Esoteric VRDS-NEO not reading discs

I am hearing from a number of you that I should expect to have problems with the drive and laser pickup on my Esoteric K-01 after 7 years, and that I should expect an expensive repair from "experts."  My best response to these comments is that I have had one of Sony's original Sony ES sacd/cd players for over 20 years and it still functions perfectly.  It has never been in for repair or adjustment.

Well stereo5 it looks like you got me again.  I am sorry that your SCD777ES is no longer working.  Mine works fine and still sounds good.  None of this helps me to understand what is happening with my K-01.  Nor does it help me to find a path to getting it fixed other than a rather expensive trip to an authorized Esoteric repair facility.  I may have to sell it as a "boat anchor" and purchase another brand that I have trust in.

That’s a very kind offer stereo5. I would very much appreciate a copy of the service manual. Hopefully it will help me to better understand the problem and help me to decide where to go from the place where I am at now. My email is russ751@comcast.net. 

Thanks for the advice steelhead. How do I contact Bill Thalman?  I also think the Esoteric sounds better than the Sony. I am frustrated with the quality/reliability of the transport. 

After reviewing the posts on this forum I decided that needed to send the K-01 to Tap electronics for repair. I will keep you updated. 

Well,  I got the k-01 back from TAP. It is 99% better. It only occasionally reads a “ tray error .”  Unfortunately the up-conversion does not work. I plan to call them on Monday  

Total cost of repairs was around $1000. Shipping total was around $600, and I live in California. 

I paid $160 via FEDEX to ship uninsured to TAP and the return shipment was $340 insured.  So I should have said $500.  By the way, it can take up to 3 trys before the CD is loaded and I do not get the "tray" error.  I am not happy and I plan to call TAP on Monday.

I spoke with Sal at TAP electronics today.  He was supportive. He agreed that the “tray” error code was a problem. At this point Sal is going to work with Esoteric in Japan to find a solution. I am satisfied with Sal’s response. I will keep you posted. 

I have had the K01 back in my system for 3 days. The “TRAY” message continues to come up when I close the CD tray. For a while this error was happening frequently after the player had been on for 3-4 hours. There were a couple of times when it took serial open-close cycles before the CD would load  I was getting very pissed off.  I thought more than $1600 spent and the problem persists, and may be worse.

Today I have been playing the K01 for several hours and the “tray” message has come up several times but less often than yesterday and only 1 open-close cycle gets the disc to load and play.

I think I will wait a few days before calling TAP.

I started this discussion complaining about the fact that my K-01 Esoteric SACD player would not read discs properly.  I ended up sending the player to TAP electronics and my cost ended up to be around $1500 for their service and shipping costs.  The first time they sent the player back the door still had problems opening but the discs played properly when they eventually seated properly.  TAP had me send the player back, they again worked on the player and returned it, all at no expense to me.  When I got it back after the second repair, the opening and closing of the door is improved but still reads "tray error" at times.  Disc reading is fine.

I feel that TAP treated me fairly, even though there is still a problem with the door.

 My complaint is with Esoteric.  I believe a product at this cost should be more reliable.  I will not buy another Esoteric product.  In less than 10 years of very light use the tray does not function properly. and the upsampling function does not function at all.  Luckily I have gone to a music server and streaming, and the cd/sacd player is less important in my stereo system