I am hoping somebody can help me with this.
I still play CDs on my 16 year old system, have a Sherwood CD player as part of a separates system, but since the start of the year some CDs jump and it’s always the first track. If I go back again to start again, everything is fine and plays normally. Sometimes I have to go back 2/3 times. When it happens more than once, the jump tends to happen at different times. It doesn’t happen when the same CD is loaded and played on laptop/itunes. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen at all. I clean the sodding CDs, have done that de-magnetising thing but it still happens. To look at the CDs there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with them; smudges or scratches. Some friends have suggested it’s the cd, others have said it’s my system, but it largely is fine and have no complaints.
I don’t know what to think. Does the above make sense ? If anyone has any ideas or guidance, would welcome your advice.
Thankyou and have a good day.
Is the problem repeatable, and are the discs much younger than the CD player?
I had a problem with one CD a few years ago doing similar things – skipped on the CD player, ripped and played fine on computers with cd drives. The computers were younger than the CD player.
I wondered whether the problem was that the CD player did not recognise the disk as being a ‘proper’ CD (these used to have a ‘CD’ logo on them). The CD player would have hardware and software in it that allowed it read CDs, and if the CD put in it didn’t conform to the specifications that the player understood, then it would behave erratically, or not play at all. Burning Shed were reporting an issue with some of the recent XTC discs in Sony players, for instance.
I got around the problem by using iTunes to copy the disc over (not convert to aac or mp3), and then burn a copy. Worked fine.
The discs are indeed younger – will try that. I have had a problem with the player not recognising CD-Rs.
Yes, me too. The cure was to use Maxell cds intended for music (dunno how they differed from other CD-Rs), and use them for any cd-copying. Worked whether using Toast software to burn the disk, or iTunes.
Nah mate, Maxell wasn’t the Cure – it was Bauhaus.
I presume when you say “CD-Rs intended for music”, you mean those with this logo.
http://i1150.photobucket.com/albums/o615/JohnDetail/CD_zpsb3198663.jpg
If that’s not on ’em you can still encode music but it won’t generally play on a standard CD player, especially one of a certain “vintage”..
The reflectivity (difference between a zero and a one) of a CDR is lower (40-70%) than that of a normal CD. The reflectivity of a CDRW (rewritable) is even lower (15-25%).
Burning at higher speed can make the edges of the pits less of a cliff and more of a ramp, which makes detecting zeros and ones even harder.
Audio-only recordable CDs as used in CD recorders have higher reflectivity and more distinct pits as they are burned in real time.
Most CD players pre-1995 won’t play CDR discs as their mechanisms were designed before recordable discs were available. Many pre-1997 players won’t play CDRW discs for much the same reason.
Sometimes I bore myself.
The CD transport is screwed. Buy a new CD player.
I had exactly this problem with my Arcam of a similar vintage. It was the player – it was getting on, and I was faced with getting someone to replace the transport or do it myself. I ended up getting £200 for it on eBay (with an honest description) and bought a new Roksan.
That’s what I was thinking but if the transport is buggered, would it not affect all CDs ?
Ho hum, any excuse to play this.
Over the years I’ve had countless CD players, DVD players and Blu Ray players develop similar faults. It is always due to a failing transport. The only way to permanently rectify it is to scrap it and buy a new one.
It usually starts out as that most irritating of things “an intermittent fault”. So you settle down in your comfy chair to enjoy a bit of light entertainment hoping that the “intermittent fault” doesn’t rear it’s irritating head. Eventually it becomes less “intermittent” and more “permanent”.
Over the years I learned that in the long run it’s considerably less stressful to just change the offending piece of kit because eventually that is what you end up doing anyway.
Mr. Pencil is right – it’s a simple mechanical problem due to transport of the disc or exact pointing of the laser. And it doesn’t affect every disc because each CD is different, and each time the laser starts reading the disc the starting point on the revolving disc is a different one.
I have a relatively cheap Pioneer player from the early 90s which still works perfectly, while some expensive players gave up after a few years. Obviously the quality depends on the proper manufacturing and quality of some small mechanical parts.
If the CDs play OK in your laptop it’s almost certainly that Sherwood CD deck.
Laptop CD/DVD drives are generally more fussy about what they will/won’t play, because the mechanisms aren’t usually built to as high a standard as a decent CD player.
As Squeezer has said above, it’s time for a new CD player.
Thanks all, appreciate your help.
As others have said, it’s almost bound to be the mechanism that moves the laser back and forth (although I suppose it could be the CD drive not getting to the right speed for the appropriate part of the disc without a few retrys). It may not be terminal though but due to an accumulation of dust. It may also be due to dust on the lens meaning it can’t identify the right bit of the disc quickly enough. I would be tempted to open it up and zap everything with an air duster. It’s unlikely you’ll any more technical knowledge than how to turn a screwdriver.
It’s either the sledge mechanism which moves the laser across the disc on an arm, or the focus mechanism which moves the laser lens up and down. Either way, it is new CD player time.
You should be able to pick up something of Sherwood quality for peanuts. Don’t bother with buying S/H, the mechanisms are mechanical and they all just wear out.
I replaced a weakening laser in an expensive Micromega CD player for less than £20 and it gave more good service until the transport itself packed up with no spares available.
Would this be the same problem if some CDs start skipping towards the end?
Usually seems to happen on my CD player if the overall playing time in question is longer and using more of the CDs capacity
The tracks play fine but start to skip usually towards the end of the last song
Almost certainly. I mentioned my old Arcam above – a few years ago I found a repair guy who cleaned it out etc and got it working again, but the issue returned recently and he had disappeared anyway. Cost me around £25 at the time and was worth it, but they are mechanical devices at the end of the day and they wear out. Once you get these problems you are just waiting for it to happen and ruins listening to stuff.
Seconded. That’s how mine started. I had the whole transport replaced (£150) but the problem came back within a year.
At the family holiday house I use a cd Walkman never missed a beat – literally