything underneath (the only holes were for the long transit bolts). The power supply was different too, with relay switching for power (by pressing the Micro Seiki badge). All boards are copper clad (as was the CD94 as I recall.

I'll just have to haul the thing out of the cabinet (it's VERY heavy - more than the donor machine) and have a look.

Neil, I'm worried that Audiocom will charge loads and suggest all sorts of further unaffordable (for me at Christmas-time) mods to it, but if I can't do anything myself, I'll have to send it there in a VERY stout box with shedloads of soft packing around it...



All my machine is missing is the lovely little rosewood tray the remote was originally fitted to.

[Si74]

Phil at Bluebellaudio.com has a colleague who takes care of solid state repairs.
He is a BBC trained engineer and has never yet failed to fix anything I've thrown at him.
Totally reliable and won't try to sell you mods you neither need or want.
Looked at a TEAC cd player I gave him that I'd been charged 3 times for a new laser
mech only to report the mech . in place still had the faactory seals on it?
Makes you wonder eh?

Surely worth an email.

[Ali Tait]

Dave,try a PM to John Caswell over on the WD forum.He's a retired BBC engineer.A lovely chap,and he won't fleece you! He repairs all sorts,and is employed by WD as their repairman,as well as some other hi-fi companies I believe.He lives in Wokingham.

[Marco]

That's a lovely looking CD player, Dave - and very Marantz-like, if I may say so... It kind of reminds me of the CD12. I also love the clear and simple fascia control layout, and how intuitive it looks - nice proper big buttons, too!

I often wonder these days if hi-fi gear is designed for midgets...

Incidentally, with regard to Audiocom, if you mention you're a member of AoS (and a friend of mine), I'm sure Mark will look after you

Marco.

[Primalsea]

Hi Dave, I'm in Haverhill which I think might be close to you. I've done loads of work to to a CD94 and have the service manual. I'll be happy for you to come over one weekend and we'll look at it together.

If its not mechanical its probably something simple and cheap to fix electronically.

Send me a PM if you're interested.

[DSJR]

Thank you so much to all. I hope that these recommendations can help others too.

Marco, the basics of this machine are identical to the CD94, the CD12 head unit and, IIRC, some early Accuphase models too. The original analogue outs are there and used this way, the machine sounds very little different to the donor model - unless ferrites are used on the interconnects dur to the apparently high levels of muck coming out... The balanced outputs are transformer coupled (the taller CD-M100 model had larger transformers still) and these seem to self-filter this RF muck out. Micro actually supplied some cables to use.

[DSJR]

Paul, thank you for your kind offer too. I'll see if some use self-sorts it (I've been playing rather a lot of LP's recently )