CD player skipping

My Linn Ikemi CD player has started intermittently skipping. Can this be due to dust? Do cleaning disks work? Has anybody tried any of them?

 

I don't recommend using those cleaning discs. They could actually do more damage than good, and I don't care who makes them!

Even if you live in a dusty climate (I do) your real problem may be the laser assembly being slightly out of alignment. It is a very common occurance.

 

How old is the CD player?

 

I had the same problem on an old machine. It ended up being the drawer, I had wore the mechanism out according to the techs that worked on it.

 

Depending on the age of the unit- I would take it apart myself and have a look.

I have a Yamaha CDX-810 from 1989 that for the last 5 years would skip. First it would skip if the door flap was shut completely(if I held down the door flap while the drawer closed, and let the door "rest open" against the drawer unit played fine). After a while it skipped all the time.

I opened it up, removed the drawer and took off the tray and slider for the lense. I cleaned off all of the "junk" which of course took any lube with it. I can't quite remember what I used for lube- but it wasn't junk- then turned the motor by hand so the lense tray slid over the entire length of track and back.

Put the whole thing back together and plays great. Occasionally- the clamper comes down on top of cd the wrong way and it ejects. As it turns out- that is what my original problem was with the door being "open". I will buy the new clamper and fix it.

Now- If I could just get the thing to want to recognize my "home brews" that would be great(upgraded firmware maybe????).

Chris

 

I had real problems with discs skipping a few years back. My first player started doing this in about 1990. I took it to the shop for repair maybe 7 times before they fixed it and then it only lasted about 6 months before it started skipping again.

Rather than go through the waste of time of taking it to the shop again, I decided to see if I could fix it myself.

That player has the laser mounted on a sled (the most common design) which ran to and fro over the disc on two metal guide rails. Carefully I was able to dismantle the sled/rail mechanism and thoroughly clean and re-lubricate the appropriate parts. Sometimes you will find that the sled runs on the rails using a nylon bearing in which case I'm not sure you should lubricate. If the bearing is brass or some other metal then lubrication is essential - I use "SUPERLUBE" made by LOCTITE.

There was also another moving part which benefitted from a clean - it was some kind of potentiometer set up with a brush terminal running to and from on a conductive strip. This was well concealed and I only found it with a little searching - this seemed to be the part that the shop had not cleaned until their last attempt (some vague reference to it on the service record).

This solution was not as satisfactory as it might have been as the player seems to need a clean every year or so but....

I then purchased a second hand player - Marantz 63SE. I couldn't believe it when this player also exhibited skipping problems. This time, it was more tricky to service as the laser/sled assembly does not move freely and is hard to dissassemble. I resorted to using a toothbrush to clean out the old, dry grease from the cogs which turn to move the sled. I bought a service manual and discovered a test mode in which you could move the sled to and fro at will (with the laser off ) with the right button presses - very useful for the cleaning/lubrication process.

Skipping is, in my experience, almost always down to dirty rails (assumming the disc itself is not at fault).

Other symptoms such as not reading discs and not playing discs are often down to a dirty lens.

NEVER use a lens cleaning CD would be my advice - you shouldn't touch the lens at all! The most effective way to clean the lens is to use compressed air in a can (be careful not to get too close as the air comes out with quite some force) or you can use a more gentle air dispenser bulb (both air solutions are available at camera stores), or if you must, very lighly wipe the lens with a lens cloth (again be very careful - it's very delicate!).

As you can probably tell, I had a lot of trouble with skipping CDs until I decided to see if I could fix the problem myself!!

Now I have managed to get myself a player that has a fixed lens pick-up (the disc is moved across the lens instead) which is a far better design if you ask me. If only somone would design a player in which you load the discs upside down so that the lens does not get a layer of dust building up on it over the years, I'd be happy .

Good Luck!

 

Never say never! My old Sony player was skipping all over the place, on nearly every disc. I stopped using it for months, and then thought, what the heck. Took the cover off and noticed what looked like dust or grime on the laser lens.

I cleaned it with head cleaning solution, as I recall. Or it might have been CD cleaning solution. I don't think it matters that much, as long as it's something that doesn't leave residue or streaks. Surgical alcohol might work, although that can leave a bit of streaking. Distilled water might even do it. I used a moistened cotton bud, then followed it up with a dry one. Now it plays like a charm.

I don't think compressed air would have cleaned it to the same degree - it's not gonna get any greasy residues off.

It was easy with the Sony, as access to the lens was straightforward. Not sure about the Linn..... If you can't easily access the lens after taking the cover off, you might need the help of a service expert. but don't let them replace parts at great expense until you've had the lens cleaned.

 

I went to MIT's infamous "Tech Yard Sale" which is nothing but a scaled parking garage partitioned off for a walk-in semi-outdoor browse of used amplifiers, computers, tools and gizmos. I now go almost religiously. It comes round once a month or so, when it's warm here in Massachusetts.

Guy left what looked like a brand-new looking cheapo TEAC CD player with "$2" on it. I bought it. He said up front, "It doesn't work, it'll just spin discs and say "NO DISC".

Brought it home, took the cover off (still covered in plastic) used a camera blower and a can of compressed air across the laser transport. I also adjusted the focus beam azmuth (sp). Sucker works great, and still does now. It's a secondary play deck I use in the basement while working on my PC I'm at now. I have Doc's Foreplay, a Dynaco ST-70 amp with it. Wonderful listening!

Yeah, like Grant said, keep away from Disc-oriented laser cleaners. It's a tiny brush that bats the laser lens quite voilently. It's not cleaning, it really borders torture and abuse. That method works horribly, much like VCR Head Cleaners that you "pop in". Gotta do it right, if you dare to be gentle.

I still have an old plastic Radio Shack "Stylus Microscope" that revealed the laser had a "dust beard" on it. No wonder it wouldn't play!

 

I have the Linn Ikemi too (which I absolutely love). I would send it back to Linn. From what I hear, Linn is very good at getting things back to you quickly and will install any updates (I don't know of any updates on the Ikemi). I would not take it apart to get to the lens. I feel your pain.

 

My Krell 20i skipped like hell too. I sent it back to Krell they replaced the entire laser drive for free. I was the second owner and the thing was out of warranty. Great Company.

BTW, the unit has been working great ever since.