CD player plays some CDs, not others.


I need a little advice here. My Denon player (8 years old) will play most CDs just fine, but now and then certain CDs, which played just fine before, will no longer play. The display reads Track 01, and that is all. I can skip to track 02 but it still will not play. If I put in another CD, it will play. Then if I go back to the other CD, it will not read the CD. These are CDs that will play in my Sony Walkman, but for some reason my Denon is not able to read them anymore. They are in good shape, clean, and had played in the past. Is the laser shot?? Need a new player?? ALong those lines, what quality can I get in the $500-$600 range, single play or changer. I like Denon, but will try any other recommended to me. Thanks in advance. Al on Cape Cod
codger
Try a product such as Allsop carbonedge cd driveclean to clean your lazer lens.Even if this doesn,t cure your problem it's still good to use.A product called SonicBlast CD Sound Enhancer from 303 Products Inc. Helps Correct skipping and improves sound.If you truly enjoy good sound consider auditioning some new players against yours.There are some exceptional units within $400.One is a H and K FL8550 carousel that can be had for $349.Check reviews at Audio Review site.Also talk to repairmen at different authorized Denon repair centers about your problem.
I have no experience with Denon CD players but I had the same problem with a Luxman 12 years ago - it would display "Track 1" but wouldn't play. A repairman examined the unit and told me I needed a new laser, for $270.00. I balked. I took the cover off the unit and found three potentiometers - nickel-sized wheel-looking things that you can dial with your finger. I started playing around with them and whadda ya know fixed it. I had no idea what I was doing (perhaps adjusting some sort of tracking), but it worked. At 8 years old your unit's out of warrany anyway and from what you said you can't break it 'cause it's already broke. Worth a try?
Been servicing for 22 yrs. , depends on model but most likely dirty lens as stated , use a moistened q-tip with pure water 1st. , then a moistened q-tip with isopropyl alcohol , 2nd. most common is the spindle motor , try LIGHT machine oil in a small hypo to the shaft (under the hub that cd rides , look for getting under a very small plastic washer that is sometimes present ). If you've adjusted those pots. prev. mentioned ....good luck , they set your vert. and horiz. bias coils in the laser block to focus and track the disc as well as the free run freq. reference to control the disc speed from 500-200 rpm from out to in on disc and must be set very accurately to spec on a freq. counter , usually after bridging certain pins on plug to set service mode . Do not remove the spindle hub as the distance to objective lens of laser is critical to focus , just like playing with the pots. Regards , Richard .
Does your denon use pioneer's stable platter mech? I just recently had the same prob. with my Audio Alchemy DDS-Pro and what I did was of course clean the laser mech. and then I played a CD with the top off and noticed that the laser pickup was ever so slightly slanted but I couldn't adjust it anymore with its screws so I got a semi-soft piece of rubber and cut it to size so that the top plate was level. After it was all said and done mine now sounds better than I ever remember it sounding. Good luck!
Get a Jolida CD player if you must stick to CDs only. Otherwise a Pioneer DVD 414 will play CDs better than most megabuck CD Players. It will also play the current crop of DVD audio discs which can sound much better than CD.