ONKYO C-S5VL ****s the bed

Any help is appreciated. I've had this player (Onkyo C-S5VL) that I've raved about for sound. It had skipping issues not too long ago, a disc cleaner did the trick. Fast forward a few months...

I put a CD player in hit play, its fairly loud (digital click loud NOT mechanical gear loud) and doesn't play. It loads to track 1 but the time does't advance. I change to a different CD, same thing. I change to an SACD hybird. Now it doesn't even read the disc or change to track 1. And pressing the open button does nothing. Display reads "open" but it won't actually open. Any troubleshooting help?

FWIW, I've always loved the sound on this unit. And believed the reviews that it was a "giant killer" (a legit entry level stereo SACD player <$400). But this is the second time I've had serious issues with it not playing in less than 5 years. It makes me seriously wonder if I'd ever trust Onkyo again.

 

Anyone seen this before?

 

All CD transports eventually fall apart. Get it fixed or buy a new one.

 

what should a job like that cost?

 

My guess is maybe $100 for labor and $50 for parts. It's a good question as to whether it's better to just junk it and buy a new one or get the old one fixed. My advice would be to try to find a new old stock model on eBay. There's SACD players all over the place there.

I still love the format and own about 200 SACD discs, but I really think the format is as dead as a doornail and has been for about 7-8 years now. In truth, I think the only reason Sony came out with it was to "close the barn door" after CD, to come up with a format that solved all the flaws with CD -- chief among them making it nearly impossible for users to make a digital copy. It was a format created to make labels secure, not really to benefit consumers, and I think the sound quality depends more on the mastering than anything else. But I have some great-sounding SACDs that I enjoy listening to, like the Rolling Stones reissues.

 

yeah i can't see spending $150 to fix a $399 CD player. this is the excuse i've needed to get an Oppo. I agree with your thought that SACD may be on its way out. I'm hoping blu ray audio steps up to the plate.

 

blu ray audio will never begin to be as widespread as SACD was. It's tiny, and I mean a sliver of the marketplace.

A pity, but there it is.

DSD downloads.... another format that will be lucky if it hits 5% of the market. I'd be surprised if it ever got that high. I'm thinking maybe 2%.

CD's and PCM downloads = 85% of the market. The only 'successful' niche format for the foreseeable future is vinyl.

 

My C-S5VL has a similar issue (won't read disc, sometimes won't eject disc even when display reads "open"). First time it happened (months ago), powering it down for a day or so fixed the issue (I thought). Then, last week, it did it again; this time, powering down had no palliative effect.

Transport is kerfunkt, I'm afraid; I heard somewhere it was a cheap DVD transport. As I only paid $180 for the unit (a Fry's demo), I'm resigned to getting another player. Just need something cheap with coax digital out to feed my Rega DAC.

 

Interesting we had this problem the same week and live in the same region. This happened once before after a day of intense humidity. I'm not sure if its a coincidence or not, but it was really humid here preceding this. And like you I had the same issue once before, left it alone for a day and it worked again (cleaned it with a disc cleaner anyway). But its been two days this time and no sign of it working again. ****ty.

 

I've had one of these for a couple years now. No issues, so far. Then again, it gets rather light use and I live in the opposite of a humid climate.

 

You live in Seattle? Where did you buy yours? I might inquire about servicing it, but I doubt it.

 

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Mine works perfectly; only had one problem with my copy of "Synchronicity"

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...y-one-cd-in-mint-conditions-wont-play.343452/

 

Open it up, clean and lubricate the laser sled runners (if not in a sealed transport), clean lenses (compressed air or very light wipe to remove larger (visible) dust particles.

I've never had a player with reading issues that this didn't fix - I've only had one player long term that hasn't needed this maintenance at some point (has a sealed transport).

Dust is the enemy (condensation is a temporary problem unless you have really high humidity) - think how there's a layer of dust on the boards in any old piece of gear. That dust is clogging up the sled runners/bearings making it impossible for the sled to be positioned accurately enough for the pick-up to read/track the disc. It is also collecting on the lens(es) and reducing the sensitivity of the optical pickup which can cause reading problems.

