2. digital
  3. 1340685048

Repair Exemplar 3910 or ???

My John Tucker modified 3910 U-player is showing unmistakeable symptoms of incipient laser death (the dreaded 0h 00m 00s, cannot load disk errors). John says he can replace the laser for $200. It's a secondary source for me as I have all my cds ripped as FLAC files on an MV2 server and play back via Modwright Transporter. I have about 20 SACDs and a handful of DVD-As. Looking for opinions on the cost-effectiveness of having the repair done vs. getting an Oppo U-players or maybe a used Sony 5400.

Rest of system is Doshi Alaap pre/Doshi Lectrom JH-50 or VAC Ren 30/30/Merlin VSM-mme or Ref 3A Suprema. TIA.
128x128swampwalker

Showing 3 responses by cal3713

cal3713's avatar
cal3713
1,421 posts
 
I agree with JFZ... I had an Exemplar 2900 and unfortunately replaced it with an unmodified Oppo-BDP93. The Exemplar just killed the Oppo (which I just returned to Amazon). I still miss the Oppo's blu-ray video (much better than a PS3), but it was not even close to the same league as the Exemplar. This was true even when both were being used as pure transports into a PS Audio PW DAC. I still wish I had that Exemplar, especially since they don't sell for much these days...
cal3713's avatar
cal3713
1,421 posts
 
Thanks for the offer... but unfortunately I'm completely out of shelf space and am currently using a macmini (stuck on the same shelf as my turntable) as a transport. I wish I had the ability to truly compare, but I think the pure computer audio route (i.e., playing ripped CD's from the hard drive) does end up beating out the Exemplar's digital output. It's not by a ton though. You'll have to report back on the comparison between the two Exemplar models. I'm certainly curious... especially since John went with the non-tube based output on the Oppo.
cal3713's avatar
cal3713
1,421 posts
 
I think you should post that link (and potentially a link to a source for the parts)... if only for archival purposes. Given that this is a somewhat common issue, I think a number of people in the future might benefit from knowing how to do this.
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