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Lens cleaners for audio CD. Any good?

T

T.T.

Jan 1, 1970
0
My Rotel audio CD player has started to skip a little bit of the music
occasionally. It is usually at the same place on the disc each time.
It skips on some brand-new discs as well as on some old disks. Those same
discs do not skip when played on another, identical, Rotel player.
I wonder if the lens in the unit is dirty, and if so, do lens-cleaning discs
actually work? Is there any difference between cleaners described as DVD
lens cleaners and cleaners described as CD lens cleaners?
As always, I would be grateful for any help.
 
T

The Real Andy

Jan 1, 1970
0
My Rotel audio CD player has started to skip a little bit of the music
occasionally. It is usually at the same place on the disc each time.
It skips on some brand-new discs as well as on some old disks. Those same
discs do not skip when played on another, identical, Rotel player.
I wonder if the lens in the unit is dirty, and if so, do lens-cleaning discs
actually work? Is there any difference between cleaners described as DVD
lens cleaners and cleaners described as CD lens cleaners?
As always, I would be grateful for any help.

if its only skipping in one spot, you can safely assume its probably
not the lens. If it were the lens, i reckon it would probably skip
everywhere, as the lens is used to focus the light that reads the
information of the track. Then again, i do not know shit about this
type of thing, but i reckon a good pro like Phil Allison might be able
to throw some grease over the metal slider thingies that the laser
head moves along. Then again, it could be anything. Try someone who
knows what they are talking about cause i dont, I am just bored.
 
A

aussieblu

Jan 1, 1970
0
Yes lens cleaning disks will sometimes fix this problem so it is
worth a try.
 
T

Trevor Wilson

Jan 1, 1970
0
T.T. said:
My Rotel audio CD player has started to skip a little bit of the music
occasionally. It is usually at the same place on the disc each time.
It skips on some brand-new discs as well as on some old disks. Those same
discs do not skip when played on another, identical, Rotel player.
I wonder if the lens in the unit is dirty, and if so, do lens-cleaning
discs actually work? Is there any difference between cleaners described
as DVD lens cleaners and cleaners described as CD lens cleaners?
As always, I would be grateful for any help.

**Waste of time. Use a proper lens cleaner, such as the type used in camera
work. Whilst it may help, it is highly likely that the laser is buggered and
requires replacement.
 
T

T.T.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Trevor Wilson said:
**Waste of time. Use a proper lens cleaner, such as the type used in
camera work. Whilst it may help, it is highly likely that the laser is
buggered and requires replacement.
Thanks for your thoughts.
If I could get to the lens without major surgery, I would try try to clean
the lens.
I doubt if I could find anyone who could replace the laser. I think the only
thing I could replace is the entire player.
 
T

Trevor Wilson

Jan 1, 1970
0
T.T. said:
Thanks for your thoughts.
If I could get to the lens without major surgery, I would try try to clean
the lens.

**Huh? Which model Rotel? Except for the horrible multi-disk player, using
the Nakamichi loading system (RCC955?), they're all easy to work on.
I doubt if I could find anyone who could replace the laser. I think the
only thing I could replace is the entire player.

**Which model? Most Rotels (except for the previously mentioned model) were
easy to work on. Some, like the RCD965 are expensive on lasers. Most of the
rest are reasonably priced.
 
R

RMD

Jan 1, 1970
0
My Rotel audio CD player has started to skip a little bit of the music
occasionally. It is usually at the same place on the disc each time.
It skips on some brand-new discs as well as on some old disks. Those same
discs do not skip when played on another, identical, Rotel player.
I wonder if the lens in the unit is dirty, and if so, do lens-cleaning discs
actually work? Is there any difference between cleaners described as DVD
lens cleaners and cleaners described as CD lens cleaners?
As always, I would be grateful for any help.
Tony,

Is the CD player unit dirty inside?

