[joe_seattle]

I bought this Rotel RCD-975 for $10 at a local thrift store...feel free to hate me and my bargain finds, like the $1200 Sony DVP-S7000 DVD player for $15. Anyway, this Rotel has the usual issue with the faulty CD tray gear that many units experience over time. It plays discs properly and all outputs appear to function, so other than the gear, it is in remarkably good condition except that all the capacitors need to be replaced. I can tell they need replacement because most of them are leaking (see photos). So, I'm hoping that someone can help answer a few questions I have on how best to go about replacing them.

1. Aside from the capacitors, are there other components that would fail, or not be functionally properly, over time that I should check?

2. By looking at the photos, can anyone suggest where different-value/style caps might improve sound quality?

3. Are there particular brands/lines/styles of caps that would go well in certain places, or is there a brand/line of cap that would work well to replace everything?

4. Are there other somewhat easy fixes/changes that would improve the player? I might be willing to try doing an opamp swap, but my skills with the soldering iron may not be quite that good.

I don't want to spend an arm and a leg - thinking in the <$100 range. Also, the black X marks on the caps are from me - marked them as I went through to create an inventory.

Click on the album link for more pics and jumbo-sized ones.

Thanks for any help you can provide!
-Joe

Album: Rotel RCD-975 pictures by joe_seattle - Photobucket

 

[Pars]

There are a number of threads on diyaudio that you might wish to read:
rcd975 site:diyaudio.com - Google Search

I don't know a lot about the 975, but it used TDA1305 DACS (Philips) and a Philips CDM9 laser, which will be rather hard to find a replacement for. Caps I would recommend would be Panasonic FM for anything other than coupling caps. Opamps I would look at would be THS4031/4032 for I/V duty. You can get a service manual for free from Rotel... send them an email.

 

[cfcubed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe_seattle /img/forum/go_quote.gif I bought this Rotel RCD-975 for $10 at a local thrift store..< snip > it is in remarkably good condition except that all the capacitors need to be replaced. I can tell they need replacement because most of them are leaking (see photos).

Think the unit is less than 10 yrs old. My bet is that you are not seeing the caps leaking, but are seeing the glue holding them down. Think these units are made pretty well, with good components, the heavier of which (larger caps) are tacked down.

 

[nullstring]

This is off topic, but do you care to share any tips on finding these types of items?
How many stores do you hit? How often?
I do hate you for your bargain finds =p

They don't look like they are leaking to me... but your pictures are rather low resolution... if you want us to take a look at them, we're going to need better pictures

 

[joe_seattle]

Thanks for the replies. I feel kinda foolish thinking the glue was the caps leaking...of course it would be very unlikely that ALL the caps would leak...anyway. So, I guess that saves a lot of time and money on mods.

As for where I find these great bargains, Seattle (I'm told) has the largest Goodwill in the US. At any given time there are some pretty outstanding electronics available. Just the sheer number is impressive...it's 4 walls of shelving that are about 40 feet long and have 4 shelves. Figure about 150 cd/dvd players, 50-75 VCRs, 50 speakers, then misc electronics. Finding items there is about luck and timing. The good stuff goes quickly and the crap never leaves. The amazing Sony DVD player I got was put out the same day I bought it. The Rotel had been there about a week, but I think it scared people off because of the faulty tray. I saw a cool looking Luxman CD player, but it ran on the European voltage, so was impossible to test. Go often and go early. Craigslist can also be useful as can yard sales.

 

[hopeless]

Exactly what I thought - the glue.

BTW, the TDA1305 needs no IV conversion since it is V out. Just a buffer/filter opamp stage.

My bet is that your player uses the OP275 or the OPA2604. If you want, remove them and place sockets for trying other stuff, like the popular National LME49xxx, or the less popular TLE2142, or the even less popular but best-of-all OPA2211AID (requires adapter SMD->DIP).