Teac VRDS

[Jonneville]

I have noticed that these VRDS players/transports have quite a cult following and seem to command strong prices. When I first went hunting for a CD player many years ago it was a Wadia that really impressed me but it was way out of budget, so these Teac units have always appealed to me.

After finally sorting out my TD 124, towards the end of last year I started looking for a CDP and was lucky to find a VRDS 25 in excellent condition, complete with remote. I don’t have that many CDs compared with records and where possible, I intend to buy anything new on vinyl so there was no way I was going to spend a couple of grand on a s/h Wadia but hopefully – maybe with a few tweaks – I can end up fairly close sound-wise.

Whilst researching these VRDS machines I found a lot of info’ which I thought would be useful to anyone else looking for one. In particular, it might help them understand the differences, especially the distinction between the 10 and the 10 Special Edition (SE).

This is not meant to be a definitive guide, just a few observations and this concentrates on the VRDS 1, 7, 10 and 25, as those are the models which seem to be mentioned most frequently.

The machines can be divided into two different types, the early ones with the CMK-4 mechanism and the Sony KSS-240A laser (as found in the VRDS 1, 7 and [possibly] the 10SE), compared with the later ones with the better CMK-3.2 mech’ and Sony KSS-151A laser (as used in the 10 and the 25). Depending on your sources, the 10 and the 10SE are different – some say that the SE version has the lower spec', perhaps because it was introduced to use up a surplus of the lower spec’ spare mech’s and lasers left over from the T1s and T7s - others say that it has the higher spec' shared with the 25 - maybe someone who actually owns one can clarify this?

My understanding is that the T1 and T7 are essentially the same, the T1 being a transport only which could have been paired with a matching Teac DT1 DAC.

I only have experience of the VRDS 25 but the person I acquired mine from had previously owned a T7 and a T10. He reckoned that there was a significant improvement in sound quality as he moved up the chain, as well as in weight – the copper casing in the T25 means that it weighs in at 16.5kg, compared to the relatively lightweight T7 at 9kg. He also tried it with various external DACs and concluded none sounded better, just different.

The “Lampizator” wasn’t too impressed with the T7 but raved about the 25, particularly its DAC. I gather that the 25 was sold at $2,700 but the 25X was a little cheaper, presumably due to the value of the Yen and possibly Teac repositioning its price – maybe they wanted a greater price differential with their Esoteric range? The only real difference between the 25 and the 25X seems to be that the 25X had added digital inputs so you could use its DAC for other components. The “Lampizator” also reckoned that the 25 and 25X were identical apart from an additional PCB in the 25X, which he couldn’t figure out what was for but was presumably for the digital input. Personally, I have no need for the digital input and as far as I’m concerned, the less electrickery the better!

The VRDS system was also used by a number of expensive manufacturers such as Wadia, Krell, McIntosh and Copland, which should help long-term with spares but will also probably mean that parts will be priced accordingly – still, better that they cost a few quid more rather than being unobtanium. Some of those expensive machines used the earlier VRDS system, such as the Krell 300 and Copland 288, whereas others used the better, later system, for example the Wadia 861 and McIntosh 751.

Rather like the Thorens TD 124, there are quite a lot of companies offering upgrades for these VRDS machines and there is a lot of info’ about modifying them available, particularly on the DIY HiFi forums – not that I can understand a word of that! German specialists ASE Audiotuning and SAC Concept claim to be able to turn your VRDS 25 into a “Wadia killer” but they aren’t cheap – ASE want £1,150 for their full-house “Signature” upgrade and that’s just for the parts – it’s £1,465 fitted, not that you would want to risk shipping your CDP to Germany. More affordable is Chevron’s upgrade package which I think is around £400 fitted?

Others offering clock and PSU mod’s are Audiocom (recommended by the engineer who looks after my equipment), Trichord, Audio Nautes, Valab, Fidelity Audio, Tentlabs, Lampizator etc.

