SACD repair?

Marantz authorized service centers,
https://www.marantz.com/en-us/support/serviceinformation

My late, unlamented Marantz CD/SACD player went belly-up several years ago and,  the way I remember it, Marantz or the dealer seemed unwilling to do the repair. I can't recall what the problem was.  Did it  refuse to load an SACD?  Or did it just not want to play one? In any case, I eventually just junked the Marantz and bought a Sony 54000es. I don't wanna jinx nothin', but the Sony not only sounds better than the Marantz ever did, it's worked absolutely flawlessly since day one.

The laser needs to focus on two specific lengths, one for CDs, the other, infinitesimally different: SACD layer. They get old/weak, and out of alignment, quite difficult to re-align a new one if you can find it.

I suggest: find your model on eBay, a lightly used one (not many hours on the laser)

a. your exact model, keep yours for parts.

b. similar Marantz model

c. YES, get thee a Sony xa5400ES player. It is awesome, here’s my story:

.

There in lies the problem with SACD I was going to buy one from my dealer he told me not to as they all had limited lifespans it didn't matter how high price on one you got they all were short lived and then you had a cd player it is the SACD part that he told me went bad. 

I have bought about 7 SACD players in my life.  I never had a problem with any of them.  I owned one Marantz but traded it in after 2 years.  I had a Marantz streamer that was awful and they failed to support even when it was under warranty.

  There do seem to be a lot of posts on Agon about Marantz SACD failing and Marantz service being MIA

You might try these folks 

@edcyn +1

I have a 20+ year old SONY CD/SACD carousel type of player. On SACD Hybrid discs, it only reads the CD Layer. On SACD only layer discs, it still reads SACD !!! Decided against any repair and bought me a nice Marantz SACD30n SACD network player.  Hope this lasts a couple of decades !

A local vintage stereo shop closed last spring, and I bought a used Sony SCD-XA9000ES during their final sale. Everything was as-is and due to the nature of the sale they had very limited ability to test gear prior to purchase. I did the best I could…tested that the drawer opened and closed and it played a standard disc fine.

When I finally had a chance to test it at home, I found it wouldn’t recognize hybrid discs…got a “no disc” message. Single layer discs just resulted in “error” message. Tried a calibration procedure with no luck. Contacted a local repair shop, was told it likely needed a new laser assembly, but those appear to be impossible to find (if they even still exist). 
 

Would love to find someone who can successfully repair the unit, but as it stands seems like the best I can hope for is a nice standard CD player and DAC. Also, this experience has kind of soured me on SACDs in general, as good SACD players seem to start at $1000+, and I’m not sure I’m willing to invest that for something with an obviously limited life span and no real way to repair once it starts giving out.

wpcheadle

Critical parts are no longer available for the SA-11S1 model. Now, the Good news.

These players do appear for sale quite often. Search (seek) the internet weekly for current activity. I concur, these players do sound Great! I own a SA-11S2 spinner.

Happy Listening!

@wpcheadle 

You didn't specify the problem.

With the SA-11S1 it is usually the laser going bad and not reading TOC on sacd's. If that is so, the laser is the HOP1200. It is still in production, cheap, and easy to replace. There is no adjustment to do, just swap the laser mechanisms.

That said, these lasers tend to have a short life. Your player is old, like really old. So either you didn't play it much, or you have been lucky. Any technician who works on cd players can install a new laser in these players for the minimum shop charge as it doesn't take too long to do.

If you have a different problem, then that is something altogether different. As the above post mentions, critical parts for this older player are generally not available any more unless the needed part can be salvaged from another player.

@shari the problem is intermittent and symptoms are not always the same. But the root cause is surely that the SACD laser is failing.

I contacted Music Technology (thank you @czbbcl) and they're not interested in tackling the problem. They say the original laser is no longer available and the aftermarket ones are unreliable. I did buy one from ebay and my local shop was unable to make it work - he put it back the way it was, so I'm now left with a very good CD player.

Sorry to hear that they couldn't help you. Getting parts for a older machine can be an issue as you know.

Chuck

wpcheadle

Good to read that the CD laser is still operational. Thank You for the update.

Happy Listening!

Sorry but I got busy and hadn't checked here..............

Yes, the HOP1200 replacements have a horrible reputation. I once read that they should be ordered in batches of 5 in order to get a couple good ones. But I have no experience with them.

If you want to play your sacd's seems like you need a new player. I guess you have to decide that for yourself. The Marantz SACDN30 is now about the cheapest option. 

Otherwise you can rip your sacd's and buy a dsd capable dac.

wpcheadle,

You could try a different laser supplier for the HOP1200. Donberg in UK is a good reliable source.

 Audio Spare HOP1200R (HOP 1200R) - CD LASER UNIT (PICK UP) (PICK-UP) HITACHI - UK (GBP) (donberg.co.uk)

They have several listings for HOP1200 with pictures of each. 

Buying from east Asian sellers on Ebay other than Supermanmeliu, usually results in a dud unit, as you just learned.

Steve

share - thanks for the info...I'm getting ready to pack it up and ship it off to a shop that thinks they can repair it, I'll pass on the source to the shop FWIW, they may be unaware of them.

Wpcheadle

Thank you for the update.  Keep me posted on the repair process.

Happy Listening!