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Cambridge Audio 751BD has failed--worth repairing?

I've had 5+ years of reliable service from this machine which I bought new, but a few days ago it suddenly failed. It refuses to load DVDs or Blu-Rays, just displays the "unknown disc" error message after a long delay and a lot of whirring. CDs play intermittently with lots of freezing and skipping. I sent a message to Cambridge Audio's customer service department and they told me to try a factory-reset, which of course had no effect. Otherwise, they said, contact the dealer. In other words, they don't know (or care, apparently) who is an authorized service provider. I use this machine for both music and movies, though mostly (except for SACDs) as a transport through a Bryston BDA1 DAC. Is it worth trying to repair? Have any of you had similar experiences with CA universal disc spinners? One solution I've been eying is the Oppo UDP203 for video and SACDs, and a used PS Audio PerfectWave transport for CDs, though only if I decide I don't like how the Oppo handles CDs. However, if it's economically feasible to repair the 751BD, that's my first choice. Advice and opinions welcome. Thanks.
cooper52
9 responses Add your response
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,441 posts
 

Thanks! for sharing- cooper52

Happy Listening!

cooper52 OP
176 posts
 
It was something in the tracking mechanism that failed. The player wouldn't recognize DVDs at all, and CDs played only intermittently with lots of skipping and freezing. Should mention that the CXU gives spectacular video performance to go with it's excellent audio. I'm not up to 4K video yet, but DVDs and BluRay discs look awfully good in plain old 1080p on my nearly 5-year-old Samsung TV.
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,441 posts
 
Thanks! for the update- cooper52-
what failed on the 751BD ? I have read good reviews about the CXU/CXUHD models. Happy Listening!
cooper52 OP
176 posts
 
Audio Vision San Francisco. I had a very good experience when I bought the 751BD from them back in 2012 and they were extremely helpful to me in resolving this issue. I have to say that the CXU is, in most ways, an upgrade from the 751BD, though the latter was built like a Sherman tank, the CXU feeling noticeably lighter and less substantial. However, its performance is distinctly better than its predecessor for both video and audio. I was using a W4S reclocker with my 751BD which improved its audio performance substantially, and I find that the CXU also benefits from it.
jafant's avatar
jafant
19,441 posts
 
cooper52-

Good to read about a favorable outcome to your situation. Whom is your dealer/retailer?  Give a shout -out!

Happy Listening!
cooper52 OP
176 posts
 
     Update: Through the dealer who sold me the player, I was able to contact Cambridge Audio directly and ended up trading in my 751BD for a substantial discount on a refurbished CXU. I had the option of trading up to a CXUHD (their newest model) but after reading up on these two players, I saw that the CXUHD contains no DAC circuitry and even though I use an outboard DAC anyway (Bryston BDA1), listening to my SACDs would be a problem because though I could listen to the CD layer of the hybrid discs, I have a few in my collection that are SACD only and the Bryston DAC isn't DSD capable. I may be missing something here, but the CXUHD doesn't appear to have a way to convert DSD to PCM the way most SACD players do.

     Of course my new CXU has a lot of interesting bells and whistles (including Darbee video processing) which I may or may not actually use, but generally I do consider it an upgrade from the 751BD. High marks to Cambridge Audio's US representatives for the excellent customer service I received.
cooper52 OP
176 posts
 
I figure a $200 or $250 repair cost would be about right. If the folks at CA had been more forthcoming about who can do authorized repairs, that would have been helpful. Or is 5 years about the expected life of one of these machines? If so, maybe I should find another brand.
pokey77
1,265 posts
 
Sounds like the optical drive is going bad. Cambridge should have those; shouldn't be that expensive to fix. Surely much cheaper than a new universal player of equivalent or better quality.
willland's avatar
willland
846 posts
 
I owned a 751BD for a few years and it operated trouble free during that time.  Sounded great, for movies and music, and loaded very fast.  I sold it only because I got a steal on an Oppo 105 which I wanted to be able to use it's DAC feature.  

How much is economically feasible to you?  Under $200.00 would be acceptable to me.

Bill
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