I won’t comment on the cosmetic differences between the various models as they are fairly obvious. As for prices, they are easily found on the forums and on eBay. The 25 models sell for strong money on German eBay in particular – I did wonder if ASE and SAC were buying them up? Try to buy any VRDS with the remote if you want it, as the handsets usually fetch around £50.

I’m very pleased with my stock VRDS 25 at the moment but being a hot rodder at heart, it’s only a matter of time before I have to start modifying it. If anyone can recommend any worthwhile upgrades I would be very interested to learn more.

Lastly, as any thread is useless without pictures, here's a few photos...

T1

http://www.hifidatabase.com/static/gallery/2/4612-teac_VRDS-T1.jpg

T10

http://www.hifidatabase.com/static/gallery/2/4352-teac_VRDS-10-3.jpg

T25

http://listeninn.com/Pictures-Used/Used-Cd-Player/Teac-VRDS-25-1.jpg

Regards

Jon’.

[DSJR]

I think the only 10's that came into the UK were the SE ones. The mech on the 10Se is NOT an inverted cheap Sony with added flash mouldings as the T1 is as far as I could tell although it desperately needs an after-market clock I think and possibly the output stage looking at re sullpy etc... As it came to me, it had a classic squidgy "Bitstream" sound and similar to the Marantz CD10 I also had for a few weeks. Wonderful on decaying piano notes but a tad compressed. Having heard what a second supply has done to my QED Digit opto I wonder if similar magic can be done to the 10SE?

The VRDS25 was a better machine sonically I remember (hifi dave used to sel 'em) although I think I'd gone all AVI at that point and was about to get the Micro Seiki which I still have and regularly use...

[Rowlf]

Thank you Jonathan. It was a very excellent read and really appreciate your research and sharing your thoughts with us.

I have owned the VRDS 7 for a short period of time and have long suspected it wasn't quite up to recent standards. It has absolutely no advantage over a MacBook pro and I suspect, over any decently built DVD player. The facade of the VRDS 7 do look class however and the drive unit was very quiet.

The VRDS 25 that you have is quite rare and I have not come across one yet. Still waiting for the opportunity to listen to it. The VRDS 25 as you said was better built than the 1 and 7 and I do believe it to be so. You are quite lucky to own one indeed. All the best with your listening.

[clap]

The 10se was a better model than the 10. The 10se has dual mono dacs whereas the 10 just has single dacs.

I believe the 10se has the better transport. I have used my 10se with a dacmagic and now a Young. Both sounded excellent. The transport makes a difference and I wouldn't be without it.

[jon1]

http://theartofsound.net/forum/image.php?u=1192&dateline=1327433825&type=profile...this the 25x i have with a blue display ..great as a transport:)


jon

[Jonneville]

Thanks James - it seemed worthwhile writing down the info' so others could benefit. Have you seen this article about reclocking the T1 and T7? http://www.audiocraftersguild.com/AandE/teac-doo.pdf

It was actually after seeing a T7 for sale at Emporium HiFi that rekindled my interest in the VRDS - I was thinking seriously about that T7 then it disappeared from their site so I guess it sold fairly quickly, compared with some of their Sony and Pioneer CDPs which seem to have been for sale for quite some time.

Incidentally, someone has a matching Teac tuner for your T7 for sale on The Wam - it has those four neat allen bolts on the fascia too (which were deleted on the 25).

Curtis Mayfield and Sly & the Family Stone sure sound great on the 25!

David and Tristan - thanks for the clarification about the 10SE. Tristan - is yours modified at all?

Like the 25X John - is it modified and which DAC are you using - does it make it sound significantly better or just different?

Regards

Jon'.

[UV101]

Nice transport and much better when properly clocked with along with some power supply rework. I've done a 10 for a pal with twin DAC7's and it sounded pretty good even out of the box to be honest.

Also, Audio Aero use the VRDS transport in place of the CDM pro in their latest player.

