Hi all,
I acquired a rather nicely kept RX-DT680 about a year ago that I use only lightly, but I've noticed it's recently having a lot of issues reading discs, and I'm trying to assess the issue and how to remedy. I'm pretty sure it's the laser assembly, but that's about the extent of my insight. Apologies if this is the wrong place for this post; I had a look around but I am new to the site.
-Spinning motor seems fine, as discs always start spinning once inserted, even when the stereo can't play them
-I can't identify any pattern with what discs do or don't play—I've tried burnt CD-Rs, CDs from the 90s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s, discs with many tracks as well as discs with only a few, discs from Japan as well as US, scratched vs. clean. The player has had both successes and failures in all of the above categories.
-It seems to be getting worse, in that it now won't play certain discs that it previously played fine. So I don't think it's just a matter of certain discs being fundamentally in an unreadable format on account of the stereo's age
-Sometimes it'll play some tracks but not others on a given disc
-Today I tried a CD and the player showed progressive improvement. First it wasn't getting a read at all, but then it identified the track count and CD length but stalled out when I tried to select a track; then I was able to play tracks but with a lot of skipping; finally, it started playing tracks properly. Yay but weird. Or is that typical?
-I tried cleaning the lens by spinning a Q-Tip doused with 70% isopropyl alcohol on it; I subsequently read you're not supposed to use alcohol—oops. I can't tell if that made it any worse
Any advice on how to further assess/remedy would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, wondering:
-How to determine whether the laser needs cleaning vs. replacing (or if the laser isn't the problem to begin with)
-Tips on proper cleaning method
-How much do I need to disassemble this thing to do any of the above?
-Where to get and how to perform laser replacement if necessary. I have done some soldering in the past, but I would describe my craftsmanship as "iffy," so hoping I don't have to do much of that, but I'd sooner try it than pay to have it done
Thanks so much in advance!
I acquired a rather nicely kept RX-DT680 about a year ago that I use only lightly, but I've noticed it's recently having a lot of issues reading discs, and I'm trying to assess the issue and how to remedy. I'm pretty sure it's the laser assembly, but that's about the extent of my insight. Apologies if this is the wrong place for this post; I had a look around but I am new to the site.
-Spinning motor seems fine, as discs always start spinning once inserted, even when the stereo can't play them
-I can't identify any pattern with what discs do or don't play—I've tried burnt CD-Rs, CDs from the 90s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s, discs with many tracks as well as discs with only a few, discs from Japan as well as US, scratched vs. clean. The player has had both successes and failures in all of the above categories.
-It seems to be getting worse, in that it now won't play certain discs that it previously played fine. So I don't think it's just a matter of certain discs being fundamentally in an unreadable format on account of the stereo's age
-Sometimes it'll play some tracks but not others on a given disc
-Today I tried a CD and the player showed progressive improvement. First it wasn't getting a read at all, but then it identified the track count and CD length but stalled out when I tried to select a track; then I was able to play tracks but with a lot of skipping; finally, it started playing tracks properly. Yay but weird. Or is that typical?
-I tried cleaning the lens by spinning a Q-Tip doused with 70% isopropyl alcohol on it; I subsequently read you're not supposed to use alcohol—oops. I can't tell if that made it any worse
Any advice on how to further assess/remedy would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, wondering:
-How to determine whether the laser needs cleaning vs. replacing (or if the laser isn't the problem to begin with)
-Tips on proper cleaning method
-How much do I need to disassemble this thing to do any of the above?
-Where to get and how to perform laser replacement if necessary. I have done some soldering in the past, but I would describe my craftsmanship as "iffy," so hoping I don't have to do much of that, but I'd sooner try it than pay to have it done
Thanks so much in advance!
