[LamerDeluxe (tm)]

Well, I just received my much anticipated D-555 from e-Bay.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working properly.

The first thing I noticed is that I can hear the electronics through the headphone out, no other Sony PCDP I have has that problem, so that didn't seem to be right.
Secondly, the volume wasn't very loud at all.
Thirdly, there was a really nasty bathchamber type echo in the sound constantly, which could not be turned off in any way by adjusting any of the effect settings.

It had a dent in the lid, I knew that when I bought it, it was said to function perfectly despite that. So I opened it up, couldn't really see anything wrong apart that maybe the large chip inside the lid hadn't been soldered using a lot of solder.
Got rid of the dent, that was nice.

Then I noticed the solder joints of the headphone connector looked a bit black. That's when I found the problem; the resistor directly connected to the headphone-out was burned up, and had come loose at one side as well. I'm not sure if thise would explain all the mentioned problems, but probably the volume and electronic noise, maybe not the echo though.

If anyone could tell me the value of the resistor directly connected to the headphone-out, I could attempt to replace it.

I already contacted the seller about the problem. I'm not sure what to do, the device was said to be working perfectly and I got it for only $60. Maybe I should attempt to fix it and if that doesn't work out return it.

I'm really disappointed, this seems like such an awesome Discman, even with all the problems I can hear that it must sound really great when working properly.

EDIT: The line-out seems to be working correctly. No weird echos or noise. It sounds noticably better than the line-out of my D-25s. But then I tried the Denon DCP-150 and it was in a totally different league, much fuller and more detailed sound.

BTW: Received Sony MDR-565 earbuds with the D-555 and they sound really nice. Slightly less treble and detail than the Philips HE915, but a fuller, smoother and more pleasant sound. With these my Denon seems to sound better than my D-25s.

 

[Oliver :)]

Hi! May I ask which ebay site you bought it from? The description (dent) and price seem to match a 555 I was bidding on last week on ebay.de, was outbid by 1EUR though...

Just BTW, *heck* some people put strange dates on their stuff! No, I am not going to bid on an item that closes at 23:56 on friday night, even if it is a D-J50

 

[LamerDeluxe (tm)]

Quote:

Originally posted by Oliver Hi! May I ask which ebay site you bought it from? The description (dent) and price seem to match a 555 I was bidding on last week on ebay.de, was outbid by 1EUR though... Just BTW, *heck* some people put strange dates on their stuff! No, I am not going to bid on an item that closes at 23:56 on friday night, even if it is a D-J50

Yes, that was the one

I don't think I outbid you, I don't remember exactly, but I think you bid below my maximum price. I guess you don't have to feel to sorry about not winning this one then. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, ask part of my money back, try to fix it.

I just need to know the value of the burned out resistor, so I can hopefully replace it and hope that nothing else was damaged.
I'm glad I was able to totally get rid of that dent though.

I'm interested in that D-J50, I already won an auction for the manual

But I would really like to have a D-555 that's working properly.

BTW: the battery compartment has three connectors, I tried the AA adapter of my D-99 in it and it was a very tight fit, it didn't seem to work, maybe the batteries were too low on power.

 

[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally posted by LamerDeluxe (tm) I guess you don't have to feel to sorry about not winning this one then.

Well, yes, although I'm sorry for you

I think I will have a (possibly defective) D-25S on my doorstep tomorrow, possibly also a D-25... I have to keep myself away from eBay...

 

[LamerDeluxe (tm)]

Quote:

Originally posted by Oliver Well, yes, although I'm sorry for you

Thanks

The seller just mailed back, I had a feeling he didn't know about the problem (his feedback was okay), as there was a carkit included and I had a feeling he mostly used this Discman in his car (line-out). I was right about that.

He said if I could fix it he would pay for the costs and maybe some more. Otherwise we'd have to look into another solution. As soon as I know the value of the resistor, I'm going to attempt to fix it.

Quote:

I think I will have a (possibly defective) D-25S on my doorstep tomorrow, possibly also a D-25... I have to keep myself away from eBay...