[clap]

Mine is unmodified. I have been thinking of getting an iec fitted to upgrade the mains cable. As I only use it as a transport I'm not sure what else would be worthwhile?

I'd like to source a ckm 3.2 as a spare but they seem to be unobtainable.

An upgrade from a good optical cable to a high level digi cable brought benefits. Putting it on Nordost Pulsar Points brought a massive upgrade.

[Dingdong]

I've got a couple of 7's. Picked 'em up cheap and it's nice to have a spare. Just putting a decent mains cable on and putting it on an old Mission Isoplat improved things a lot.

Will be adding a clock, new filter, caps, and improved power supply when funds allow.

One of the reasons I got the 7 is that lasers are still easy to get hold of and cheap.

[sq225917]

TEAC VRDS-7 2 x SAA7350GP - SM5840AP VRDS CMK-4 - KSS-240A

TEAC VRDS-8 4 x PCM1702 - SM5843AP VRDS CMK-4.5 - SF-P151 (16 pin)

TEAC VRDS-9 4 x PCM1702 - SM5840AP VRDS CMK-4.2 - KSS-213C

TEAC VRDS-10 2 x Philips TDA1547 - SAA7350 - SM5840AP VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-10SE 2 x Philips TDA1547 + 2 x SAA7350 - SM5840 VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-15 2 x NSdap FN1242A - SM5843AS1 VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-20 2 x Philips TDA1547 - SAA7350 - SM5840 VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-25 4 x AD1862N-J - SM5843AP - AD1893JN VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-25X 4 x AD1862N-J - SM5843AP - AD1893JN VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-25XS 4 x AD1862N-J - SM5843AP - AD1893JN VRDS A-type - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-50 NSdap FN1241 VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-T1 Transport VRDS CMK-4 - KSS-240A


There's less difference between most units than people recall there being. Amazing how easy a metal plate can skew the memory, ;-)

[Jonneville]

So the first (easy) things to try look like mains cable, points and isolation table?

Points make sense seeing as the 25 series came with these...

http://mediac1.viva-images.com/vivastreet_fr/classified/41/4/51499755/large/1.jpg?dt=572efe3d1e5cee673fa2105a0f40c6d8


In the meantime, couldn't resist this photo...

http://www.esoteric.jp/products/vup_old/img/v_up_clock0507.jpg

Regards

Jon'.

[Dingdong]

I'm not sure what cable came with the 25. My 7 had a thin bit of 2-core that was soldered directly to the transformer pcb. Repacing it with a bit of Furutech mains cable brought about a small improvement.
Putting it on an old Isoplat also improved things.

[jon1]

Thanks James - it seemed worthwhile writing down the info' so others could benefit. Have you seen this article about reclocking the T1 and T7? http://www.audiocraftersguild.com/AandE/teac-doo.pdf

It was actually after seeing a T7 for sale at Emporium HiFi that rekindled my interest in the VRDS - I was thinking seriously about that T7 then it disappeared from their site so I guess it sold fairly quickly, compared with some of their Sony and Pioneer CDPs which seem to have been for sale for quite some time.

Incidentally, someone has a matching Teac tuner for your T7 for sale on The Wam - it has those four neat allen bolts on the fascia too (which were deleted on the 25).

Curtis Mayfield and Sly & the Family Stone sure sound great on the 25!

David and Tristan - thanks for the clarification about the 10SE. Tristan - is yours modified at all?

Like the 25X John - is it modified and which DAC are you using - does it make it sound significantly better or just different?

Regards

Jon'.