Clean a CD so it is spotless, and the CD is so clean that when
examined carefully under a strong light it has no dust motes hanging
onto the play surface. Play it in the player and look again. If the CD
is now covered in dust then the player is dirty inside.

Until you clean inside the player properly it will keep moving dust
onto the laser lens via the CD and it will never play properly.

This is unlikely to be the problem if you keep your CD's clean in
their jewel boxes except when they are being played.

Ross

(To get email address ROT 13)
[email protected]
 
T

T.T.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Trevor Wilson said:
**Huh? Which model Rotel? Except for the horrible multi-disk player, using
the Nakamichi loading system (RCC955?), they're all easy to work on.


**Which model? Most Rotels (except for the previously mentioned model)
were easy to work on. Some, like the RCD965 are expensive on lasers. Most
of the rest are reasonably priced.
 
T

T.T.

Jan 1, 1970
0
RMD said:
Tony,

Is the CD player unit dirty inside?

Clean a CD so it is spotless, and the CD is so clean that when
examined carefully under a strong light it has no dust motes hanging
onto the play surface. Play it in the player and look again. If the CD
is now covered in dust then the player is dirty inside.

Until you clean inside the player properly it will keep moving dust
onto the laser lens via the CD and it will never play properly.

This is unlikely to be the problem if you keep your CD's clean in
their jewel boxes except when they are being played.

Ross

(To get email address ROT 13)
[email protected]

I don't think the player is dirty, and the CDs have always been kept clean
and in their cases.
I am hesitant about opening up the player until all else has been tried.
 
M

matt2-amstereo

Jan 1, 1970
0
the best thing to do is get some teflon grease and after cleaning rails
and gears with metho, apply a small amount of grease to gears and rails
and then use the skip feature of the player and a long cd (80 minutes)
start playing the disc at track one, skip to the last track then first
then last (or use random) to exercise the grease through the mechanism.

if you like, play a disc to find where it errors out, and then clean and
grease, then play the same disc again and see if the error is still
there. Ricoh cd burners had the same problem where this would happen,
after a thorough clean and re-grease the problems would go away.

it wont hurt to remove the cover, unless you touch the power supply
(work with a shock safe or safety switch if you are concerned) cd
players are not as fragile as some would have you believe
 
T

Trevor Wilson

Jan 1, 1970
0
T.T. said:

**The RCD855 is a doddle. A machine that old probably requires a laser
anyway. You can try a lens cleaner, but it may only be a temporary fix, if
at all.
 
T

T.T.

Jan 1, 1970
0
matt2-amstereo said:
the best thing to do is get some teflon grease and after cleaning rails
and gears with metho, apply a small amount of grease to gears and rails
and then use the skip feature of the player and a long cd (80 minutes)
start playing the disc at track one, skip to the last track then first
then last (or use random) to exercise the grease through the mechanism.

if you like, play a disc to find where it errors out, and then clean and
grease, then play the same disc again and see if the error is still there.
Ricoh cd burners had the same problem where this would happen, after a
thorough clean and re-grease the problems would go away.

it wont hurt to remove the cover, unless you touch the power supply (work
with a shock safe or safety switch if you are concerned) cd players are
not as fragile as some would have you believe


I tried a lens-cleaning disc. The improvement was remarkable, but not
complete. It still skips occasionally.
I will now look inside. Why is the dodgy component always at the bottom of
the stack?
 
A

aussieblu

Jan 1, 1970
0
That suggest that it dust on the lens. Was it a wet cleaning
kit as they seem to work best for me. Use a sponge cleaning
stick, air or camera brush or cloth and not a cotton bud to
clean the lens. Cotton buds tend to create more dust and fluff
than they remove.
 
A

aussieblu

Jan 1, 1970
0
If you are lucky you may find that, as I often do, it is a human
hair (eyelash?) caught in the mechanism that holds the lens and
it can be removed with a pair of tweezers. I guess they often
fall onto CDs without us knowing.
 
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