[mekanoplastik]

I got a d-555 discman unit last week from a newspaper add, it looked like a super-excellent deal but it turned into a headache very soon… the unit would skip the first song (only the first ??? weird) all the time or sometimes it wouldn’t find the toc at all, also it was very loud and it ran very hot.

I researched for laser pickups since I figured the problem was the motors and gears that were worn…and I found that the sony d-25 and d-555 have the same laser unit with the only difference being the size of the motor (d-25 is thinner) and the voltage of the laser (no problem since it can be adjusted with a screwdriver J ).

I got my super cheap soldering iron and dissembled the pickups on both units, I wrote down all the cable color codes and their correspondent place on the boards and I simply swapped the parts…after I soldered the cables I adjusted all (5) little board trimmers things (sorry I do not know the correct name) to their middle positions and fired the unit…….it worked!!!! I mean, it spun strong and found the beginning of the track but It keep skipping if shaken, even with a very light movement… I adjusted the trimmers one by one using the trial-error method and after 30 minutes playing around I figured all the correct adjustments.. after all the adjustments the unit does not EVER skip any more, finds the songs faster, and it is cooler. now I can sit and enjoy the headphone out of this super-cool looking unit without worrying about skipping, it even plays my yellow-gold Memorex cdr…amazing!!

I learned that the d-25 has the same pcm66p (dac ??) chip as the d-555 (but only one, not two as the 555), same laser and very similar construction, I “found” what I think is the easiest way to get correct values for the trimmers, and I also found how to adjust the brightness of the display on the d-25 ( open the unit and there are 3 trimmers on the top board, the one on the left as you face the front of the unit will change the brightness..) I have also found two big capacitors in the 555…I will get some b.gates and see if they improve the sound on the headphone out..

The laser pickups assemblies I found online for the 555 where very expensive (70-100$) and knowing that the d-25s form SS is new and It only cost 50$ I just decided use my unit as a donor…it was painful to open such a new and perfect unit to pull the components out. …I felt kind of guilty until I listened the final product, a new 555 with new optics and mechanics….sweet

So far I think the headphone out of this player is far ahead of d-303, d-25, d-35 and the line out is closer to the one of the d-25 that the d-303 or d-35…kind of metallic and sharp..but that is another subject….

Hope this will help…….

m.

 

[blip]

Sweet man... Glad it worked

 

[puppyslugg]

mekanoplastik;


You are one bad dude!!

But what of your d-25? Poor thing...

Are you planning mods for the d-555?

 

[mekanoplastik]

Puppyslug.. thanks for your interest..

I want to replace the capacitors on the player. There are two nichicon 470uf 6.3v that I would like to replace with same value b.gates nx series (super-expensive…20$ each

!!!..supposed to be the very best ) I am also looking for a good external regulated linear power supply but I still have not found what is the best voltage..(I guess 10V at the most….any recommendation??) Also, very recently I found some articles about reclocking (?!) the player, that mod seems to be very beneficial and it is not too hard to do.. my ultimate goal..is to have a reclocked 555 as a transport using a external dac..it will not be portable but it will be fun to build and very educational..hehe…until then I just want to get the capacitors and the supply, the clock and the dac goes later..

About reclocking…the main problem is the power supply for the clock..i want to use the battery compartment for the clock board and get the power from the player board somewhere, this way it will be unnoticeable from the outside, but I am not sure if that is a good idea..anyway..right now I have to save some money for the caps and the supply. I will keep you updated with any serious mod (clock and dac)..

About the d-25, yes…it was sad, but it died for a good cause …since d-25 it is so very nice looking Im thinking installing the dac on the empty enclosure.. can be fun…or maybe making a space age ashtray.. .hehe

m.

 

[puppyslugg]

mekanoplastik,

I built a 9v regulated linear supply for the d-25. Worked well. The reg. supply was pretty much a basic lt1085 based one. I would assume a 9v supply would work for your d-555.

Good luck on the DAC mods. Keep us posted.