One thing I've thought about doing is a video just following up on some past projects and how they're working for me now (if they still are). You might be surprised by what's going on now with some of my past video subjects.
This case is not all that surprising - I had my PDM-900 opened up again because it started doing *weird* things to the sound of some discs, and not playing others at all. Turns out it just needed a full servicing (disassembly, cleaning and new grease) and some adjustments to focus and tracking. When I first got it and made that video, I opened it up and checked stuff but I didn't really do anything. After servicing, it even plays CD-R's, which is the only reason I didn't include it in my CD comparison video. I'll definitely find a way to do a quick follow-up, probably on my secondary channel.
I suspect this is the case with a lot of old CD players that are "broken" - they probably just need some basic maintenance and then they'd be fine. But also, it does go to show that the sound of a CD player isn't just binary - it doesn't either work or not. This thing just sounded really strange before I opened it up, and as I altered tracking and focus while a disc was playing, I could audibly hear the sound change. (I originally did it following the service manual instructions, but that ended up with *no* discs being playable!) Ran some sine wave tests off a burned CD afterwards just to verify it was reproducing them properly, and now it is, all the way up to 20khz (which I cannot even hear). It's back in the rack now in my office; it is, and will be for the foreseeable future, my office CD player.
So before you judge the sound of any CD player, make sure you're listening to one that's actually properly adjusted. I have not done this with every CD player I own, so it is possible that not all the CD players in my ongoing listening test sound as good as they could. But I think that's still a valid test, since it's unlikely any used CD player you buy today (regardless of quality) will have been serviced in any way, and the main reason I'm testing this is because of how many people I see recommending one player over another to people solely based on sound. CD player sellers have not caught up to tape deck sellers in this regard - most people just don't realize that servicing a CD player might be needed for them to sound their best. So if you buy one based on its sonic reputation, especially a vintage one that's a "good deal", you very well may be disappointed.
Modern Classic
One thing I've thought about doing is a video just following up on some past projects and how they're working for me now (if they still are). You might be surprised by what's going on now with some of my past video subjects.
This case is not all that surprising - I had my PDM-900 opened up again because it started doing *weird* things to the sound of some discs, and not playing others at all. Turns out it just needed a full servicing (disassembly, cleaning and new grease) and some adjustments to focus and tracking. When I first got it and made that video, I opened it up and checked stuff but I didn't really do anything. After servicing, it even plays CD-R's, which is the only reason I didn't include it in my CD comparison video. I'll definitely find a way to do a quick follow-up, probably on my secondary channel.
I suspect this is the case with a lot of old CD players that are "broken" - they probably just need some basic maintenance and then they'd be fine. But also, it does go to show that the sound of a CD player isn't just binary - it doesn't either work or not. This thing just sounded really strange before I opened it up, and as I altered tracking and focus while a disc was playing, I could audibly hear the sound change. (I originally did it following the service manual instructions, but that ended up with *no* discs being playable!) Ran some sine wave tests off a burned CD afterwards just to verify it was reproducing them properly, and now it is, all the way up to 20khz (which I cannot even hear). It's back in the rack now in my office; it is, and will be for the foreseeable future, my office CD player.
So before you judge the sound of any CD player, make sure you're listening to one that's actually properly adjusted. I have not done this with every CD player I own, so it is possible that not all the CD players in my ongoing listening test sound as good as they could. But I think that's still a valid test, since it's unlikely any used CD player you buy today (regardless of quality) will have been serviced in any way, and the main reason I'm testing this is because of how many people I see recommending one player over another to people solely based on sound. CD player sellers have not caught up to tape deck sellers in this regard - most people just don't realize that servicing a CD player might be needed for them to sound their best. So if you buy one based on its sonic reputation, especially a vintage one that's a "good deal", you very well may be disappointed.
By the way, we're *almost* up to my 385 vote goal in that listening test poll: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9lHL...
2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 31