An Issue with Discs Showing Up "Dirty" From My Marantz CD Changer...

JohnnyNapalm

Laser may not be focused correctly (gain, distance to disk, alignment etc). That is why I asked if you had a tech or repair center local to you.

RBZ5416

I wonder why?
I think you might need more realistic expectations.

IntelliVolume

I had a specific reason for choosing a multi-disc changer when I bought them, and it wasn't only for the obvious reason of convenience; it had to do with the way I used to program five discs at a time when burning custom-made "mixed CD-Rs" so I could program the discs to play certain songs I wanted from them...a lot to go into here.

I still enjoy the format of a multi-disc transport, though.

IntelliVolume

Oh, I thought you were referring to a USER SETUP error; in that case, yes, anything is possible (the thing was most likely faulty from the start).

dannnielll

Like Gibbsey, I am a believer in the silver disc. However I see it as the licence to play music rather than the necessity of having it rotating. My strategy starting about 18months ago  was to copy all of the CDs onto a dedicated USB hard drive in a lossless format. ..the technique is called ripping and is extremely simple. I used  a Sony program called Music Centre ,and used the FLAC format. The Program will allow one to sort any artist, gendre, album etc and gives on a computer screen the artwork .  In retrospect I might have been better to have used the ordinary CDA standard, as more devices are compatible with it or MP3 s than with Flac.  ..but With the work done I am not repeating it.
This means i have a single small drive with an entire wall of CDs all stored in perfect resolution..well as perfect as the CD can be. The disc can be plugged into a TV,into an auxiliary port on a satellite box etc and  the entire library is available. Should I wish ,I can replicate the entire library  over a few hours onto other hard drives. Most of the time the disc is plugged into a laptop and the output directed to a better DAC than the inboard one in a laptop. ,
What this means really is that the multidisc CD player is obsolete. I am also a hoarder of older equipment,and have still working AVRecievers  and stereo systems from 1980 ,1990, 2000, and 2010...  So I do expect equipment to last.  But sometimes the technology has just moved on. The added value of having all the music available by storing it digitally is so strong,that you should consider it.

mushii

I too am a big fan of the silver disk. I too have also ripped much of my collection to FLAC and it lives on my NAS. I love it’s flexibility but it also lacks the ceremony and solemnity of putting on an ‘album’ and listening to it ‘cover to cover’, listening to tracks in the order that the artist originally designed and wrote it.
I think that in 2019 both methods of listening have their place and it would be foolish and naive as a music lover to to discount either.

IntelliVolume

I know what "ripping" is. And I have done it.

At this point, we're veering off the original point of my thread -- I wanted to know what was causing the black gunk/dust on the playing side of some of my CDs when it wasn't there prior to the discs sitting in the carousel.

I didn't want it to turn into a "this is why you shouldn't be using a changer!" debate (or one about the validity of physical media), unless someone is suggesting that the MECHANICS of the CD changer are what's causing the debris on the discs (or something along those lines).

IntelliVolume

I appreciate your thoughts and feelings regarding the "place" of the two forms of listening as we approach 2020 -- and I am in total agreement regarding the "feel" of an album's "flow," which is one of the reasons I love physical media so much.

But to say that because I won't download, stream or rip is "foolish" or "naive" isn't really called for -- and, again, I DIDN'T want to make this thread about defending or attacking Compact Discs, LPs or any other form of physical media. Let's not go down the road of "well, if you're not considering these other forms of playback, you're foolish and can't see the value in it..." because my original question was about the gunk/dust on the playing side of my CDs and why it's all of a sudden appearing on discs that have been sitting for awhile in my changer.

mushii

@IntelliVolume no disrespect but your tone here is starting to feel a little hostile. You don’t get to dictate how or who contributes and sometimes threads tend to wander a little it’s the nature of coming to a public forum to ask for advice.

Your original ask, without opening up your hardware or even you posting some photographs is almost impossible to diagnose. I appreciate you like vintage HiFi but you also have to take into account that manufacturers build this equipment to have a finite life and being blunt yours is well beyond that threshold.

If your expectation is beyond what is reasonable you have 3 choices:
1. Scrap it when it ceases to function properly
2. Find a friendly HiFi shop that are happy to spend time on your equipment, given that their costs are likely to exceed its economic value 10 to 100 fold and hence most will decline on this basis alone.
3. Learn to pick a screwdriver up yourself, try and find some original service manuals and have a go at fixing / diagnosing yourself.

People  here have tried to offer ‘opinions’ but your ask is IMHO pretty esoteric to start with, and I think the suggestions that have been offered have all been pretty reasonable.

This is my last post in your thread as I find your attitude rude and condescending (we are not school children to be herded  as you see fit, and your bold type additions to your posts feel just like that) to people who tried to help you and offer their help and thoughts. Good luck.

JayCee

@IntelliVolume I suggest you Google “CD Disc Rot”