Jonathan the 25x is not modified... the dac i use is a mtech young :)



jon

[clap]

TEAC VRDS-7 2 x SAA7350GP - SM5840AP VRDS CMK-4 - KSS-240A

TEAC VRDS-8 4 x PCM1702 - SM5843AP VRDS CMK-4.5 - SF-P151 (16 pin)

TEAC VRDS-9 4 x PCM1702 - SM5840AP VRDS CMK-4.2 - KSS-213C

TEAC VRDS-10 2 x Philips TDA1547 - SAA7350 - SM5840AP VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-10SE 2 x Philips TDA1547 + 2 x SAA7350 - SM5840 VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-15 2 x NSdap FN1242A - SM5843AS1 VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-20 2 x Philips TDA1547 - SAA7350 - SM5840 VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-25 4 x AD1862N-J - SM5843AP - AD1893JN VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-25X 4 x AD1862N-J - SM5843AP - AD1893JN VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-25XS 4 x AD1862N-J - SM5843AP - AD1893JN VRDS A-type - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-50 NSdap FN1241 VRDS CMK-3.2 - KSS-151A

TEAC VRDS-T1 Transport VRDS CMK-4 - KSS-240A


There's less difference between most units than people recall there being. Amazing how easy a metal plate can skew the memory, ;-)

The mechanism in the 10 upwards is part metal inside. I believe the T1 etc was only plastic. It's not just the face plate that is different.

[clap]

Jonathan the 25x is not modified... the dac i use is a mtech young :)



jon

Young sounds great with my 10se.

[jon1]

Tristan do not be telling every one:D



jon

[clap]

The dacmagic with VRDS sounded bloody good for the money. In fact, in some ways it sounded more imprsssive than the Young. However, the Young does everything well whereas the dacmagic didn't. The Young is a great buy second hand.

The one thing that is for sure is that transports make a difference. I very rarely use usb into the Young as the VRDS sounds better.

[jon1]

The dacmagic with VRDS sounded bloody good for the money. In fact, in some ways it sounded more imprsssive than the Young. However, the Young does everything well whereas the dacmagic didn't. The Young is a great buy second hand.

The one thing that is for sure is that transports make a difference. I very rarely use usb into the Young as the VRDS sounds better.



Good transport then?or is that a great transport..with the young dac?;)


jon

[clap]

It's great, no doubts. The one bit of kit I wouldn't think of changing.

I could imagine selling the Gyorbe, or my Classe power amp, or speakers but not the VRDS. When it goes I can see me having to get an Esoteric, but, they are stupid money so I will put that off for as long as possible.

[nat8808]

If we're talking about the transport mechanism ALONE, I think the T1, VRDS 7,8 and 9 are vastly overpriced and don't deserve the VRDS name really..

The rigid clamp bit isn't really there because the platter is flimsy plastic and the motor it is run by is a cheap £3 motor mounted on a flexible (compared to the others) flat sheet of steel. There will be give in the motor as the spindle the CD is pushed against will move the motors cheap bearings.

It's those with metal platters that really can be considered VRDS. Also these have motor systems like direct drive turntables with the platter becoming part of the motor and large coils mounted on the cross beam. The thrust plate is large and is the 3-screw thing you can see on cross beam.

Whether the ABS plastic cross beam is better than the previous cast metal one, I don't know..

The Wadia you were thinking of is probably the Wadia 7. Before that, there was a model almost exactly the same but with a different shape metal crossbeam - the Wadia 2000.

The Wadia 2000 was built upon Teac's pro brand, TASCAM's studio CD player the CD701.

These are, I think, the best VRDS bargains out there. I got mine for £150 fully working etc, a wired full featured remote another £50.

Here's the inside of one:

http://public.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pFe0Innph61i3YPpvT0Y5LRIbPyC2Up_TswG1UjlLLFjp3-Pt3A3QUoS-ioRPjQFRlN_G7PwCxHai9iLZ0RGk0Q/P1010199.JPG

and the Wadia 2000:

http://www.dcaudio.pl/wadia.jpg

And the droolsome Wadia 7 (same but for the shape of the crossbeam):

http://www.primeaudio.co.kr/bbs/data/pds/wadia_7.jpg

[nat8808]

Hmm...

Apologies for posting such a large picture! Only one I could find and you can't resize within the img tag in most forums.

[Marco]

You can resize if you host images through Photobucket or Imageshack ;)

Marco.

