[vrom]

I read a thread in the headphone forum about durability of headphones. It's a bit of an relief knowing that a good pair of cans can easily outlive my dog... but I'm still slightly worried over my Meridian 508 and my wallet. I would still prefer to see the CD player live the longest 'cause that would be very cost effective. Any experiences guys? Help me to sleep sound as never before!

 

[Spent&Bent]

Hi vrom, nice to see yet another fellow countryman posting here

Hmmm, a meridian should last at least 3 birds, a small cat or even a poodle.
A wadia however, lasts at least two danish dogs, maybe more

O.k, seriously... if you are worried that the performance of the player is dropping first get it cleaned and readjusted before deciding to replace it.
Certain brands and models have specific flaws that make them more faillure prone.. like some marantz players have had in the past.
If this is not the case with your player I would not worry too much these meridians can last pretty long, even when the dac in this unit has been severely outdated you can still use it as transport.

Hope this comforts you are bit.

 

[jefemeister]

There is no reason a CD player couldn't last a lifetime if well taken care of. If you're truly concerned, buy an additional laser assembly for the transport mechanim as these are often the first thing to go and tend to become unavailable.

 

[Magic77]

Quote:

Originally posted by jefemeister There is no reason a CD player couldn't last a lifetime if well taken care of. If you're truly concerned, buy an additional laser assembly for the transport mechanim as these are often the first thing to go and tend to become unavailable.

I bought a Denon CD player back in 1989; and it lasted until 2000. It was used almost every day and I never even cleaned the Laser Lens.

Wish I would have had a new laser assembly for that player now.

But; yes; the player could last many years as long as the laser is working well.

 

[hybwolf]

Just replaced my Sony 775 with a Marantz 8260. Passed the Sony to my Dad to replace his Sanyo from 1987. And the Sanyo still works perfect!

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Quote:

Originally posted by Magic77 I bought a Denon CD player back in 1989; and it lasted until 2000. It was used almost every day and I never even cleaned the Laser Lens. Wish I would have had a new laser assembly for that player now. But; yes; the player could last many years as long as the laser is working well.

As far as cleaning the lens goes, unless you take it open and clean it directly with cotton swabs, those 'cleaning' CDs seem to do more harm than good; I know quite a few of my drives went to a premature end after I used one on them

 

[vrom]

I can sleep sound for a couple of years guys. It 'll still work... and my dog won't outlive my player. But I haven't heard any conclusions about deterioration soundwise. I'm thinking about the inside getting clogged with dirt or the laser needs cleaning or maybe oxidation of contacts. So regular cleaning is a must then?

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Bloggs As far as cleaning the lens goes, unless you take it open and clean it directly with cotton swabs, those 'cleaning' CDs seem to do more harm than good; I know quite a few of my drives went to a premature end after I used one on them

Noooooo

never use those, some laser systems get damaged by them as they are not designed to be cleaned this way ,as you have found out already, unfortunately.

Quote:

Originally posted by vrom I can sleep sound for a couple of years guys. It 'll still work... and my dog won't outlive my player. But I haven't heard any conclusions about deterioration soundwise. I'm thinking about the inside getting clogged with dirt or the laser needs cleaning or maybe oxidation of contacts. So regular cleaning is a must then?

Cleaning should be a first after you get problems playing known good disks, if problems persist after swabbing the laser system, it probably needs to be readjusted (calibrated?) again to the surface of the disk.
I guess you could do it yourself if you have the tools, but it would be best to send it off to the manufacturer.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Quote:

Originally posted by Spent&Bent Noooooo never use those, some laser systems get damaged by them as they are not designed to be cleaned this way ,as you have found out already, unfortunately.

That was a long time ago and just some stupid CD Rom drives

 

[princeclassic]

the problems with the cd players i've come across are easily fixable.

-either the lens needs to be cleaned of dust

-or the rods that the laser assembly move on need to be lubricated

it's actually pretty nice for a cheap kid like myself. i can pick up a "broken" cd player for a few bucks and fix it in a few minutes.

i've got a denon dcd-1000 by the way...i just tried searchin for the year it was built and came up with 1985.

it works fine and it's as old as me!

 

[Mike Walker]

I have a Sony D-5...THE FIRST PORTABLE CD PLAYER...purchased in 1984 (along with the battery case...nope there was no battery compartment in this thing!

It still works (and looks, by the way) like new. And it was an amazingly good sounding cd player in it's day...the slightly rolled-off extreme highs taking the edge off the overly bright/brittle cds from the early days. It sounded MUCH better (during Reagan's first term) than much more expensive models with (measurably) flat response.

Battery life, however, was a joke...less than an hour...with all FOUR c-cell Nicads charged fully.

 

[Carlos3]

I wouldn't be suprised if that Sony D-5 is non-oversampling (with an analogue filter).

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Bloggs That was a long time ago and just some stupid CD Rom drives

I know, but certain regular players have used cd-rom parts in their enclosures as well.... just to be on the safe side I would not use them.