Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

    I have another question about this model player. Is it normal to
    get a burnt smell from the heat sink area on the back of this
    player as it is broken in? 
    
    				Doug Roberts

    I mail-ordered a 460, it was very noisy and I sent it back.  They
    were unable to replace it so I cancelled that order.
    
    Bought a 465 from Q Audio, it had the noisy-while-spinning sound
    you describe, nowhere near as bad as the 460 but loud enough to
    hear over quiet passages with some disks.  I took it to the carry-in
    service center in Burlington for warranty service, rather than
    returningit to Q Audio.  The logic behind this was that Burlington
    is closer, and I expected to have a 100% shot of getting it fixed
    versus a 50-50 or worse shot at a quiet one from Q.
    
    The service writer yelled at the tech (who does the work) "Hey,
    is this a mod?", and the answer was "Yes".  He didn't even have
    to write the problem on the slip, just "Modification".  In talking
    further to the tech, he said that about 90% of the players make
    this noise at some level, and that Engineering doesn't think it's
    a serious enough problem for an ECO.  So they adjust the laser
    assembly, etc., to make it as quiet as possible.  In this part of
    the conversation, he didn't refer to a modification.
    
    I expect the unit back in a week or two.  My strategy at this point,
    if the player is still noisy, is to write a sincere-but-disappointed
    letter to North American Philips about how wonderful the player's
    electronics sound and how disappointed I am in the mechanics.  This
    might result in an offer to replace the mechanics which the field
    people have trouble justifying, and hopefully will get the message
    back that people do care.
    
    Any analogies to major Massachusetts computer companies and the
    tradeoffs between fixing the design and fixing in the field are
    purely in the eyes of the reader......
    
    dq

    
    
    I don't have a 460, but briefly had a 1051 (Is that right??) on
    loan from a friend.
    
    I found it much noisier than my Harmon/Kardon.  
    
    Part of the reason stemmed from the use of a hinged door that has
    to swing open for the drawer to come out. The quietest drawers I
    have heard were on some high-end Sony units.  I can live with a
    noisy drawer although I thought it was a sign of design economy
    rather than a defect.
    
    It also has the whirring sound when playing.  Louder again than
    my H/K but not objectionable, except in *very* quiet passages. 
    And when the house was totally quiet.....i.e. the kids in bed  :-)
    
    If you can get a service center to tweak it as .2 suggested, then
    go for it.

    Results of NAP fix to my 465:
    
    The tech aligned the laser, said that fixed the problem.  He attributes
    the noise to the tracking motor as it tracks off-center disks.
    
    Far as I'm concerned, no improvement.
    
    Very frustrating.  I love the sound of the electronics, but not
    the drive.  
    
    Now: try to return the player to Q Audio, or fire annoyed letter
    to NAP???  
    
    And then -- what to buy???  I WANT a working 460/465, and there
    are some out there.  But the chances seem to be slim.
    
    dq
    

    
    Is this problem present in the 650's too?
    
    Where is Q Audio?
    
    Ken
    

    
    Q Audio is in Cambridge, off Mass Ave near MIT, it is right across
    the Bay Bank Money mechine on Mass Ave.
    
    My Sharp has the same problem after I had it for a month, it is
    disappointing.
    
    Siu Pong

    Well, if you can't get satisfaction with a Magnavox, try a Sony.
    At least they seem to know how to make decent transports.
    
    			Steve

>    < Note 879.7 by QUARK::LIONEL "We all live in a yellow subroutine" >
>
>
>    Well, if you can't get satisfaction with a Magnavox, try a Sony.
>    At least they seem to know how to make decent transports.
>
    Don't know about that ... my Sony D-5 was very quiet but the D-10
    I replaced it with has a moderately noisy transport. I don't really
    notice it except when I'm close to the player (without headphones)
    during a soft passage. Maybe the static Sonys are quieter?
    
    wrh

    I don't want to start a Sony vs. Magnavox battle here.  It's
    just been my observation, reinforced by the comments here, that
    the transport is the major weakness of the Phillips players.
    Sony's tabletop players appear to have well-designed, quiet and
    reliable transports.  Mine (CDP-510) is silent, the tray glides
    in and out smoothly and quickly, and I've NEVER had any problems
    with mistracking or jamming.
    
    Portable players are quite different in design, so you can't
    really compare portables to table-top models.

    				Steve

    
    I have a Philips 360, which sometimes exhibits this problem. As the
    player is quite a long way from where I sit and listen, it doesn't
    worry me. I agree, the trays on most of the current Philips machines
    are pretty tacky... 
    
