I have the most annoying dilemma ever and I'm losing my mind! Please help!

[i_don't_know]

I was testing out my new CDs on my Optimus CD-3640 portable CD player, and three of them skipped every time at the same exact moment of the same exact track. This led me to believe that they were defective. Then I tested them on my LG LFU850 sound system, and they worked fine! I retested on the portable CD player, and they skipped again at the same exact spot! This doesn't make any sense!

What do you think went wrong? I can't figure it out.

Please help! This is a time when I REALLY need all the help I can get!

[MatsudaMan]

[QUOTE=i_don't_know;5275217]I was testing out my new CDs on my Optimus CD-3640 portable CD player, and three of them skipped every time at the same exact moment of the same exact track. This led me to believe that they were defective. Then I tested them on my LG LFU850 sound system, and they worked fine! I retested on the portable CD player, and they skipped again at the same exact spot! This doesn't make any sense!

What do you think went wrong? I can't figure it out.

Please help! This is a time when I REALLY need all the help I can get![/QUOTE

Sounds like you have a craptastic Optimus cd player. Sell the piece of junk and next time buy something less junky.

[i_don't_know]

But what explanation is there for it skipping at the same exact spot every time?

And I got it for free.

[MatsudaMan]

Originally Posted by i_don't_know

But what explanation is there for it skipping at the same exact spot every time?

And I got it for free.

There's probably a scratch or some kind of wear on that area of the disc. A good cd player will be able to read but a bad one will get flustered and skip. Don't exactly know why but that's what seems to happen in my experience - same with vibrations.

[i_don't_know]

The CDs are brand new, unscratched. Should I try to exchange them as defects?

[Bullseye]

No more talk ^^ You got it for free Now you can dump it without feeling bad, so go out there and look for a sony cd-player.

I had the same problem with a Sanyo home cd player. My only solution was to use my mp3 player as source through the player and the speakers it had. After that when I got tired of it i just bought a new pair of speakers.

I believe that the laser that reads the cds is either bad quality or very bad quality (a cheapo)
I would see it as a time to upgrade.

[MatsudaMan]

Originally Posted by i_don't_know

The CDs are brand new, unscratched. Should I try to exchange them as defects?

That's really interesting. I still think it's your cd player. You could try getting a refund.

[i_don't_know]

Well, my computer drive is just a stock Samsung drive, so maybe I should go for an exchange AND a new CD player (since there's a chance the computer might screw up reading the discs).

[nick_charles]

Originally Posted by i_don't_know

I was testing out my new CDs on my Optimus CD-3640 portable CD player, and three of them skipped every time at the same exact moment of the same exact track.

But others played okay ?. Try a bigger sample and see how many fail at the same place. Do you have anti-shock enabled ?

Originally Posted by i_don't_know

But what explanation is there for it skipping at the same exact spot every time?

And I got it for free.

Originally Posted by i_don't_know

The CDs are brand new, unscratched. Should I try to exchange them as defects?

Is there any common factor between the CDs ?

It is possible for brand new CDs to be iffy and as suggested some players deal with this better than others.

I have a few pristine new EMI CDs that misbehave on one CD player and not the others. In fact Classic For Pleasure (EMI) pressings can be very dodgy especially towards the center.

When yo say the same place , you mean the same elapsed time one each CD or at different points on the different CDs. If it is at the same elapsed time on each CD then I tend towards a mechanical error in your CDP, more likely than the same pressing error at the same place on 3 different CDs.

Tried cleaning the lens ? . In the player mechanism there is a channel where the lens moves, try carefully cleaning this with a cotton bud.

[i_don't_know]

It's a different spot on each CD. On one, it's at the same moment on track 4, on another it's track 7, and on the last one it's track 10.

So, worth an exchange?

The CDs are:
Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams
Audioslave - Out Of Exile
Matthew Santos - Matters Of The Bittersweet

I don't think there are any common factors between them.



And anti-shock is off. It's not skipping due to shock, though. I listen with it sitting on my bed.

[mrarroyo]

Originally Posted by i_don't_know

... I listen with it sitting on my bed.

Is the unit at an angle?

[i_don't_know]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no, it screws up either way.

[i_don't_know]

Okay, I found a Panasonic SL-S231C, and it works with the defective CDs. It also has outstanding soundstage compared to the Optimus.

But I have a few gripes with it:
-sibilance
-lack of detail
-unnatural sounding
-semi-harsh highs
-overall lack of sound quality (though it's not like the Optimus was really any better)
-it hisses a little

What's the best sounding transparent portable CD player I can buy? I don't really want to spend over $70 unless what I would be getting is really worth going over my budget.

[Uncle Erik]

Burn copies of your discs and see if the copies skip at the same places. That will tell you if the defect is on the disc or with the player.

[i_don't_know]

How does the Panasonic SL-SV590A sound as a portable CD player?