[Marco]

The Teac combo to have (out with of the uber-expensive stuff), for maximum SPPV, as indeed once used by the BBC, is the P-500/D-500:


http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/6927/teacp500d500.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/404/teacp500d500.jpg/)


Stunning sound, as standard, and eminently tweakable to become something truly special! ebay is your friend :)

Marco.

[roob]

I had a P-500 transport that was excellent and sounded sublime after Colin from Chevron Audio upgraded it, pity the laser died on it though :doh:

[Marco]

Pity, Andrew, as I think you can still get the lasers, if you know where to look. However, you're right, the sound was sublime - as indeed tends to be the case with the best vintage designs, especially when judiciously modified :)

Marco.

[roob]

Pity, Andrew, as I think you can still get the lasers, if you know where to look. However, you're right, the sound was sublime - as indeed tends to be the case with the best vintage designs, especially when judiciously modified :)

Marco.
There are lasers about Marco but they tend to go for silly money c£200 for used ones that may not even last long, I did see a laser advertised from China but decided against it.
Colin being a decent chap removed the upgraded clock/bits/ refunded me for the cost of them and restored it back to original so I could flog it on ebay as a faulty unit.
Buyers should take this into consideration if purchasing these older Teac units.

[Marco]

Mmm... It's funny that the Teac ones don't seem to last very long. My Sony transport is getting on now for 27 years old and [touch wood] is still going strong, spinning discs for many hours every day!

If or when that goes, I'll simply replace it with another one (from ebay), as I love how the Sony sounds and couldn't live with the rather forensic sonic presentation of most modern disc players :)

Marco.

[roob]

Might be worth buying a spare now Marco and keeping it safe for that dreaded day which will come eventually.

[DSJR]

What laser does yours use Marco?

[sq225917]

The mechanism in the 10 upwards is part metal inside. I believe the T1 etc was only plastic. It's not just the face plate that is different.

Some of the higher numbered player have die cast platters, but other than that the only metal is substructure under the plastic cd drawer, like the copper in the 50 for example, which isn't actually part of the cd mech itself. The studio models did have metal bridges and platters as did the some of the Wadia units.

[Marco]

What laser does yours use Marco?

The answer is I'm not sure, Dave. I think that Mark, at Audiocom, has got some spare lasers, for when the need arises. Hopefully, it won't be for a while!

I always think that how fast the transport mech reads a disc's table of contents is a good sign of how healthy the laser is. In the case of the Sony, it does it in a nanosecond, as indeed it has been doing since I bought it over six years ago :)

Marco.

[Mr. C]

Having spent some 15 years working on/with/upgrading Teac's / Wadia's / Esoteric's, for me the mechanism that actually did what it said in the tin was fitted to the TEAC D70 and standard 861 /860 270.
The Wadia 861SE and 270SE and was retro fit-able to the P30 and standard 861 /860 270 models.

It featured a solid 40mm stainless bridge and upgraded platter.

Stock unit as fitted to a plethora of makes and models


http://www.sales.highendpalace.com/146300.jpg


The Special Edition model the last few shots are of a stock mechanism before the upgraded bridge and new photo diode carriage were fitted on an 860X the rest are from the last 861SE we upgraded. Sorry these photo's are not so good, they are 7 years old and taken on an cheapie at the time unit.






http://www.coherent-systems.co.uk/images/SE-Bridge-4.jpg

http://www.coherent-systems.co.uk/images/SE-Bridge-1.jpg

http://www.coherent-systems.co.uk/images/SE-Bridge-2.jpg

http://www.coherent-systems.co.uk/images/SE-Bridge-3.jpg





I really did not rate the Wadia 2000 at all over rated in my book :steam:

Models that were nice, Wadia 8, Wadia 20, Wadia 860/861/270

The Sony photo diodes (KSS151-a etc) that were used in these models ceased production some years ago.

