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Marantz SA-11 S1 drawer not opening and some SACD won't read

Greetings everyone. 

I have a Marantz SA-11 S1 Reference player and for the past 2 years or so, the drawer has a hard time opening and closing. I have to push the button up to 7 times and eventually it will open. I should also mention that I am the 3rd owner and have owned it since February of 2010 and the built date is June 2005, so most likely it's an early model. The other issue is that some SACD discs will not play and some other ones will skip at random during playback. Red book CD or burned Cds play perfectly. It seems that the issues with SACD happens with some recent ones.  I assume that the drawer not opening is a worn out belt, gears or lack of lubrication. My main concern is that it may need a new laser assembly and some folks have mentioned that they are impossible to find. Not sure if it is a Toshiba, Phillips, etc. I have contacted United Radio which is a certified Marantz repair center and also Just Audio in Baltimore since I would rather send it to someone reputable. I have found some replacement drives on Ebay for around $30 and they could be a cheap knock off. Any ideas on how to proceed?? I love the built quality and the sound is beautiful and I don't mind spending some money to get it back to it's former glory. Thanks  in advance and I look forward to your answers. 
pivetta
elliottbnewcombjr
5,111 posts
 
IMO more than likely it ain't the laser assembly. Unless you get the 'works' right, no point of buying a laser assembly.

inside is not rocket science, just a mechanism to get disc into position for the laser

take case off, have a look, press buttons, watch, get familiar with it's actions. 

see what might slip or not slip when it should/shouldn't

clean old lube off, put new lube, 

clean pully, clean belt, new belt?

I bet you can get it going yourself. At least have a look before you pay someone else or give up.
elliottbnewcombjr
5,111 posts
 
you have the users manual?

file:///C:/Users/ellio/Downloads/DFU_SA11S1_Final_Eng.pdf

service manual

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Service-Manual-For-Marantz-SA-11-S1/254825425118?hash=item3b54c768de:g:RfQA...

you might find a free download somewhere

pivetta OP
44 posts
 
I have opened it before but it’s a bit more than I can do. I consider myself fairly technical but would hate to ruin it. The repair manual is available on pdf all over the web and there are also a couple of videos, however some steps are missing. 
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,496 posts
 
It sounds to me that you have little lose by looking. The only experience I have was an old Rotel with stripped drawer gears.
Glued a knob on and manual was much quicker.
The intermittent playback sound terminal.
Sorry.
Rip 'em.
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
My first SACD player was a first generation Marantz CD/SACD machine, and though my memory is a bit hazy I remember having similar troubles. It either wouldn’t stay closed or it refused to open. Sometimes it wouldn’t play one of the formats. The trouble happened soon after I purchased it, and Marantz quickly sent a replacement. At any rate, I eventually replaced it with the Sony XA5400ES, which I still enjoy.
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