    I have a friend in the USA who has a Sony CDP-5<something> (520,
    502 ?) which is *really* noisy. Much worse than mine.
    
    Trev

    Reply to .9:
    
    Steve, I would have agreed with you up until about a week ago when
    I noticed my 2 month old Sony CDP-710 transport started to make noise.
    Before that, it was virtually silient (except when starting
    a disk and switching tracks...for which it has made a singing noise
    since day one).  

    Is it something I should have taken care or just forget about it
    assuming I can live with the annoyance?  (which isn't that bad
    considering I have a component fan going most of the time anyway)

    		-Greg

My turntable makes a funny sound when the platter starts up.

My tape deck produces an extremely high pitch that is unbearable if I press my 
head against it.

There's a light hiss that comes out of my speakers when there's no music on, 
which I REALLY begin to notice once I put my eardrum against one of them.


				Mark

    :-)
    
    .....	Mike

Re: Greg and Steve

I have a sony cdp 620es and am infinitely familiar with the transport
having attempted on several occassions to remove an rather annoying and
loud high pitched squeak which I get during the disc clamp phase of the
disk loading fucntion.

After tearing the mechancics down to find the problem and add that magic
touch of grease I came to not appreciate how cheap the mechanics really
are.  Sure, it gets the job down but boy is it cheap.

I was always impressed with the transport of the Revox transports.  There
when you pay the big bucks you get a certain level of mechancial quality.

Greg,

What kind of noise does your machine make?

-peter

This may be a bit off the subject, but has anyone else noticed the extremely 
harsh high pitched sound in ALL the Strawberries stores?  They now broadcast 
the background music from a central location, rather than each store playing 
DJ.  They seem to be using CD's as their source.  I'm wondering if they have 
one of those nifty EARLY Sony players, and if this irritating noise (I can't 
stay for more than a few minutes before it drives me mad) is a product of the 
CD player they use.  Or does it have to do with the broadcasting frequency 
they use?


				Mark

    
    re: .15
    
    I never have that problem.  It's all in your mind.
    
    								-mr. bill

    I've had a Magie 465 for >mo now and if it's making any noise -
    except for that sleazy drawer which I fear that I will break off 
    someday - then I can't hear it.  Something in/on it vibrates when 
    I get very overzealous with the subwoofer but by that time my CLD900 
    would be mistracking so badly that...  The Magie just keeps on going!
    
    BTW: I compared it to my LDP900 and was supprised at all the mech.
    background noise that the LDP900 makes - gosh, I never knew...;^)
    
    All in all, the Magie is a fine CD player (great sound, inexpensive,
    semi portable - I drag it to Maine on weekends) albeit cheaply made.
    
    -bob

    Re:.15 (Strawberries tangent)
    
    The title to reply .16 ("Anti-Theft") may have hit it on the head
    (which would, of course, make the ears ring! :-) ).
    
    Several years ago, I managed a "Sight & Sound" department in a large
    store.  We would frequently get complaints from customers that
    something must be wired incorrectly because of the high-pitched
    whistle.  Many actually had to leave because it bothered them so
    much.  I noticed I often went home with severe headaches.  I thought
    these were from the regular pressures of the job and from the loud
    music/noise which lasted all day.  One slow day, I was able to keep
    the noise to a minimum and _still_ had the headache.
    
    I was informed that the store had installed a new ultrasonic alarm
    system recently and that seemed to coincide with the sudden headaches
    and customer complaints about the whistle.
    
    Of course, the noise you describe *may* be due to the store's
    "broadcast" system -- something in a multiplex code, perhaps?
    
    >R.Michael

    re .12,.15
    
    Some people are effected more by certain frequencies than others.

    Although I have never heard anything unusual in Strawberries the
    squeek in my CD player IS annoying and much more so than any tape
    or speaker hiss, especially if it happens to be next to your
    favorite listening chair.  
    
    All I know is that the little guy with the long fingernails and
    blackboard didn't make a sound when I bought it and now he seems 
    to be working overtime.  I just hope his fingernails don't get any
    longer or that he doesn't start sticking his fingers in other
    places.

    	-Greg

Where is the Magnavox walk-in service center in Burlington?

I've got a 1041 (As I recall.  No  label  on  the  unit & I'm too
lazy to go in the attic & look at the box).

It won't "boot".   When  I  put  in a disk, any disk, it tries to
spin up, but then the error light comes on & it shuts down.