I did fit an expensive OE unit to a P30 some years ago and that was £250 :stalks:
The actual internals of the laser are available separately and cost around £25, however biasing up the unit to the correct settings in a F****ing knight mere:doh: and one I will not be repeating ever :lol:


A Wadia 20

http://pic6.audiogon.com/i/c/f/1318758072.jpg

[Jonneville]

I'm glad I started this thread as there is some very useful info' on here - thanks everyone.

Looking around, there do seem to be some KSS-151A lasers about but a lot of them look like cheap copies or maybe NOS seconds. I should have kept the links but I found quite a few suppliers in Germany selling what appear to be first grade NOS 151A lasers. (A seller of an upgraded Wadia 2000 on ebay is currently selling a genuine Sony NOS spare at an optimistic price which will probably drop).

That said, the engineer who looks after my equipment explained that very often problems which are thought to be laser failures (of any type of laser) are usually caused by something else.

Tony - where would you suggest starting on upgrades for a VRDS 25, to obtain the best "bang for the buck"? For example, ASE in Germany offer this upgrade at around £120 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Teac-VRDS-25X-VRDS-8-Digital-Upgrade-/160895006329?pt=DE_TV_Video_Audio_Sonstige&hash=item257616f679, which claims the following:

"These adapters replace the low cost AD1893 Sample Rate Converter with the high-performance AD1896 type. The NPC SM5843 is replaced with Burr Brown DF1704*. Highend adapters incl. voltage regulation and Sanyo Os-Con bypass caps. Huge improvement in sound quality!".

(I suspect that this particular upgrade results from one of the Lampizator's articles on upgrading the VRDS 25, since this was a modification which he reckoned was very worthwhile - but is it really any good?!).

Regards

Jon'.

[Mr. C]

Hi Jon

Nearly all of the laser failures on the Wadia', Teac's etc I repaired we simply down to old age and the little spring inside the photo diode eye going weak and raising the eye up to spec, therefore not supplying the correct signal for the logic circuit to instigate the next sequence in the disc reading process. Usually a sign is the odd track not indexing or refusing to read the T.O.C. or not finding a later track.

This upgrade addresses one of the weak points in this unit, I would also upgrade the 5Vdc reg which supplies the 5Vdc to the dac chips, some simple components changes to PLL section (If I remember upgrade the 0.47uf cap to a quality 'M' cap or similar and 1KOhm to a thin metal film resistor)

Also I would change the diodes to some faster smooth recovery units and look at refreshing the main smoothing reservoir capacitors.

These simple upgrades will help well.

One word of warning though older Teac circuit boards are notorious for having problems when removing through hole components, (even with a quality De-soldering hot air station).

Just make sure you inspect the circuit board before performing ANY changes as replacements are rarer than rocking horse droppings.

[Jonneville]

Many thanks Tony.

Incidentally, Emporium HiFi have a VRDS 25X for sale at £1,200 if anyone is looking for one. (One sold recently on German ebay for about £800 if you want a benchmark for haggling).

Regards

Jon'.

[clap]

Many thanks Tony.

Incidentally, Emporium HiFi have a VRDS 25X for sale at £1,200 if anyone is looking for one. (One sold recently on German ebay for about £800 if you want a benchmark for haggling).

Regards

Jon'.

Seems expensive. There's an Esoteric on the Wam for £1k.

[Jonneville]

Couple of questions for Tristan and John, who are both using their Teacs as transports with a Young DAC - is the DAC a significant improvement and which coax cables are you using? (I am just about to try out an M2Tech Evo DAC myself but at the moment only have a cheap Toslink cable to hand).

Regards

Jon'.

[clap]

Imo the dac is a significant improvement. More dynamic and more detail without sounding too hifi.

I use a silver oyaide / wbt coaxial which sounds ever so slightly better than a Beresford optical.

[jon1]

Couple of questions for Tristan and John, who are both using their Teacs as transports with a Young DAC - is the DAC a significant improvement and which coax cables are you using? (I am just about to try out an M2Tech Evo DAC myself but at the moment only have a cheap Toslink cable to hand).

