Replacement CD player advice

[dashdespatch]

Hi my ancient arcam alpha cd player {the original one} seems to be on its last legs is it worth repairing? if so any idea who would undertake such a job?

I tried using my ps3 but the sound quality was nowhere as good! Can anybody reccomend a replacement player and what price bracket am i looking at? :quest:

 

[mikeparker59]

Have you tried contacting Arcam about repair?

I'm quite happy with both my Rotel ...getting on a bit now but still working fine apart from tray sticking now and again. Also have a marantz 6004 CD player which is on a par with the Rotel. No need to part with silly money IMHO for a cd player.

 

[danrv]

Hi

I was in the same position a a few years back with my Arcam Alpha One. Minimum fee was £100 for Arcam to take a look. An independant repair shop would be cheaper but not easy to find and may cost in postage if there isn't one in your area. Maybe time to look for a replacement.

I went to Richer Sounds in Cambridge and bought the Cambridge Audio Azur 640C for £259. Fantastic CD player and there's some very good ones around at the moment in the £200-£300 price range.

What amp and speakers are you using?

 

[dashdespatch]

Hi amp is a yamaha a/v receiver not sure what model but only a couple of years old its got a great overall sound from all sources but the speakers are 1984 vintage JPW p1`s!! that sound great now i purchased new drive units for them (can`t believe they are still avaliable)

What i don`t understand is why the ps3 that is 20 yeaers more advanced sounds so thin even when i put it on it`s highest quality settings?

 

[dashdespatch]

Not sure a repair will do it it`s only copied discs it`s taken a dislike to

 

[danrv]

Not sure a repair will do it it`s only copied discs it`s taken a dislike to

So the Arcam is ok with original discs? The PS3 won't sound as good as a dedicated CD player as it lacks things like quality power supply and DAC's.

 

[dashdespatch]

"real" discs fine (for now!)

 

[bigfish786]

it may be worth contacting avondale audio in chesterfield, they may do a repair and possibly an upgrade if you were interested.

i had the original arcam alpha cd player too.. very good cd player, made my arcam dv79 sound very clinical.

problem is, you can pick an alpha up for next to nothing these days.

if you decide to get a replacement, go for a used rega. you will not be disappointed.

 

[BigH]

I would not bother getting it repaired, put the money towards a newer model. Plenty of Marantz ones about.

There is a place in Doncaster (Fidelity Audio) that can replace the lazer for about £70 if you really want to go down that road.

 

[mikeparker59]

Not sure a repair will do it it`s only copied discs it`s taken a dislike to

Discs do go 'bad' is it all copied discs or only some?

I look on cd's I've burned myself as disposable. Some last better than others depending on who actually made them Taio Yuden Japanese made discs seem to be most stable in my experience.

I've had discs made by known manufacturers like Sony, Pioneer and other well known names bcome unplayable after only a short time. My days of burning anything to CD or DVD for archival purposes has come to an end, as I just don't trust optical media.

 

[matthewpiano]

If you replace it I'd suggest looking at the Denon DCD720AE. Available for considerably less than the equivalent Marantz CD6005 and a very good player. Keep away from the cheaper Cambridge Audio Topaz stuff. It isn't very good.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

Are you using the optical out on your Playstation to feed your amp.

Try phono leads .

 

[matthewpiano]

Are you using the optical out on your Playstation to feed your amp.

Try phono leads .

Optical is the only way of outputting sound from a PS3, other than via the HDMI. No analogue outputs.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

O.K.... I'm a 360 man myself.

The Xbox comes with a component lead with phone leads, it also came with an optical cable which I tried betweem my CD/amp - it was as the OP discribes although it works well for 5.1 duties. thought the PS3 came with the same options.

 

[dashdespatch]

i hope its bad discs they were marantz discs they, used to be a quality brand but maybe not any more?

 

[matthewpiano]

i hope its bad discs they were marantz discs they, used to be a quality brand but maybe not any more?

Marantz discs???? Never seen those. You sure you don't mean Memorex?

 

[dashdespatch]

using optical but my ps3 has analouge!!! would that be better?

 

[jesmat]

I had the same trouble with my 20 year old Denon DCD1015. It played old CDs fine but struggled to read new CD-Rs. I thought that maybe that modern CD-Rs use different dyes or that the latest manufacturing of these blank discs was incompatible with 20 year old players. Either that or the Denon's laser was on its last legs.

The final straw was when I bought an on demand CD from Amazon USA that the Denon couldn't read. Replaced it with a Marantz CD6005, but I wish I'd waited until the Xmas sales as Richer Sounds have just knocked £90 off.

 

[matthewpiano]

using optical but my ps3 has analouge!!! would that be better?

Is yours one of the early PS3s?

Always worth trying an alternative connection if you have that option.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

If you have a spare pair of anolog interconnects try them......

tell us if you hear a difference.

 

[mikeparker59]

i hope its bad discs they were marantz discs they, used to be a quality brand but maybe not any more?

Marantz discs???? Never seen those. You sure you don't mean Memorex?

Nor me. Hey i've had Memorex go bad too!

To be honest my main use for CD's was backing up photos sadly I've found discs unreadable after only a few months in storage....dry dark away from heat sources so stored correctly.Luckily they were only backups of my hard drive stored photos. I now use portable hard drives and Flickr for backups.

so too with music files they are stored on multiple hard drives. I might burn the odd CD for use in the car but as I said in my earlier post I regard them as disposable and not for long term use. Having said that I do have some that still play OK a few years since burning them, but also many more that have gone bad, all recognised brands.

Were memorex really that good or was it advertising 'is it live or is it memorex?' Must admit in the tape days I preferred TDK Super Avelyn but that's going back quite a while now and another story!

I wonder if the OP could try his recorded discs on another player to test them out?

 

[dashdespatch]

Sorry memorex!