Picky Cambridge Audio CD500 SE ?

[admin_exported]

Hi Folks,

This is my first post, I bought this player about a year ago, secondhand.

I have always found that it is very choosy about the cds that it will play, just tried a couple that it just spun and searched forever ( neither of them perfect but played in my other player) then a very little played one that works perfectly, Is this common ?

Would appreciate any input .

Cheers, Pete.

 

[John Duncan]

Hi Beat, and welcome to the forum. The first thing I'd do with any player that has trouble reading discs is to get a CD laser cleaning disc (available for three or four quid) and run it through your player; this can solve most problems of this type. If not, maybe it's time for a service...

 

[Overdose]

Faults can be worn spindle motor, tracking error, laser alignment, dirty lens, failing laser.

Given the age of the unit, I'd go with the suggested lens clean and then perhaps look for a replacement transport. Repair costs if the lens clean doesn't work, are likely to consign the player to shelf number B1N. A replacement CD player could probably be found for less.

Depending on the type of transport, some adjustments can be made to correct read errors, which seems to be the problem. Having said that, you might be hard pushed to find someone competent enough to do such repairs at a reasonable price, Hi-Fi repair shops seem to be in decline.