[tojamm]

Hello, i have little issue with my Harman/Kardon HD 980 cd-player. The problem is that it vibrates very much when i play cd:s, almost "shaking" and makes a little more noise then it should do.
Has anyone else experienced this? and what should I do about the problem. It still plays the cd and the sound is normal.
 
The problem is that i can't find the receipt for the Cd-player so i can't return it and get it fixed. Should i continue play cd:s and hope that it doesn't get worse?
 
What would you do? It's almost new.

 

[Subsequence]

Seems like the spindle is out of balance which you could solve by placing something heavy on top of the cd player or decoupling it from the surface it rests on. However that's solving symptons not the problem not to mention that it might very well engage some error correction which could degrade sound quality. If you really can't find the receipt maybe it's worth calling harman/kardon and see if they can provide a solution. If not like i said there are some tweaks you can try but it's not ideal. Maybe you can find a replacement spindle which won't cost too much. Or just open it up and see if anything looks strange...

 

[Baxide]

The laser pickup is having problems in reading data from your discs. Are you playing original discs or burned ones? The latter can sometimes be hard to read by CD players. The vibrations are from the spindle motor speeding up and breaking in order to try to establish a data lock between the spinning disc and the laser pickup. Normally the vibration would be more noticeable on an older CD player.
 

 

[tojamm]

Quote:

The laser pickup is having problems in reading data from your discs. Are you playing original discs or burned ones? The latter can sometimes be hard to read by CD players. The vibrations are from the spindle motor speeding up and breaking in order to try to establish a data lock between the spinning disc and the laser pickup. Normally the vibration would be more noticeable on an older CD player.
 

 
Ok, thanks for the info Subsequence and Baxide, maybe i should contact Harman Kardon and see what they say.
 
So it is the spindle motor. maybe i can buy a new one and replace it.
 
I'm playing original discs.

 

[tojamm]

Ok, I've just talked to Harman Kardon support and they say that the cd is not correctly centered.
 

 

[Baxide]

Does it happen on all the discs that you have tried? If it does then the answer from HK support is incorrect.
I was a CD repair engineer for many years so the fault symptoms are not alien to me.
 

 

[tojamm]

Yes it happens to all the cd:s, but only after a while of playing.
Do you think I can play cd:s anyway? because I can cope with it vibrating, I only don't know if it will get worse.
I wonder if it makes the sound worse.
 
Can I replace the spindle motor by myself or is it complicated?

 

[Subsequence]

Well i have never done it myself but perhaps you should ask around on the DIY section. Personally i wouldn't be playing any discs till it's fixed, not the originals atleast. I remember some old cd-rom drives i think it was creative where the discs shattered or when you opened the tray the disc flew out like a frisbee. But those drives spun faster then a cd-player ever should.