Issue With My Denon DVD-2900 - Can Anyone Help?

teekay0007

I have a Denon DVD-2900 that oftentimes will not "see" CDs. This is a great DVD/DVD-Audio/SACD/CD player (new in 2004) when it's working correctly. It's only been used for SACD and CD playback. When SACDs are put in the drawer it plays them just fine. However, when CDs are put in the drawer, it only "sees" about half to two thirds of them. Upon closing the drawer with a CD, it registers as "Loading" on its screen, then just shows 0h00m00s - which is the usual way it displays the timer at the start of any disc - but wouldn't play the disc. However, it doesn't display "CD" (vs. the SACD light coming on when an SACD disc is put in it) or the total number of tracks and the total time of the disc as it does when functioning properly.

I first tried doing a Master Reset (a few times) and this didn't help. I then tried cleaning each CD (with a CD/DVD Discwasher unit) prior to putting them in the tray. This seemed to help it successfully read more CDs, but not consistently and it would still read some discs fine on one try, but not on the next attempt. Thinking it might be a dirty laser lens (?), I got a Memorex CD/DVD Lens Cleaner disc. This didn't work in this player, only displaying "No Play" or the zeroed timer as noted above. The Memorex disc did work fine in other players that it was tried in.

Does anybody have any ideas as to what I can try to get this thing working properly and consistently?

Emlyn

Very common problem with all optical disc reading devices caused by age. Sounds like this...needs either a new laser assembly or the ability to adjust the power on the current one. I'd go for a new unit after 16 years. Should be about $30 for parts. More cost if it needs a repair tech to repair it.

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/63838-denon-2900-a-5.html

pitdogg2

Denon used cheap Hitachi lasers all the way to their totl players. At one time you could buy the complete unit for $10. The 3910 and 2900 are great universal players just find a good tech have them replace the optical drive unit. On both my 2900/3910 the pick up never lasted more than 7 yrs.

teekay0007

Thanks much for your input. It appears that this is a more common problem than I realized. I thought that if there was a problem with the laser no discs would read properly, not just the CDs.
There was mention of "laser assembly", "optical pickup" and "optical drive unit". Are they all different or are these different labels for the same thing?

From the link (diyaudio) provided by @Emlyn, I gathered that a replacement of the optical pickup should take care of this problem most of the time. Too bad that the link within the link to the author's tutorial is no longer accessible.

I found a couple of Optical Pickups available for the DVD-2900 that I think should be the right part. There's a great variability in price from about $14 (shipped) from AliExpress to about $40 (shipped) on Amazon:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32418362446.html?aff_platform=dynamic-window&sk=AMnm2vF&aff_trace_key=d33151f433614e0781281bb07eeb4376-1604163806497-06446-AMnm2vF&terminal_id=32acab691714464b8c46d2f2e201a024

https://www.amazon.com/Optical-Laser-Pickup-dvd2900-player/dp/B06XGD2H8V

Am I looking at this right? I'd give it a shot by the $14 route, if that would likely work. Is it a task that someone with six thumbs and four pinkies could perform successfully on most attempts? The player is a unit that I'm wanting to hook up at a family member's place and really isn't worth putting much into.

Also, at the diyaudio site, they said something about the optical pickup's CD/DVD laser diode short was not properly unsoldered. Is this a solder joint that was put in place just for stability during shipping and handling? Does it just need to be heated up and the solder wicked away?

Thanks for the advice already given and in advance for any yet to be given.

Emlyn

In my case I would take it to a reliable place to get the work done if it did not cost too much and I wanted to keep it. It may be more cost effective to just buy a used player of some type that still works.

There are some YouTube videos on how to do these repairs. The desoldering step on a replacement pickup is because those come with a means of preventing damage from static electricity. The tricky part seems to be that the replacement pickup may still require micro adjustments to work right with multiple types of discs.

DaveHo

Had the same issue with my 2900. I bought a laser assembly and installed it myself. Still didn't work. Guess I screwed something up. Sold it for parts. If you are going to pay to have it repaired, think you could probably get similar performance from a different unit for about the same cost.

Easy Runnin

I just replaced a laser assembly on a NAD 545 last week. It was pretty easy. There was desoldering involved. I’ve played 4 CDs so far and everything seems to be fine.

F1nut

Try cleaning the pickup lens first and not with that stupid brush disc. Look online for how to's. Denatured alcohol works best, IME.

teekay0007

Thanks, everyone, for the input. I'll try the denatured alcohol cleaning once I find some guidance online. If unsuccessful, I'll think about giving the new pickup a shot. I'll also make a few calls to see if I can get a price on someone else doing it.

F1nut

Unplug the player, open it up and locate the optical pickup, which may require removing transport parts such as the cover. Use a Q-tip dampened with denatured alcohol and very gently rub it on the lens. Do not apply pressure as you risk damaging the suspension. Do it twice just to make sure it's clean and use the other end of the Q-tip. Button it all up and cross your fingers. NEVER look at the lens/laser while powered up.

teekay0007

I don't have any denatured alcohol. Will isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol or mineral spirits work okay? I read that mineral spirits is a good substitute, but I don't know if they were talking about using it for cleaning a glass surface.

pitdogg2

91% isopropyl but I personally would not use 70% rubbing alcohol.

Just go ahead and forgot the mineral spirits thought...