Do Onkyo CD players have a reputation for being twitchy?

[ChrisJam]

Do Onkyo CD players have a reputation for skipping? I have an Onkyo DX-C540 that's about 8 years old or so. I've found it to be touchy with dirty discs (most of my discs are pristine, but I've gotten some used ones that have minor scratches or smudges).

But more than that, this player seems not to like a handful of my CDs. We have over 600 in our collection, and some of them just skip frequently. But then again, some days I'll play the same disc and not hear a skip.

Years ago I tried an experiment, wondering if the problem might be my receiver (Yamaha HRT-5280) cutting out momentarily. If a CD skipped, I'd quickly change the selector to the tuner. Voila, no cutting out of the sound at the same volume level.

But then again, this CD skipping rarely happens when I listen to music at low volume. Weird. Then again, it never happens when I listen to a DVD, even at LOUD volume.

I just read superjiv's thread (http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23881). I, too have an Allsop cleaner. After listening to a Bill Evans jazz CD skip all often in its first track this week, I used the cleaner disc. Little change. BTW, the Bill Evans CD was almost brand new, and didn't have a mark on it.

No one smokes in our house. Yes, there's dust that gets into the CD tray--this Onkyo is a 6-disc model--but I try to keep it dusted and wiped in there, as best I can.

Other than this problem of skipping with certain discs, I like this Onkyo. If any of you have any thoughts about this, I'd be happy to hear them.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Nomo]

I've had my DX-1800 (single disc) for around 10 years now. I'm currently using it in the garage for outdoor music. The only trouble I've had is occationally the drawer opens and closest quickly after pressing the open button.
I recently had a 802 model multi DVD player, a refurb, that had problems similar to what you're describing. I attributed it to the fact it was a refurb. Maybe it wasn't???
From my experience the multi-disc players, both CD and DVD, not just Onkyo, seem to be a bit more quirky than the single players. Considering the extra moving parts to make the things works it's not a huge surprise.

 

[ChrisJam]

I've had my DX-1800 (single disc) for around 10 years now. I'm currently using it in the garage for outdoor music. The only trouble I've had is occationally the drawer opens and closest quickly after pressing the open button. [snip]

Thanks for your answer.

Just after my Onkyo's warranty ended, the drawer mechanism broke. My city has a factory-authorized repair shop, but it took over a month for the part to come in. The repair cost $100-150, IIRC. That was around 1999, and it's been fine since.

You're definitely right about having more potential problems with a greater number of moving parts. While I love the convenience of have a multi-disc player and being about to swap discs as one plays, it's hard to clean the carousel. I can see dust on the bottom layer as the tray rotates, but I can't get at all the parts to clean it. Maybe I should feel lucky that the skipping isn't worse than it is?

 

[MDS]

I used to have an Onkyo 6 disc changer (forget model number) and it is currently in my brother-in-law's garage and still working fine. It is about 10 years old.

It has never cut-off the first few seconds of songs on CDs but it does occasionally have a problem where it doesn't recognize a CD in the tray and if you move it to a different slot it suddenly sees it fine. I attribute that to the fact that it is getting old and the carousel probably doesn't always line up perfectly with the laser and/or the laser itself is slightly out of alignment.

I have mixed emotions about Onkyo DVD players however. Every one I've had has issues. It often stops and says 'skipping bad disc area' and then continues. If you reverse and play the same track, it will play fine without the message. It's hit and miss. The same discs play without hiccup in my computer dvd player and a much older and cheaper Toshiba player.

I've never had a single problem with Onkyo receivers but the next DVD player I get will likely not be an Onkyo.

 

[ChrisJam]

Thanks, MDS. Given my CD player's age, I might as well start planning to replace it if it dies. What makes and models would you consider if you wanted a stand-alone CD player with a 5- or 6-disc carousel? Cost? Maybe $200-500, but that's not written in stone.

BTW, our DVD player is a Toshiba that's about 4-5 years old. We love it, and it's never given us any trouble.