Sony SCD-555ES Fault

[JJ75]

Hi all.

after working flawlessly for 5 years, my SCD-555ES has stopped recognising discs of any sort. (its like the SCD-777ES, not the similarly numbered US market multi-disc player)

I last used it in the weekend listening to the Bowie Ziggy Stardust SACD, left it switched on all weekend in fact. Turned it on yesterday only to find, no matter what sort of disc I put in it, the thing whirrs away for 30 secs or so and then displays "NO DISC", the SACD light always comes on as well?

Anyone have any ideas on/experience of this? I really like this player.

Cheers JJ

[gloomrider]

Hi all.

after working flawlessly for 5 years, my SCD-555ES has stopped recognising discs of any sort. (its like the SCD-777ES, not the similarly numbered US market multi-disc player)

I last used it in the weekend listening to the Bowie Ziggy Stardust SACD, left it switched on all weekend in fact. Turned it on yesterday only to find, no matter what sort of disc I put in it, the thing whirrs away for 30 secs or so and then displays "NO DISC", the SACD light always comes on as well?

Anyone have any ideas on/experience of this? I really like this player.

Cheers JJ


Just a guess, but it sounds like a textbook example of a dead laser. As many have pointed out here, the transports have a finite life span. :(

[Chris M]

My 555ES is 5 years old and I have had nothing but problems with it. Even after sending it to Bristol..

[Rolf Erickson]

I reprint my response from another earlier, virtually identical question:

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Try cleaning the "Lens" of the laser pickup.
This may not fix it, but it won't hurt to do it. (unless you are "ten-thumbs")

Open up the player, by taking the metal case off. You will find near the "tray" for the CD's, a little clear lens like a small contact lens, (this is the pick-up unit) clean this very gently with a cue-tip or something. Perhaps use a bit of alcohol or fluid cleaner. It may have dust or residue on it that is blurring the laser beam.. You may need to draw out the tray to get at it.. It will be mounted loosely and wiggle a bit, be careful, and do it slow and gently.. It's a shot, may not do anything, but unless you are a klutz, it won't hurt either. I have improved my players reliability on playback considerably with this maintenance procedure. Good luck. Rolf.
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[JJ75]

Just a guess, but it sounds like a textbook example of a dead laser. As many have pointed out here, the transports have a finite life span. :(

Sadly, I think u may be correct. I've had the lid off, but I cant get to anything at all.

Anyone know if Sony will still supply a replacement transport or laser for this model, or is my one time near top of the range Sony ES now basically junk. (tho I wont finally give up hope till the repair shop says so)

Thanks, JJ

[marcb]

I had a similar problem but fortunately mine was still under warranty (barely). IIRC, it was a problem with the laser transport. I'll try to remember to look up the paperwork on it tonight.

[fxsuperglide]

I had a Sony ES 5 disc changer with a single well CD recorder (if I recall correctly, it might have been a 555 model? not exactly sure). I bought mine from Tweeter after the sales pitch, and how the factory warranty and Tweeter's was great (I only wanted a single disc unit recorder). Well, less than 3 weeks later, I brought it back for an exchange because it quit copying digitally from disc to disc. As they promised, they'd exchange it on the spot if I had any problems for 6 months, but guess what? The story changed and I'd have to wait a week or two for a replacement (i.e, perhaps to prove if I was a liar? or to repackage my old unit to give it back to me, perhaps as if I was imagining the problem?). I kindly asked for a refund and bought a TASCAM CDRW-4U elsewhere. No more Tweeter and no more "mass market" Sony for me (sure, others may have good luck - yet I most always get a "dud" when I buy Sony). My own thoughts.

[JJ75]

Hi,

Ive had the player repaired so here's a quick update.

Gloomrider was spot on, it was a very dead laser...which had been dying over a period of time (had noticed it occasionally seeking whilst paying). This obviously gave the microprocessor a much harder job to do, causing it to burn itself out too.

So all in all a new laser assembly and microprocessor plus labout set me back £300, which i considered to be worth it as it was a £1000+ player in the first place and i'm not about to spend that kind of cash again.

Anyway, it sounds better than ever (and it was pretty good before)...so there's a happy ending. :D

Thanks all,

JJ

[Gary]

They had parts!!!

Wow - glad it worked out for you!!

[JJ75]

Thanks Gary,

yep they had parts, I was half expecting them not to, with it being amongst the first SACD players on the market way back in 2001 (I think).

According to the repair shop, parts availability was not a problem at all. I expect these players only sold in relatively small numbers so perhaps the stock of spare parts just hasn't been used up yet due to low demand for them.

Cheers
Jon