Denon 3910 repair

flyfisher

About a month ago on Ebay,I purchased a Denon dvd3910.The seller listed that everything worked.
So when it arrived and came time to make sure it worked,I inserted a dvd,sacd..worked fine,but a reg cd would not play.You can hear it trying to read then nothing.After contacting the seller,he told me he would issue a refund of $50 and I accepted.Overall with the refund I payed $135 including shipping.I am assuming it was still a great deal.

Now I was wondering if this is an easy fix with the right tools,part(s) and service manual.Has anyone had this problem in that past?Possibly a bad laser head/assembly?I really don't feel like driving to Sacramento to have it looked at for $60 and find out the part is inexpensive but labor is going to be high.But if it comes to that,oh well.They are Denon authorized service center.

Any input would be appreciated.

Anthony

headrott

I would guess it's the laser assembly. I have a Denon DVD-1920 that would not read CD's, DVD, or SACD's and made the same noises you are talking about and the disc would spin up and the player would attempt to read it, and fail. It would try again and fail and then just stop trying to read. It could be something as simple as a dirty or misaligned laser lens (although usually it won't read anything if that's the case) or (more likely) the laser assembly is shot for CD's. It uses a different spectrum of light for DVD's and CD's. The laser assembly is more than likely malfunctioning when sending the spectrum needed to read CD's, but work's OK for DVD and SACD. The solution is a new laser assembly. Maybe others can suggest a better one, but that's the solution I've found for the problem you have.

Greg

pitdogg2

Denon literately uses 10.00 lasers in their players. I know this because a very good friend was an authorized Denon repair center. It (laser assembly) is very hard to disassemble and fragile you should send it to a center. That not reading CD's could very well be the beginning of problems or an end to the problem you can never tell. I have a 3910 and a 2900 both have never had any problems. When i stated that to my friend he couldn't stress hard enough to SELL IT NOW he also thinks we should all get together and form a class action lawsuit against Denon for using such cheap lasers in their products. For a few dollars more Denon could of bought a well known laser with a well known life span that as of now some 25 yrs later 95% are still going strong with very little loss of laser strength.
For the record no matter how high up the chain you go Denon uses the very same laser in all.

Good luck I know I'll need it for i feel i should knock on wood every time i mention this for good karma for my lasers

pietro944

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Denon literately uses 10.00 lasers in their players. I know this because a very good friend was an authorized Denon repair center. It (laser assembly) is very hard to disassemble and fragile you should send it to a center. That not reading CD's could very well be the beginning of problems or an end to the problem you can never tell. I have a 3910 and a 2900 both have never had any problems. When i stated that to my friend he couldn't stress hard enough to SELL IT NOW he also thinks we should all get together and form a class action lawsuit against Denon for using such cheap lasers in their products. For a few dollars more Denon could of bought a well known laser with a well known life span that as of now some 25 yrs later 95% are still going strong with very little loss of laser strength.
For the record no matter how high up the chain you go Denon uses the very same laser in all.

Good luck I know I'll need it for i feel i should knock on wood every time i mention this for good karma for my lasers

same with my 2910....bought it used.ran ok for 1month,now it's a paperweight:mad:

flyfisher

Thanks for the input guys.And Sal,I planned to use the Denon as an entry level CD and SACD player.I know there are better sounding/quality players out there,but like I said,entry level for me.

SCompRacer

It could be the laser pickup. Usually SACD is the first to not read and CD is the last to go. I've done a couple of Sony's. Laser pickups usually aren't that much. You can pick them up from reputable sellers on ebay or one of the online parts suppliers.

If you do change the laser yourself, be aware a circuit trace is normally soldered (shorted) on the pickup to prevent static damage during install. That solder blob must be removed after install or it won't read anything when you power it up.

There are documented mods for the 3910 that will improve the sound quality. I bought Sal's 3910 to mod. I'm going to extract PCM (CD) and DSD (SACD) before the audio board molests:cheesygrin: the signal and send it to my new external DAC.

SCompRacer

One other thing on Denon's. I had a 2910 and it didn't sound that bad compared to better players. I do recall the output being low, like 1.6 volts with a steady test tone playing. (I haven't measured a 3910's output). Put that up against a CD player that outputs 2 volts and guess which one will sound better if you don't turn the volume down and level match at the listening position. Just saying, always level the playing field whenever you compare something.

skrol

My 2910 had trouble reading certain CD's and DVD's. I tried one of those cleaning disks but no joy. The usual recommended fix is to replace the laser pickup. I figured that I had nothing to loose so I took it apart and gently cleaned the laser optic. Here is what I did...

Remove the top cover to the 3910, and remove the top cover to the transport. There is a piece of black tape at the rear edge. You can leave this in place and use it as a hinge. Using a can of compressed air, gently blow any debris from the optic. Next, use a lens cleaning cloth (I used a silk lens cloth) and gently buff the lens using almost no pressure. Reassemble and give it a try.

Mine now reads anything that I throw at it.

Stan

flyfisher

Thanks Stan for the advise.I think I will give that a try this weekend.