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Transport Life Expectancy

I have a general question about used cd players and transports. In general, I'm hesistant about buying a used cd player or transport because of concerns about laser life/alignment as well as all of the moving parts in a transport. The only equipment I've ever replaced because of failure due to wear and tear or longeveity have been cd players. What's the general consensus obout the life expectancy of a tranport (or cd player). Are units that are older than 2 to 3 years really worth bothering with? I guess that I should specify that I'm not really thinking about the megabuck transports or players(>$4000-5000) but more in terms of players like the Rega Jupiter or the Classe transports that show up used in the $500 to $1500 range.
chanifin
4 responses Add your response
macbts
2 posts
 
Re CDM 4 laser please can you tell me were I can get some?
elberoth2's avatar
elberoth2
1,223 posts
 
You have to check around what transport mechanism they are build. Some of them, like CDM-9Pro used in Theta Basic I/II, PS Audio Lambda and Krell KPS-20i among others, are no longer available, and to make things worse, the spares are depleted.

On the other hand, Philips CDM-4, CDM-12 or VAM1202 are widely availeble and cheap as dirt, so I would not hesitate buying a transport build around one of those, even if it was a few years old.
elinor's avatar
elinor
275 posts
 
I would say about 8 - 10 years based on experience. I would not buy a CD Trans or Player at Audiogon which is more than 4 - 5 years old. Some models were produced for years, like the CAL Audio Delta, so you have to find out by serial number how old the unit is unless you feel confident in the opinion of the seller. You might be safe with a Levinson where parts are ususally available.e
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
I'd say about 5 years for an inexpensive transport.

However, if you can find out which transport is used in the player you can buy a backup from a company like MCM electronics. For example a replacement VAM1202 transport for a Marantz CD17 (a $1000+ CD player) is only $35 !!

You may not be able to install it yourself, but at least you;ll have one to give to a repair guy if your player ever needs fixing.

Some manufacturers hold a stock of spare transports for just such an occasion. Rega may do this.

So if you're prepared to do a little research then a broken transport may not mean the end of your CD player.
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