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What's likely to go wrong with a used CD player?

I came close to buying a ARC CD3 that was about 5 years old, had been "well-taken care of" by the owner and he assured he had operated it properly as per leaving it on 24/24. He has been the owner since it was just a few months old. But I just couldn't pull the trigger.

All I could think of is sure it's been problem free for 5 years, but the problems start after I take it over.

So considering the reputation of ARC gear, build quality, yada yada yada, and that hopefully it has had a good home, am I worrying needlessly and passing on what seemed to me to be a pretty good deal.

My primary interest in this player, other than the fact that it is an ARC is I'm looking to upgrade from my Rega Apollo to a balanced CD player to go with my upgraded system of a balanced preamp and balanced power amp.

Thanks for any thoughts,

Gene
gene_bonin

Showing 1 response by eweedhome

eweedhome
227 posts
 
One of the main problems with older CD players (2nd hand or not) is that various parts (including transport mechanisms, for example) go out of production, and you end up with something that's hard to repair.

With ARC, I would expect less of that issue, but it's worth talking to them about it before buying used. That happened to me one time--I was about to buy a particular well-regarded CD player, and heard that the transport mechanism was hard to get, called the distributor, and had the information confirmed.
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