Broken transport : replacement

[nbaptista]

My Cambridge 340 C has broken, so I need a new audio transport,to connect through coaxial out to my Rega DAC. Of course, the apollo R was in my list as a priority, but due to finantial restrictions, i was thinking to buy a Cambridge 351 C. do you have any suggestions? I don´t want to spend more than 300£.

[StanleyB]

My Cambridge 340 C has broken, so I need a new audio transport,to connect through coaxial out to my Rega DAC. Of course, the apollo R was in my list as a priority, but due to finantial restrictions, i was thinking to buy a Cambridge 351 C. do you have any suggestions? I don´t want to spend more than 300£.
Can you be more specific? What exactly is wrong with it?

[nbaptista]

Can you be more specific? What exactly is wrong with it?
Is doing strange noises and can´t read the discs. Is out of warranty

[StanleyB]

On those mechanism either the lens on the laser pickup needs cleaning, or the tray loading belt is worn out a bit and can't pull the CD tray in properly. They are common faults with many Cambridge CD players. Fixed quite a few.
If you lived close by instead of Portugal I would ask you to pass by so I could look at it. Mind you, you got a Rega DAC, which would put you in a different camp.

[nbaptista]

Mind you, you got a Rega DAC, which would put you in a different camp.
What you mean? do I need a better transport?

[StanleyB]

I tend to reserve my help and knowledge to Beresford DAC owners. There are a lot of them, so I got my hands full already :).

[nbaptista]

I tend to reserve my help and knowledge to Beresford DAC owners.
OK, but I would like a little bit of your help...do you think that the Rega Apollo R is a better choice, in terms of durability ?

[synsei]

I tend to reserve my help and knowledge to Beresford DAC owners. There are a lot of them, so I got my hands full already :).

In which case why get the chaps hopes up by commenting at all??? :scratch:

Nuno, if the 340c is out of warranty have you tried taking a look inside mate? In many instances all that is needed to bring a CD player back to life is to clean the lens and also clean and relube the chrome rails that the lens carriage runs along. This can be done fairly easily as long as you are reasonably tech savvy.

You will need to remove the top cover from your CD player and identify the transport, and specifically the lens for the laser. Take a cotton bud and place a blob of window cleaning solution on the tip then very, very gently clean the lens with the tip. Next, locate the chrome rails along which the lens carriage runs and clean them, again using some window cleaning solution on the tip of a cotton bud. You may find these rails have collected a fair bit of dust and fluff over time so be prepared to repeat the cleaning process once or twice. Leave the rails to dry out for ten minutes or so (go make a cuppa ;) ). When you return find a pencil (the softer the better) and run the pencil lead up and down the rails. Pencils contain graphite which is an excellent lubricant incidentally. Test out the machine with a CD before you replace the top cover. Hopefully it will now be working okay ;)

Keep us posted :)

[DSJR]

Just 'cos it's out of warranty doesn't mean it should be automatically junked unless a repair is going to cost over a hundred quid in UK money. Old machines that spares cannot be got for should be avoided by and large, unless you have a pal who can help cannibalise another for spares. I'm sure cambridge would have spares if necessary.

Best thing is to lift the lid and watch a disc load up. This will tell you if the loading belt is shagged or not (sounds like it might be if the loader isn't fully dis-engaging properly). If the disc loads and spins but no reading, then you'd know if the laser wants cleaning or replacing. Cheap DVD drives that spin far faster can eat their platter motors, but I'm not sure if this applies to CD drives (which are often 'converted' DVD drives I was told once).

If you want a change, any of the Rega machines, do a good job and can be serviced still I believe. Even the old clamshell Planet shouldn't need much doing on the transport side although there's a page dedicated to fettling it on the Acoustica website. Solid mounting means that it shouldn't be placed too close to the speakers, that's all :)

[nbaptista]

I might take the plunge and accept a 20 % discount that my dealer offers to me on the Apollo R purchase.

[kenworthy100]

I own an Apollo R which was bought as a replacement for an aging arcam cd, it is a good player, well made and enjoyable to listen to, the only thing to remember is you need a little space above being a top loading machine. I initially used it with the Rega Dac which was worthwhile, however, I recently moved to a Naim Dac v1 which it again works very well with.

[nbaptista]

So you use the Apollo R as a transport. How would you describe it? Smooth?

[nbaptista]

I´ve bought the Apollo R. The Cambridge needed new lens, so I think I did the right thing!Dynamics improved, as so the soundstage with the new transport. Better timing and rythm, too.:)

[synsei]

Nice one Nuno, enjoy. At some point I will be looking to upgrade my Arcam CD72 and an Apollo R is my preferred option just now ;)

[nbaptista]

Mind you, you got a Rega DAC, which would put you in a different camp.yep, the Cambridge was the weakest link!