Was fine yesterday, playing CDs and streaming. Just turned it on to listen to the new Sparks cd (It’s MAD!) and it just continuously reads it with no end result. Can’t even eject it.
I’m heading out shortly to see Sparks so the plan is it will work miraculously tomorrow. Fräu Steady wonders if the heat has affected it’s delicate mechanisms but it’s in a cool spot in the kitchen and is slightly cooler today than yesterday.
MAD!
The Sparks album was mentioned in the recent lens cleaner discussion.
I’m concerned about playing it again now in case it contains magical hardware knackering properties.
Oh, ruddy heck.
Maybe ask Ron and Russel if they have any advice?
“Oh no, my Ruark is playing up”
Afterword t-shirt.
“Oh no , my Ruark is playing up.”
But I can’t do anything about it because I’m going to a gig.
MAD!
What is a Ruark?
It’s a big wooden boat that you regret building.
Boom-tish!
A quite brilliant riposte @pencilsqueezer.
Not of course to be confused with a Roo- Ark. A large, wooden, Australian boat, built to save marsupials from flood waters.
👍👏
I think you’re taking the Robert.
Class 🙂
Does it do it with other CDs? Did you clean the offending one?
It only started doing it with the Sparks cd yesterday but previously had played it perfectly well along with others.
It’s still happening this morning, just reading and reading and reading and not being able to eject so my cunning plan of leaving it overnight has failed. I’ve completely unplugged it now.
There is a FAQ section from Ruark and one of the suggestions is to prise the front grid forward a mm or so! MAD!
Time to go into warranty mode Fred. I can’t recall exactly when you purchased it but return it and get it replaced.
Just 3 weeks ago! I’m still attempting a fix but it will probably have to be returned.
Problem is, there’s a cd stuck in it!
You may have to sacrifice that Fred, just don’t do anything to the device that may void your warranty. Explain that there is a DVD stuck in the machine and ask if there is any way it can be either returned to you, replaced or refunded. Pob lwc.
DVD? There’s the problem!
Personally never had an issue with them. I will add though that I don’t like slot loaders one little bit.
It’s definitely a cd
Anyway.
Sparks were magnificent. Absolutely superb. A mixture of the new album, the obvious hits and some lesser known ones (to me at least) which will send me down a wormhole. Ron sang “Suburban Homeboy!”
It made me think how many other bands/artists have such longevity and are still producing fantastic music and live performances.
Oh and I think it was the first time I’ve worn sandals to a gig.
Socks? Or no socks?
Socks !
FFS
Don’t try that down here.
No socks. Always no socks.
I managed to negotiate the toilets safely too
Did you get the gentle mist at the urinal moment? I’m assuming shorts as well, the only way you get to realise how much slash back you get, especially with those polished metal ones. I mean the long troughs, as opposed the inverted old ladies salon hairdrier option.
Or, even worse, the double-sided troughs at Glasto, where the chap the other side of the dividing wall aiming down into the V, can bounce it out the other side.
And thus onto the front of my shins.
Quite by accident I once met an Incredible String Band Fan whilst stood at a pub’s urinal. Looking down I was struck by the enormous quantity of disinfectant blocks that were lying in the trough. They reminded me of a cluster of ameobas (bloody artists eh) I muttered under my breath “Ameobas are very small”. The chap stood down the urinal from me replied “Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter is a fu* king masterpiece.” No further communication followed. It had all been said.
Not a trough, individual urinal.
Anyway, the bloomin’ Ruark eh?
Stop trying to change the subject Freddy. Air dryers or paper towels?
I once held my hands under an air drier…bloody thing isn’t working…tut tut…oh, it’s a paper towel dispenser….
Air dryers. Sparks fans wouldn’t use paper towels.
Which begs the question. Whose fans would prefer a paper towel? Pulp? Magazine?
I had trouble with my Ruark early this year. Kept failing to read the CDs but at least it was possible to eject them. After a couple of conversations with their customer support I sent it back to them and they did a repair that sorted it out. Cost over £100 but a lot less than buying a new model.
Ta. Think I’m just going to return mine to John Lewis.
Are you able to eject the Sparks CD yet, Fred?
You might want to return the CD as well. It’s quite possible it’s a duffer.
Nope, still the same problem. I’ll try Leedsboy’s advice when I get home though I don’t recall a small hole. Sorry Mr Squeezer.
