[cetoole]

I hear a faint clicking in the left channel of my Magnavox AZ8616 PCDP, anyone have any experience with these? Sound is great, plays all CDs so far, both redbook and CDR, but it does skip easily, not sure if it is skipping more than normal.

 

[moeburn]

I brutally mutilated my MP3 cd player with a soldering iron to the point where the two halves of the player have seperated and the lcd cable has come off. It is fixable, but I'm wondering if its worth it.

 

[Kevin Sinnott]

I have a D555 I bought two years ago from another Head-Fi'er. I love the sound... except, two issues:
1) It plays CDs better than the unit is tilted down at the front/display. I usually solve this by putting the back two feet on a book, but I've always wondered if there's an internal solution.

2) Worse, sometimes, out of the blue, the volume gets QUITE loud in one ear and there is a loud whistling sound in the other. Whenever this occurs, the volume reading on the unit's top display disappears. I find if I squeeze the D555 a little, it goes back to normal. I usually listen pretty carefully, volume setting-wise, but the burst is quite alarming.

I replaced the caps when I got the unit. Otherwise it is unmodified.

I would greatly appreciate the guidance and wisdom of this group of great minds. The D555 is my favorite listening experience.

Forgive me if this question has already been addressed.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Sinnott I have a D555 I bought two years ago from another Head-Fi'er. I love the sound... except, two issues: 1) It plays CDs better than the unit is tilted down at the front/display. I usually solve this by putting the back two feet on a book, but I've always wondered if there's an internal solution. 2) Worse, sometimes, out of the blue, the volume gets QUITE loud in one ear and there is a loud whistling sound in the other. Whenever this occurs, the volume reading on the unit's top display disappears. I find if I squeeze the D555 a little, it goes back to normal. I usually listen pretty carefully, volume setting-wise, but the burst is quite alarming. I replaced the caps when I got the unit. Otherwise it is unmodified. I would greatly appreciate the guidance and wisdom of this group of great minds. The D555 is my favorite listening experience. Forgive me if this question has already been addressed.

The first issue sounds sort of like the one that afflicts the D35(0) that the laser arm is maybe a bit weak, and you're just helping it out...

The second issue definetly sounds like a dry solder joint, go over the caps you replaced, and make sure there isn't any bad connections (the part about squeezing the player to get it back to normal kind of highlights this to me - if you have to hold a certain part to restore sound, make sure to start your search there!)

Hope that helps

 

[Kevin Sinnott]

Thanks, Duncan,

The soldering iron is heating up. Another thing I'm noticing as I'm testing it is that sometimes, the volume just jumps up (both channels) and then back down. Is this part of the same issue?

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Sinnott Thanks, Duncan, The soldering iron is heating up. Another thing I'm noticing as I'm testing it is that sometimes, the volume just jumps up (both channels) and then back down. Is this part of the same issue?

Hopefully its related, but it doesn't seem like it if it is in both channels...

I don't know how clever the circuit is, if it can 'sense' if there are any potential bad joints, and tries to boost the power or anything like that... I highly doubt it... does the volume meter on the display go up / down at the same time, or is it literally just the volume on the jack itself?

 

[Ubijza]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan Oops Good job I prefer the sound of the 211 to that of the 311... the 311 officially died at 21.00BST 09/25/2003 It sounds like the power regulator has failed... pops when the PSU is plugged in the back, and whistle through the headphone out when batteries are plugged in... regardless of whether the lid is open, closed, disc inserted or not... the whistling stops when you press play, but nothing happens... Also the whistling is at a constant volume regardless of what the pot is set to... R.I.P. D311

Possible good news!

I have had the exact problem with my D303 (when I put the batts in, straight away whistling noise in headphones would appear... everything just like in your post with the only difference being that D303 played fine from the adapter). Anyway I've decieded to open it up and had to use WD40 on a jammed screw, that just wouldn't come out. To cut the story short - WD40 was (accidentaly) sprayed all over the motherboard (on both sides), the screw still did not come out (

), the player was left alone for a few days for WD40 to dry completely... switched it on afterwards... D303 WORKS! Whistle is GONE!! It's been working for about a week now

Strange, but very true!

 

[Filburt]

Posted a thread here about it, too

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...30#post1513230

Basically I get prominent hiss on my MDR-E888LP and MDR-V6 on the headphone out. I can still hear music, but, it's still annoying. I never owned this unit when it didn't hiss, so I don't know if it's supposed to or not. The fellow I bought it from said he doesn't recall it doing that, but, he hasn't used it in quite some time. Considering I got the unit relatively inexpensively, I'm not apt to complain about that, so I figure I just need to fix it now.

The hiss _does not_ occur when the unit is paused or not playing a track. It is of static volume irrespective of where the volume pot is placed, ergo can be masked in most cases by increasing volume of the music. However, quiet passages still suffer.

I looked at the caps on the main board and didn't see anything physically wrong with them. In fact, nearly everything looked rather healthy, especially considering the age of the unit (Jan 1992).

I'd really like to save this thing. There is something about the output that I find just captivating, and I'm not entirely sure what it is. It just sounds..."right" on many tracks for some reason. The other thing is, it seems to be nearly impervious to CD scratches. It plays CDs that literally all of my other CD and DVD players (both portable and deck) can barely play, if at all, and plays them with little error. I don't know why it can, but, it's impressive. There is a huge gash in my Peter Gabriel CD (*sad*) that this thing reads through as if it isn't there, whereas everything else I have won't even play the tracks there.

