My Marantz CD5003 player has got a bit cantankerous. It has started to display the TOC error message. Curiously pristine ECM CDs seem to piss it off most.
I read that a dirty lens is first point of call. Plausible as I rarely clean it.
Q1. I have a cd lens cleaner but not the fluid I am supposed to apply to the little brushes. Can I use a substitute?
Q2 Any other options to the CD lens cleaner?
Q3 if that doesn’t fix it – what next?
Q4 we have some denon cd players at the radio station I frequent. They were formerly at another radio station. Some will play SACDs but some won’t. Why?
ATM : TOC error – a few questions
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If it’s a dirty lens then cleaning it will certainly help. A dilute solution of Isopropyl alcohol will do it. I have in the past popped the lids on the players and very, very carefully cleaned the lens with a dampened cotton bud but I accept that’s not always possible. As for the Denons. Are they all the same or are they variations of the same product? Some may be SACD enhanced versions of a standard CD player which don’t have the ability to read SACD discs.
They are all identical Pencil.
This is one for Fents then. As for the dirty lens issue, if cleaning the lens doesn’t fix the issue then as Red says below it could be time to fit a new laser or an excuse to buy an entirely new player.
SACD is a separate layer on the disc, assuming it also has a CD layer. Some players will have difficulty reading this layer, I have this problem too on one of my players, it only finds the CD layer. I believe this is also lens related.
My CD6006 was a bit picky about what it played right from new and I should have taken it straight back Richers but I didn’t.
Eventually it became so truculent that I put a new laser in it. £25ish on ebay and 30 mins to fit. Works really well now.
30 minutes to fit. What skill level does that require ?
From memory, you have to remove the case lid (4 screws), unclip the drawer front panel, pull out one or two ribbon connectors, unscrew the transport, pull the laser power plug and remove the laser (can’t remember how that is fixed). Reassembly is the reverse.
The only slightly skilled bit is removing a solder link on the new laser PCB. They are shipped with the link which must be removed before fitting DAMHIK. Needs a decent soldering iron and a solder sucker or desoldering braid.
I’ve never done one before and figured for 25 quid it was worth a go. I had no manual or youtube vid, I just piled in. I am pretty handy at fixing stuff as long as it’s not plumbing though.
TBH it probably only took 30 mins the second time i had to do it after forgetting to remove the link.
I felt weak by the end of the first sentence. (I hate machines.)
Good for you. Respect.
A1. As Mr Squeezer says, CD Lens Cleaner solution is just IPA (no, not the beer).
A2. If it’s really grotty, use a cotton bud. But turn the power off first – it’s an invisible laser and can burn your retina.
A3. Probably laser replacement.
A4. CDs are read with an infrared laser (of 780nm wavelength). The SACD layer of a hybrid disc is at a different depth and the tracks/bits are smaller, read with a blue laser (of 650nm wavelength) with a different lens focused at a different depth. If the SACD layer won’t play, but the CD layer will, repeat steps 1-3.
“Interestingly” a SACD is physically a DVD disc with the data encoded differently (DSF rather than PCM).
Thanks