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New laser plays SACD's

Posted by madisonears (A) on March 3, 2018 at 14:38:47

I have a Marantz SA-11S1. It's a beautiful player, built like a tank, sounds awesome with the Blackgate output coupling caps I installed. It has a notoriously unreliable laser pick-up, a common fault among SACD players. Mine has failed three times during the 13 years I've owned it. Marantz covered replacement the first two times but I got stuck for almost $400 the third time, and then that failed to read hybrids a couple years ago. I was determined to not pay another bundle for repair of a device as crappy as this one, so I've been listening to single layer SACD's and the CD layer of hybrids for all that time, trying to figure out what else to do. Buy a newer model that has what must be a more reliable mechanism? Bite the bullet and send it off? Buy a new laser and install it myself? Give up on SACD hybrids and learn to be satisfied with redbook playback, which is also excellent but just not quite as good?

Option three proved to be the best. I bought a new pick-up on eBay for $20 and installed it yesterday. It wasn't the most complicated or difficult thing I've done to audio equipment, but it was harder than changing a light bulb. Only tools needed are a phillips screw driver, a soldering iron and desolder wick, a magnifier for my old eyes, and a steady hand. There is no circuitry to solder, but there are two tiny blobs of solder that connect the leads of the laser diode that must be removed after the new laser is hooked up. Easy as pie, as the solder melts at low temp and is readily accessible. Touch the tip of the iron to the wick on top of the blob, and in one second it's absorbed. There is a fine gauge ribbon with a dozen or so circuit paths that must be removed from the old laser and carefully plugged in to the new one, but just a bit of magnification and a gentle touch is needed as it pretty much aligns itself.

Total time is a couple hours to be really careful and thorough. Maybe a dozen or so screws to undo/replace. Nothing to align or check, just plug the machine back in, sit back, and let the sound wash over you. Last night I played the Analogue Productions SACD issue of Reiner's "Pines/Fountains of Rome" and it was amazing.

I just ordered five more lasers. By the time I've gone through all those, I won't be able to see well enough to repair it myself, and I probably won't be able to hear the difference anyway!

Peace,
Tom E
berate is 8 and benign is 9

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