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Thread: Sick Marantz CD85, worth saving ?

  1. #1
    Join Date: May 2017

    Location: Devon

    Posts: 6
    I'm Robert.

    Default Sick Marantz CD85, worth saving ?

    Hi all,

    Some general advice from the more knowledgeable would be much appreciated.

    Had the CD85 for many years and I have become very attached to it, not just for the sound quality but for the look and sheer quality.
    It has become a little cranky over the years and sometimes refuses to play some discs, cleaned the lens a couple of years ago and that fixed the problem and cleaned up the sound very nicely but now it has gone back as before despite more cleaning.

    I have been advised that the laser has probably become weak, recently found a new old stock laser for sale for £170, my questions are -
    1) Will a new laser probably fix it
    2) Can an amateur fit it
    3) As the unit has not been serviced forever, should I give it to a pro to fix and service but who do you trust, I am in Devon.

    Any advice much appreciated, spoke to hifi shop a few years ago, advice was to bin it and buy something modern which will be much better and cheaper, not really me though.

  2. #2
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,786
    I'm Martin.

    Default

    Hi Robert

    If the laser is the problem then a new laser will fix it but many/most replacement lasers are chinese copies and will not last long. Don't waste money on those, check it really is NOS.

    You can fit it yourself but you should observe anti-static protocols

    It's not easy to find people prepared to work on CD players and even then the cost is not worth it unless they are only charging mate's rates.

    The shop were probably right in what they said - and I say that as someone with a large collection of vintage cd players.
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  3. #3
    Join Date: May 2017

    Location: Devon

    Posts: 6
    I'm Robert.

    Default

    Hi Martin,

    Thanks for your thoughts,

    Apologies for being so green but what are the anti-static protocols and would the laser need to be aligned after fitting.

    I would feel sad to part with the old CD85 so I think I will give it my best shot.

    Thanks again for your wisdom

  4. #4
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,786
    I'm Martin.

    Default

    Don't use a carpeted room, do it in the kitchen or somewhere else with no fabrics. Wear an anti-static wrist band and anti static gloves.

    It may well work without re-alignment but if not you'll need to get a copy of the service manual and an oscilloscope to do that. I'm told it is not that difficult a task but never done it myself.
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  5. #5
    Join Date: May 2017

    Location: Devon

    Posts: 6
    I'm Robert.

    Default

    That's great, thanks

  6. #6
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,786
    I'm Martin.

    Default

    Good luck with it!
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  7. #7
    Join Date: Dec 2017

    Location: limerick

    Posts: 223
    I'm charles.

    Default

    The CD85 is definitely worth saving. It uses an excellent transport, alloy not plastic, and sports a great sounding DAC chip, TDA1541A-S1 (single crown) There are some Philips players that use the same transport and mother board which are lying around unloved and unwanted and can be got for peanuts. Many other players also used this same transport, some now no longer made and you could probably find them at your local waste recycling tip.

    The TDA1541 was used in some very expensive players and DAC only units and for good reason. They sound really good and by simply breaking the PCB tracks in 2 places renders the player NOS (non oversampling) leaving the sound more relaxed. Big improvement.

    I first modified a Marantz CD40, which is easy because of lots of internal space. I did this after reading lengthy articles on Lukasz Fikus' site (Lampizator) If you can solder you can convert your player elevating it's redbook performance to challenge anything out there. It involves adding caps to the existing ones around the chip for better decoupling and coming straight off pins 6 and 25 (I think, twas about 15 years ago) into the grids of an ECC88 or equivalent.

    I did not modify my CD85 so can't comment on that. It does not have much space inside and I did not want the 2 valves protuding through the top plate because it would hurt my resale value. Lukasz describes his mod to a Philips CD880 which is identical to your Marantz electrically. The cheaper players had plenty of space for the valves and it's only when lifting the unit up that the weight from the additional transformer gave things away.

    The Lampizator page is well worth a read.

    http://www.lampizator.eu/lampizator/Lampizator.html

    https://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/th...verter_list/#P

  8. #8
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Norfolk, UK

    Posts: 6,209
    I'm BigBobJoylove.

    Default

    The easiest way to make an anti-static bracelet is with a long length of single core wire and a mains plug.

    Open the plug and connect the wire to the ground/earth terminal (ensure you have this correctly connected), remove the Live and Neutral pins from the plug as they aren’t needed. You should have only the Earth pin remaining.

    Then strip back the insulator around 9” at the other end and wrap it around your dominant wrist. The wire must be physically touching your wrist.

    Plug it in. Job done.

    I used the exact same thing back in the days when computer components were static sensitive. Worked a treat.

  9. #9
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    wire comes out of plug and that works rather well too
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  10. #10
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Norfolk, UK

    Posts: 6,209
    I'm BigBobJoylove.

    Default



    Yep, that’ll create a ground for sure.

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