Rotel RCD-855 Just Started Skipping

stretchl

Greetings, all.

I've had my Rotel out of the shop for a couple of weeks now and it's been doing great.

Then this afternoon I put in a CD I bought at a yard sale and the CD started skipping.

No biggie, thought I. Once in a while for a dollar you're going to get a bad CD.

Then I put in what I know is a good CD, and IT started skipping.

Did that bad CD somehow screw something up?

What should I do? Take it to the shop? Is there a way to clean it?

Thanks very much.

cfrizz

That player is at least 22-23 years old. It doesn't owe you a thing. Get the RCD-1072 it is the only player that got the same high rankings that the 855 got when it first came out. I have had both players and the 1072 is a worthy replacement.

sucks2beme

Lens cleaning is about the only option you have at this point.
Once the laser loses power, there's normally an adjustment pot, but
that increases the power, which then runs down the life of the laser.
And turning it too high causes issues. Bottom line-they have a limited
lifespan. Like a car blowing black smoke, that's your warning sign to
start looking for a new one.

stretchl

Would you just use a "cleaning" CD, or have it taken apart?

F1nut

Was it in the shop for the same reason?

treitz3

Hello stretchl, I'm sorry to hear of your CDP woes. You can always do what I used to do. Punch the face of it so hard that it goes through the back of the entertainment stand and busts the sheet rock. The way I looked at it back then, at least that way I'd HAVE to get another player. That has got to be the one thing that aggravates me the most out of anything in this hobby. Of course, I wouldn't recommend doing this now. It hurts your knuckles like the dickens but for some strange reason....I always felt better after doing that.....that is, until one day I punched a Sony CD player that was a damned fine one [didn't know it at the time]. Never found that sound again or bettered that sound for years. Probably the reason I have easily had 30-40 or more CD players throughout my audio journey.

The cleaning CD's have not ever worked for me....at least in my experience. In two cases, it made it worse. Seeing as you have already had yours in the shop? Get rid of it like a hot potato and use this opportunity to upgrade. That's my story and unfortunately, I have to stick to it.

Tom

Fongolio

An alternative is to try and find another laser unit for it. The 855 had a swing arm style laser unit that was extremely high quality. That combined with the superb DAC chip is what made this unit so highly prized. I have a tube output modified version that sounds stunning. When my laser unit goes I will seek out another and use this unit for a very long time. I may know where to aquire another laser unit if you are interested in saving this iconic piece of digital history.

Kelvin

stretchl

It was in the shop bc it wouldn't power on, as I recall.

Took it back in and while I was standing there we tested two CDs. Both, of course, played flawlessly. Isn't that what happens when u take something into the shop??

The technician, who's been around forever and is amazing, concluded that a bit of dirt from that bad cd got on the laser but must've gotten knocked back off during packaging for/transport to the shop.

All is good now.

Fongo, thanks for the advice on the laser. I sure would like to keep this one going as long as is reasonable.

RamZet

cfrizz wrote: »

That player is at least 22-23 years old. It doesn't owe you a thing. Get the RCD-1072 it is the only player that got the same high rankings that the 855 got when it first came out. I have had both players and the 1072 is a worthy replacement.

1072 is nice and so is the RDV-1080. The 1080 is a "dvd" player but not really (its what I use).
RCD-1570 is a solid unit. Sounds great.