Hi: I have an early 90s marantz cd changer--super warm sound..has digital out, but sometimes it skips. tried disk cleaner--no avail; any other tips...i want to hang on because the sound is so warm and precise compared to new "tinny" stuff today unless you pay big money; so hope there is an adjustment i can do...? any advice.. --thanks
Try furniture polish on the label side of the disc.... Yes - you heard me right - ON THE LABEL SIDE!
All this does is reduce the static build up which gets worse as the disc reaches speed on spin-up. The polish has an antistatic agent, but a waxy finish, which is why you don't want to spray it on the playing side.
The static on the discs can play havoc with the internal circuitry. Furniture polish is cheap next to 'anti-stat' sprays and just as good.
Then give it a wipe with a clean, soft duster.
To clean the playing side, wash in warm (not boiling hot) water with a good blob of ordinary detergent, making sure there is no traces of the soap when you've finished. Use your fingers, not any kind of abrasive cloth or sponge. Allow to air dry - THEN do the wax polish thing on the other side.
Hope this helps. If not, then at least your 'test' CD will smell nice.
If it doesn't work, you'll most likely need to remove the cover and clean the read lens. Calotherm spectacle cloth is about the best. Use a brand new one.
Wow: just tried it; so far so good but if does not work; how do you clean the read lens? is the lens below the arm that pulls cd into engage on the carousel. i pull the chassis off and then where do i clean? I live in colorado, very dry, lots of static. thanks for tip.
Where the lens is, depends on the player, but generally is visible when you start removng the casings. If you'e not confident about the dismantling. get a professional to do it for you. For an old 'faithful', beloved machine, I'd say it'd be worth the money, if he's a reasonably priced fellow.
There is another thing which causes skipping like Billy-O; although the failure rate to play the disc is much higher, you might have complained earlier.... The tracks upon which the read-lens assembly runs get dirty. This is what happened to my Technics SL-P550. The dirt was stopping the assembly from travelling forward smoothly, causing jumping and skipping on every single disc used.
If you see the lens, you'll know it. Bright, clear little 'stone' set into an assembly which runs on a track. Be careful with it. Try cleaning the tracks, too with methylated spirit. Use Calotherm cloth on the lens only.
Like I say - make sure you feel confident about any dismantling before you proceed. It'd be terrible to find yourself with a machine you could not put back together. Changer-mechanisms do make the whole plan a little more complicated than a single caddy machine.
You can also try a CD lens cleaner - they should be available even from a reasonably sized department store. They are simply a CD with a small "brush" that wipes over the lens as its "playing". Its played as a conventional CD (rather like a cassette tape head cleaner)
Thank for the January tip on CD's. I rented a DVD but it was not playable - I followed your advice about washing the CD with a mild detergent in warm water and spraying furniture polish on the label side - IT WORKS GREAT! Thanks for the advice.