Yeah, same here, e-Bay is a bit too addictive, like being a kid in a candy story

If you didn't have a D-25(s) before and it works, I'm sure you will like it, the casing is great and the sound is clear.

 

[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally posted by LamerDeluxe (tm) If you didn't have a D-25(s) before and it works, I'm sure you will like it, the casing is great and the sound is clear.

In fact I might also be happy if I do not get the 25s to work at all (although I think it might just be a dead battery), I got it for just EUR27,50, definitively a good price for a beautyful ...paperweight. I mean, sickboy me had a PowerBook Duo on my shelve for two years, just for looks.

Okay, okay, I would love to get it to work! I admit it! I want to pit it against the D-99, and against a D-555 if I can get my hands on one. Then again I will pit the winner against my iPod with AIFF encoded material, and then...

 

[LamerDeluxe (tm)]

Quote:

Originally posted by Oliver In fact I might also be happy if I do not get the 25s to work at all (although I think it might just be a dead battery), I got it for just EUR27,50, definitively a good price for a beautyful ...paperweight. I mean, sickboy me had a PowerBook Duo on my shelve for two years, just for looks.

LOL

That's a good price.

I must admit I got a defective white D-100, just because I like it's 80's look so much. I have no idea if I could fix it. And I got a defective Denon DCP-50 as well, as it included the box and remote, I think I'm in need for some professional help

Quote:

Okay, okay, I would love to get it to work! I admit it! I want to pit it against the D-99, and against a D-555 if I can get my hands on one. Then again I will pit the winner against my iPod with AIFF encoded material, and then...

Heheheh

I love doing that comparison stuff, I've been doing more comparing than listening normally to my recently acuired Discmen

The Denon DCP-150 really surprised me today.

 

[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally posted by LamerDeluxe (tm) LOL That's a good price.

You'd bet, shot my D-25(0) for EUR36, but the next one (with more extras!) went for EUR13!

 

[LamerDeluxe (tm)]

I know what you mean, sometimes some of these famous players go for ridiculously low prices. Indeed especially when you just payed more for a (defective) one

Man, that white D-150 really looked awesome, too bad I couldn't bid on it then...

 

[NEO]

LamerDeluxe (tm),
the current non working D555 on eBay is about $50 and there are a few days left.. (I have D555 and DCP100)
NEO

 

[LamerDeluxe (tm)]

Thanks for the tip. I didn't realize that one was defective. Ships to US only, though that might be changed if asked politely.

If I find out the value of the resistor soon enough, I hope to fix the one I have now, otherwise this defective one could indeed be a solution.

 

[krayzie]

Just wondering how did you ever removed the dent... sounds interesting... did you hammer the underside of the lid?

 

[LamerDeluxe (tm)]

Quote:

Originally posted by krayzie Just wondering how did you ever removed the dent... sounds interesting... did you hammer the underside of the lid?

That's right.

With the D-555 there are electronics inside the lid, a whole quite thin PCB with some chips and the display. So I had to remove those first (relatively easy, though there's some sticky tape in there to keep things in place). And there's one of those thin plastic ribbons going from the main unit to the lid, so I had to open the discman itself to release that ribbon.

Then I placed a soft piece of clothing on a piece of wood and the lid on top of that. The place I had to hammer had some protective plastic already to prevent short-circuiting. I hammered it gently, constantly checking the result. Amazingly the dent disappeared without a trace, no damage to the paint or anything.

 

[krayzie]

Damn that's great... I might do that someday to one of my Walkmans that has a dent on the metal shell...

I thought so... since that's what auto body shop ppl do to metal car panels to get rid of dents... Nice!

 

[LamerDeluxe (tm)]

Quote:

Originally posted by krayzie Damn that's great... I might do that someday to one of my Walkmans that has a dent on the metal shell...

Yes, I really think you should, it looks so much better without that dent. Though the dent made it obvious the casing is made out of metal

Quote:

I thought so... since that's what auto body shop ppl do to metal car panels to get rid of dents... Nice!

That was my thought exactly, glad it vanished without a trace.