CD player skipping - any suggestions?

[Phil_Meloy]

My CD player has all of a sudden started to skip. The problem is with the player not the CDs - its doing it on a range of CDs all of which are normal pre-recorded commercially manufactured CDs which are clean and in good condition. It doesn't do it on every CD but on quite a few and I think the problem is increasing. The player is a fairly good quality Technics which I suppose is about five or six years old. It may just need some kind of cleaning disc played through it but I don't know much about them. Any suggestions?

[Chris D]

It could be several things, most of which are not good.
The first, which would be fixable, is that the laser is indeed dirty. There are some cleaner discs, basicaly a CD with a mini-brush, but they don't work for all units and can harm some.
The other troubles would cost more to fix than the player is worth. They would be things like a misaligned laser and such.

[Phil_Meloy]

Thanks Chris. I have a couple of pretty good hi-fi stores locally so I'll try the disc option first but if worse comes to worse it'll have to be a new player. I've had this one which I got for a good price in a sale for six years now and had heaps of use out of it so if it's time for a replacement I guess that's the way it goes.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I've read many complaints that those "cleaner CDs" with the little brushes actually do more harm than good, particularly to the laser alignment. The best technique to clean the laser lens is to open the unit up and blow air onto it. DO NOT try any cleaning fluids on it. Air is about the only thing that won't leave residue.

A 6 or 7 year old Technics could very well be on it's last legs.

Later,
Kevin

[Phil_Meloy]

Point taken Kevin. Thanks for you help. I'm pretty resigned to having to replace the player but i'm wondering that if a problem is probably going to occur at some time again in the future with a deposit building up on the lens of the player is there much point in investing in a more expensive player rather than simply getting a reasonable mid-priced one which can be disposed of and replaced with a newer model every six years or so.

[Tanager]

To second what Kevin said, I've had luck before cleaning the guts of a CD player (including the laser lens) with CO2 spray. You can buy cans of it at pretty much electronics supply store.

[jazzfiend]

It may be a simple problem. My player started skipping recently. I bought a laser lens cleaning cd from Radio shack for $15, played it for a few seconds, and haven't had a cd skip since then.
In fact, they sound better than ever now. I guess dust on the lens can degrade the sound even before the cd starts skipping.

[Phil_Meloy]

Thanks for the advice Tanager and Jazzfiend - funny thing is guys that I went home last night and played two CDs on the machine. Both played perfectly - one of the CDs was one that was previously skipping. A couple of days ago everything I tried to play would skip. I didn't have time to play any more last night but I'll be able to check it out more over the weekend. This all started quite suddenly last Saturday when I tried to play two brand new CDs that had come in the post that morning. I'd never had the slightest problem before that. The CO2 spray sounds like a pretty good idea . Maybe a speck of dust has lobbed on the lens. I'll ask at my hi-fi store about those cleaning discs Jazzfiend. I'm sure there's some that are better than others. Sounds like you got a good one JF.

[Phil_Meloy]

Hi guys - the problem may not have been as severe as I feared. The CD player started skipping again on Saturday so I went down to that hi-fi components place I previously mentioned about a mile away in Clapham Junction (London). I'm fortunate in that nearby there's a proper hi-fi shop which is a family business and has been there for decades - a real Aladdin's cave of new and used hi-fi equipment and parts. They also do repairs on site. They suggested I first try a cleaning disc because the problem could be a deposit build-up on the laser lens but if that didn't work then the laser was probably on the way out and would either require repair or replacement of the machine. I purchased a TDK cleaning disc for £7.50 (the most expensive out of a choice of three) and took it home and ran it through the machine (the cleaning process only takes a few seconds) with the result that the CD hasn't skipped since (I've played about 20 different CDs since) - in fact I think there's actually been a bit of improvement in sound quality too. Hopefully this is the end of the problem for some time to come but I'll let you know if it has a relapse. The instructions with the disc recommend running the cleaning disc in the player every month but the need for this would obviously depend on usage level. The cleaning disc is supposed to be good for 50 cleans. Thanks to everyone for your input and advice.

[Chris D]

What is the nature of your cleaning disc? Does it have a brush?
I fear I may have harmed a player with one (back in '95).

[Phil_Meloy]

Yes Chris, the cleaning disc has two small brushes on the underside positioned on the CD diameter with each approximately about two thirds of the way from the centre of the CD to the edge. The instuctions for usage are to place the cleaner CD in the player as with any normal CD, press "PLAY" and then immediately press track 2. The cleaning process takes place due the fast forwarding from track 1 to track 2. It takes literally seconds.

PS. One of the alternative cleaner discs offered to me at the hi-fi store included a small bottle of cleaning fluid which I believe you put on the brushes before inserting the disc into the machine however I was a bit dubious of this and decided that it would probably be better to open the player up apply alchohol to the lens with a Q-tip as well as dust out the machine with CO2 spray if the cleaning disc didn't do the job.

[Tanager]

Originally posted by Phil_Meloy
Yes Chris, the cleaning disc has two small brushes on the underside positioned on the CD diameter with each approximately about two thirds of the way from the centre of the CD to the edge. The instuctions for usage are to place the cleaner CD in the player as with any normal CD, press "PLAY" and then immediately press track 2. The cleaning process takes place due the fast forwarding from track 1 to track 2. It takes literally seconds.

PS. One of the alternative cleaner discs offered to me at the hi-fi store included a small bottle of cleaning fluid which I believe you put on the brushes before inserting the disc into the machine however I was a bit dubious of this and decided that it would probably be better to open the player up apply alchohol to the lens with a Q-tip as well as dust out the machine with CO2 spray if the cleaning disc didn't do the job.

Personally speaking, I would never physically touch the lens, b/c I'd be paranoid about messing with the laser's alignment. If CO2 didn't do the job (which it always has), I'd take the player in. Keep in mind that alcohol is really only useful for removing grease and the like, you don't need a solvent to remove dust. If you haven't been opening the player and putting fingers on the lens, I can't see any reason why you'd ever need to treat the lens with any kind of solvent.

[Phil_Meloy]

Tanager I'm wondering if stuff like cigarette smoke could build up a deposit on the lens over a period of time. Admittedly the CD draw is closed most of the time but it's still not completely airtight.

[Gary Sisco]

I'm waiting for the arrival of a new CD changer. Mine skips, stops for no reason, and sometimes just opens itself for no apparent reason. The problems began first when programming, next when on shuffle mode, now any time. But not all of the time. Just a lot of the time.

I'd not use anything on the lens, myself. There shouldn't be enough dust inside the machine for that to matter, or there's another problem somewhere allowing that one to develop. Cigarette smoke will definitely damage electronics, no doubt.

I just think of CD changers as being disposable, because they're built to be, apparently. Some people say, Oh, you just use yours too much. My reply is, what else are they for? My ancient turntable's seen much harder miles and still works fine. Same with my amp. Both are more than 30 years old.

I have an ancient boombox I bought in the 80s that's always been treated as a disposable item and apart from cleaning the heads every couple of years, it's still going fine today, in the barn, and has seen years at a time in various vehicle's trunks. Talk about dust. You wouldn't believe it. But it still works. Cost? Double digits, mid-80s.

I've been postponing this replacement purchase for a couple of years because this will be the third or fourth (I've lost count) CD player, since the first one I bought in 1989 (a single shot Denon that still works fine, but that I only use on the rare occasions these days when I dj). To me, that's an absurd attrition rate. The Denon is by far the best of any I've owned, in all ways, except for the fact that it's a single shot. Never a single problem with it.