Regards

Jon'.




Jon i use the the same coax cable as tristan...but give the toslink cable a go;)




jon

[julesd68]

Couldn't resist having a punt on a near mint VRDS10 from a top chap on the Wam for £250 - a good deal?

Installed it on the rack today but only had 2 mins to play with it, just to check all is working. What I was most impressed by is the fact that it reads and plays the disc near instantly, and without hardly any mechanical noise - superb. This is a far cry from my ailing Consonance which desperately needs a service. The Consonance is a superbly 'organic' sounding cdp, so will be interesting to see how the Teac works out in sonic ability. I actually listen to vinyl 99% of the time, but great to have a decent spinner when I need.

[julesd68]

My understanding is that the T1 and T7 are essentially the same, the T1 being a transport only which could have been paired with a matching Teac DT1 DAC.

Does anyone have experience of the DT1?

Am wondering if the DT1 would still be a good choice in terms of partnering a VRDS with a DAC ...

[clap]

Nordost pulsar points work well on mine.

[smithy]

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h258/cityopticians/photo-22.jpg (http://s66.photobucket.com/user/cityopticians/media/photo-22.jpg.html)http://Here is my Teac P700.

[Audioman]

My TEAC VRDS7 has developed a problem. Stopped in middle of Cd and then became erratic reading discs though usually reading TOC and then unable to access higher numbered tracks. While trying to diagnose problem draw became jerky then suddenly stuck and there is a grating noise. Think it's the gears that run the draw mech. Any suggestions on repairers or is this problem likely to be terminal due to parts availability. I just aquired the matching DT1 Dac and was listening to this so this is frustrating to say the least.

Paul.

[julesd68]

I had the grating sound with my cdp and it turned out to be draw belts needed replacing. I had the work done by Deco Audio who were excellent. Worth giving Peter a call to discuss parts availability. Always best if you can take the player in yourself to avoid courier damage which cdp's can be very susceptible to..

[Audioman]

Julian.

I have found a T1 transport at a good price which I'm buying for Insurance and maybe an improvement. Didn't notice it when picking but one of the feet pads on the dac has been ripped off. Found some sorbothane pads to replace them. Research has revealed that there may be an issue if a toothed cog has gone on VRDS mechs - remember this model is nearly 20 years old. I have asked advice from another repairer but will try Deco if I don't get anywhere. If I take it to Frank Harvey in Cov it will prob cost £40 just to look at it though they did manage to repair similar fault over 10 years ago. Anyway had the 7 running long enough to establish DAC is very good sounding given a well mastered CD.

Paul.

[Qwin]

The Teac combo to have (out with of the uber-expensive stuff), for maximum SPPV, as indeed once used by the BBC, is the P-500/D-500:


http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/6927/teacp500d500.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/404/teacp500d500.jpg/)


Stunning sound, as standard, and eminently tweakable to become something truly special! ebay is your friend :)

Marco.

The P-500, as with the T1 Transport used a cheap VRDS version, the cross beam being made of pressed sheet metal, with a screw on plastic ribbed cover, the P-500 didn't even use the cosmetic cover. They used a cheap crappy motor and inferior laser and a plastic clamp.
The later 10, 20, 25 CD players used the mid range VDRS CMK-3.2 rigid moulded mechanism, Sony KSS-151A laser, a much better motor and a metal clamp.
It would be better to use one of these players as a transport.
The Esoteric and Wadia machines used a cast alloy cross beam, similar in shape to the moulded plastic version, with range topping models using customised mechanisms and solid plain metal beams. Not all VRDS are equal!
So much bad information about VRDS around, but the truth is out there in abundance, if you bother reading even a small part of it.
Not picking on Marco here, its just his post was the one I used as it had a picture, there are many inaccurate and misleading statements in the early postings of this thread.
Note: The P-700 mentioned a few posts back is a different animal to the P-500 and has the better CMK-3.2 mechanism etc.