It also has a heck of a lot of power in the headphone out.

Anyhow, I'd like to save this thing, because it's spiffy, and I think it's worth saving, especially considering everything else is working so nicely. I really hope someone can help!

Edit - Forgot to mention, hiss volume does not change when engaging "S-XBS", however, it does increase when engaging the high-pass filter "high filter" as well as the "Live" DSP switch (I guess it's some sort of 3D sound doohickey).

 

[DeeJayBump]

I have a Sony D-515 that has recently started doing something odd. When I have ESP activated, the player skips while playing, yet if I switch the ESP off, it plays fine--the skipping stops.

Anybody ever experienced something like this with the Sony ESP players?

Any ideas what could be wrong with this player?

Thanks.

EDIT:

This skipping occurs while the player is placed on a solid surface and with clean, non-scratched CDs.

 

[daycart1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ubijza Possible good news! To cut the story short - WD40 was (accidentaly) sprayed all over the motherboard (on both sides), the screw still did not come out ( ), the player was left alone for a few days for WD40 to dry completely... switched it on afterwards... D303 WORKS! Whistle is GONE!! It's been working for about a week now Strange, but very true!

That is interesting! The WD40 residue might be slightly conductive which could have plugged an electrical gap somewhere. Or it might have dissolved some contaminant that was causing the problem.

 

[Ubijza]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daycart1 That is interesting! The WD40 residue might be slightly conductive which could have plugged an electrical gap somewhere. Or it might have dissolved some contaminant that was causing the problem.

And it's a long term solution too - the player is still working!!

 

[Kevin Sinnott]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Filburt Posted a thread here about it, too http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...30#post1513230 Basically I get prominent hiss on my MDR-E888LP and MDR-V6 on the headphone out. I can still hear music, but, it's still annoying. I never owned this unit when it didn't hiss, so I don't know if it's supposed to or not. The fellow I bought it from said he doesn't recall it doing that, but, he hasn't used it in quite some time. Considering I got the unit relatively inexpensively, I'm not apt to complain about that, so I figure I just need to fix it now. The hiss _does not_ occur when the unit is paused or not playing a track. It is of static volume irrespective of where the volume pot is placed, ergo can be masked in most cases by increasing volume of the music. However, quiet passages still suffer. I looked at the caps on the main board and didn't see anything physically wrong with them. In fact, nearly everything looked rather healthy, especially considering the age of the unit (Jan 1992). I'd really like to save this thing. There is something about the output that I find just captivating, and I'm not entirely sure what it is. It just sounds..."right" on many tracks for some reason. The other thing is, it seems to be nearly impervious to CD scratches. It plays CDs that literally all of my other CD and DVD players (both portable and deck) can barely play, if at all, and plays them with little error. I don't know why it can, but, it's impressive. There is a huge gash in my Peter Gabriel CD (*sad*) that this thing reads through as if it isn't there, whereas everything else I have won't even play the tracks there. It also has a heck of a lot of power in the headphone out. Anyhow, I'd like to save this thing, because it's spiffy, and I think it's worth saving, especially considering everything else is working so nicely. I really hope someone can help! Edit - Forgot to mention, hiss volume does not change when engaging "S-XBS", however, it does increase when engaging the high-pass filter "high filter" as well as the "Live" DSP switch (I guess it's some sort of 3D sound doohickey).

Hi,

I've had a similar problem with several of my Discmen when matched to a variety of headphones/earbuds in my collection. Here's what I've found:
Often the offending hiss can be eliminiated or greatly reduced by adding an inline volume control. Radio Shack sells them for a few dollars. Whether this helps mask or cures and impedance mismatch or other reason, it seems to treat it.

Hope it helps you.

 

[D555]

"Hissy" headphone outputs is a major peeve of mine and I avoid any product that is prone to it.

When paused, the unit probably activates a built-in mute circuit (farily common practice with digital equipment) to prevent leakage of the digital control circuit activity which can sound like chips and beeps. It is very common in digitally synthesized tuned radios as there can be a lot of noise.

As for the hiss the inline volume control is the easiest solution, though it may seem to rob the player of that extra "oomph". Depends upon how much hiss needes to be removed. If one is adventurous one could duplicate the action of the inline control and by measuring the value of the inline control when set and contructing a little circuit inside the player.

Paul

 

[D555]

Kevin,

1) Sounds like an adjustment issue. When these players are on the edge of going out of adjustment little tricks like tilting can help for awhile.

2) Check soldering and ribbon cable connections. Not specified what caps were used to replace the originals but space is tight and it may be possible the circuit board is flexing when the player is closed up. If there's any possiblity of flexing, check the area around the repair. Have a close look a the ribbon cable for cracks in the traces and the thin plastic.

Paul

 

[Kevin Sinnott]

Thanks, Paul (and Duncan for your earlier post),

We installed Nichon caps ala a previous post recommendation. They appeared about the same size as the stock ones we replaced.

As to Duncan's question: when the volume jumps do the meters also jump, the answer is yes. Both jump up.

All solders were checked. We resoldered a few, but most appeared good. I'll check the ribbon cables.

Meanwhile, I've got a few other Sony PCDPs to listen to, but I sure like the 555.

Best regards,
Kevin