Or perhaps try this (if it is this model).
https://www.ruarkaudio.com/customer-support/answer/the-cd-will-not-eject-on-my-new-r3
“the likely cause is that the front grille has been forced down to far during transit.”
Great at hi-fi, terrible at speeling/grammer
Tried that . The front grill is immovable. And anyway, it worked perfectly well. And then it didn’t.
Have you tried powering on whilst pressing the eject button? That sometines works. Or look for the very tiny hole near the tray and push an unbent paper clip in there gently. If it has a hole of course.
Has it gone all hot in here or is it only me?
I cut and pasted it from the script of Carry On HiFi.
No small hole to poke a pin into. I can almost sneak another cd in but I guess that’s not a good idea.
Definitely take it back.
I’ve taken it back. The very polite man at Tech Support in John Lewis tried in vain to fix it, looking at the Ruark website and trying the same things I’d tried , to no avail. I’ve had a refund with a bit extra for the missing Sparks cd (MAD!) and a replacement R3 ordered which I get to pick up from my local Waitrose on Thursday. So I’ll pick up some nice cheese too.
Parting is such sweet sorrow…but cheese!
@fentonsteve has kindly been asking after an update so here goes.
I picked up the replacement a week or so ago plus some rather lovely Ossau-iraty. Get me! Mind you , blooming Waitrose, a fiver for a smidge.
Anyway, the new R3 was set up last weekend, DAB and streaming all fine. I’d avoided playing a cd because, well , that’s the sort of thing I do but I’ve just tried a couple (An Ian McNabb and a Goat album) and all is well though it didn’t recognise McNabb as the artist….which might not be a bad thing!. I played the cd, stopped it, switched the R3 off, turned it back on and it was fine so fingers crossed. Frau Steady has made what could be a wise comment about the location of the R3 because it’s on a work top very near a washing machine and she was wondering it if that had something to do with the previous problem. I’m currently avoiding thinking she is correct.
I’ve also been in contact with Ruark customer service because I want my Sparks cd back! A long shot but we’ll see. I’ll keep you updated!
I do like a smidge…
Frau Steady may well have a point. Vibrations from such things as washing machines in the vicinity of delicate audio kit are better avoided. Have some cheese and mull it over.
Ah, ok. That could be a problem due to the layout of the kitchen. I can move it so it’s further away from the washing machine but would be in direct sunlight for some part of the morning .
I’ll check my cheese stocks.
It may be ok Fred but check by putting your hand on the surface your Ruark is on the next time the washing machine is doing it’s thang. If you feel vibrations do a Cliff and move it.
Alternatively, you could make a vibration-proof platform out of a granite chopping board and a couple of squash balls chopped in half.
Thank you John Noakes.
I’m sure there are actual things called vibration mats though?
You could try something like ISO Acoustics feet, or a platform by AVID (both available from Richer Sounds) but they’re essentially all variations on the concept of a heavy weight on squidgy feet.
Even a slab of packing foam or bubblewrap would prove the point, before you go and spend actual money.
I think you’re probably right @pencilsqueezer.
I won’t be doing any washing till tomorrow at the earliest but it does make a racket . Thanks for the advice but I’m concerned now! I’ll have a move round later and see how it looks. With regards to the sunlight, it probably won’t be that bad, it would only be early morning and it’s not exactly Andalusia here. I will have to move some of Frau Steady’s plants though, yikes.
Courage mon brave.
The comments on vibrations sound logical – I have accidentally jogged a CD player in the past – but how do in car players get over this issue? I assume they must have a quite different mechanism.
You might be thinking of gyroscopes and servos, but all they actually do is read the CD in fast time and stuff the data into RAM, then read it out at normal rate.
Drive over pot holes for 5 minutes non-stop and the music will cease. As will your vertebrae…
The AViD thingy is £300 or thereabouts. Yikes.
The Ruark does have some rather splendid semi-bouncy legs which will hopefully absorb some vibration. Frau Steady is of the opinion we need to move it completely away from the white goods but I’m really not sure where it can go. I will procrastinate.
Honestly, some bubblewrap or a couple of jiffy bags will prove the point.
There’s a high-end valve amp designer who lives round here. I’ve seen his high-end turntable, balanced on a DIY stand made of few housebricks topped off by a layer of bubblewrap sandwiched between two Asda granite chopping boards.
Granite chopping blocks are very useful items. Add some squishy feet and Bob’s your aunty’s decoupled husband.