It's not too fiddly - I'm a bit limited with my hands these days but I managed to get a couple of my players (OPPO BDP-83, SONY SCD XE-670) going recently by just lubing the runners/bearings and blowing on the lenses. If they get read problems again, you just clean it better next time.

If you take it to a service technician this is all they will do unless there's another problem - maybe 10 mins of work if you've done it before.

 

I misread your profile, thought you lived in Asbury Park. I got it from amazon though, if I recall correctly.

 

Before signing on tonight, I did just that. I opened it up, cleaned the lens (it was nasty, the Q-Tip actually turned black), grabbed my disc. Screwed it all back together. Same issue. It doesn't even make a noise when starting it up, the way it used to when it was looking for a disc. I'm not sure what you mean by sled runners. But I'm gonna have a drink and then open it up again, and clean anything that doesn't have a circuit board.

 

Depends on the design but usually the laser pick-up is mounted on a sled that runs on two rails (called them runners earlier - couldn't think of the right word!) - the two (usually two, sometimes one, sometimes a radial design) shiny chrome looking rods the sled moves to and fro on. Dust absorbs the lubricant and cakes up in the bearings the sled is running on, cat hair wreaks havoc with the rail/bearing if it gets in there and even without dust or hair the lubricant will dry out over time and need re-doing eventually. Usually a quick clean of the chrome rails with a Q-tip and some isopropyl alcohol and application of something like Loctite Superlube (still available?) will get it going smoothly if that's the problem. You should be able to gently force the sled to move along the rails to get full access to them (if you can disassemble the sled from the rails then even better for cleaning - but it's usually not worth trying).

Of course, the problem could be something else entirely but it's worth a shot - if the sled is moving 'freely' (gear resistance is normal) by hand and the rails are clean and lubricated and the mechanism still doesn't move on loading a disc then it may be other parts need cleaning re-greasing, a broken belt or worse - starts to become a job for a service engineer.

It all depends on whether you can get access to the sled rails - sometimes you need to unscrew the transport and disconnect it from the boards to get to the underside (that was a bit fiddly on the OPPO BDP-83). If the transport is sealed (only open at the drawer end) then I guess it's a non-starter.

 

Your last sentence: had my Onkyos for three years now. Used daily. No issues at all. Trust? At the drop of a hat.

Two issues in five years? Get it checked over.

 

Funny you mention the cat. I have one. He sheds more than any cat I've ever had. I already cleaned the part you mentioned, I just didn't know exactly what you meant. It may need actual lube then, as the cleaning did nothing. What has me most concerned though is when I hit the open button, it doesn't even make a noise like its trying to open. No digital sounds/no motor sounds. The display will read open and literally nothing happens.

 

My 2-yr old unit finally crapped out yesterday. The problem started with skipping play a couple of times, to not ejecting disc, and now it just won't recognize most of my discs.

Opened it up, cleaned the lens and made sure it is more or less dust free...................with no help!

 

exactly what happened to me, accept mine wouldn't even open and close... a $400 unit should last more than 2-3 years. very unimpressed with onkyo... its sad though, because i loved the the sound on this unit.

 

CD players as a relatively inexpensive commodity are a mature category with drastically declining sales, and in my experience that's having a negative effect on quality control and the robustness of parts. And every manufacturing run has its share of lemons. Oppo would be a good choice for a replacement unit. Good luck.

Truly disgusting thread title, btw.

 

I have massive sympathy for Fluffskul. My C-S5VL was a fun player. The SACD function was mere bonus to the great sound it extracted from CD. $180 I paid! Rats.

 

If we can find out what transport/sled assembly they used you can find it on ebay for less than $20. There's a ton of them up there, it would be plug and play and you'll be good for another 4 years. Just have to find out what oem part it is.
the beave

 

Here is an example, it's not the one for the S5-vl but it gives you an idea of the price:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-ONKYO-INT...426?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3397c53efa

the beave