Arcam FMJ CD36, Worth Repairing?

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My lovely Arcam CD36 which has served me well since 2008 has started playing up (with awful timing as is often the case :laugh:)

Is she worth sending back to Arcam (assuming they will take her) for a repair, or have things moved on again that i should be looking at replacing her?

Any advice appreciated :)
 
Trouble is, the answer is that is depends on the cost, and you probably have to pay for the quote if you don't take it. If you're moving into streaming or downloads, you might be better off moving to a device with CD and network replay. (You didn't list the rest of your kit).
 
Have you asked Arcam how much they would charge just to give you a prognosis of the problems, and how much any subsequent repairs would be? If you're lucky they might not charge you much (if anything) just to have a look at it for you, and then if you don't feel the cost of any repairs is worth it, then it's just cost you the price of delivery both ways.

I recently had a software issue with my Creek CD player and Creek very kindly fixed it for me FOC and it just cost me the courier x 2. A bargain, Arcam might be similarly customer focused.

Just a thought.
 
Many thanks for the replies :)

Current kit is
Marantz AV8802a
Bryston 9BSST
and soon to be Focal Aria 948's

I have no interest in streaming music as whilst i love the selection the quality has always left me wanting, besides i use my pc for watching blu ray so any streaming requirements could be handled that way. All i'm after is a good quality cd player plain and simple :)

I have sent Arcam an email today asking about their repair service so will have to wait for their reply, what concerns me though is that Arcam has changed a lot since 2008 and i'm not hopeful of getting a positive response, time will tell.

Worse case i know richer sounds offer a repair service, just not sure how good they will be at repairing it. Arcam back in the old days :D use to do far more than repair a fault when it came back to them so am happy to pay the extra they would charge (if they still do).

Doesn't help me with whether i should pay the £200 ish (would be my guess) or if technology has moved on so much that a £400 to £500 player say would offer better sound quality in which case i might as well put in the extra an upgrade now, especially as i'm in the process of buying the Focals so could no doubt get a deal on it. On the other hand if i would need to spend £1000 then the £200 is money well spent as with the new speakers i couldn't stretch to that at the moment.
 
Here is the Competition. The current Arcam CDS27 CD/SACD/Network Player runs about £595 -

Arcam FMJ CDS27 CD Player Black

CDS27 - CD Players - Arcam

Though there are certainly others to consider.

Here are a few alternatives from the competition -

Marantz CD6006 CD Player available from Hifi Gear

Marantz SA8005 CD Player with USB DAC available at Hifi Gear

Rotel RCD-12 CD Player Available From Hifi Gear

Rotel RCD-1570 CD Player available at Hifi Gear

With a direct replacement running about £500 to £700, you have to decide where the cost threshold is. The point at which it makes more sense to buy new rather than repair the old. Would you be willing to spend £300 on the old one, or at that price would it make more sense to spend a bit more and buy new? Only you can answer that question.

Can you explain to us how your current CD Player is not working?

For example, if the Tray doesn't eject that is probably as simply as a new belt and a drop of oil.

If one channel has completely gone out, that could be more serious relative to being repaired.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Hi @BlueWizard many thanks for the reply, list and likely cost range that i would need to spend :)

The CD Player has two faults, the 1st started about 6 months back which i can live with (but i would like to be fixed at the same time)

That is the CD try opens and immediately closes again, so you have to be very quick changing disc's :laugh:

The 2nd one is far more serious which has started in the past week.

When you put a new disc in (or power up with one already in it) the player struggles to read the disc, eventually it does so you can press play, then after 2 to 10 seconds the player stops and it starts to read the disc again (again struggling) and the whole cyclical repeats. This is happening with any disc i put in.

As to the amount i would be prepared to spend a lot comes down to who fixes it, if its Richer Sounds then a max of a £100 or so, Arcam who use to when repairing faults strip the item completely down and test/service everything £200 to £300 as in effect i get a new player back. More than that and its hard to justify.

My fear is that the circuit board has gone which would push it towards the upper limit :(
 
I would be interested to hear what Arcam say, and more importantly the cost! Keep us posted.

When I had the minor problem with my CDP ( a display issue, caused by a firmware glitch ) my first thought was to have it fixed first and foremost by Creek if it wasn't too expensive, as I really liked the player and didn't want to change if I could help it. As it turned out it was a very simple fix for the technical bods at Creek, and now it is working perfectly again all for the princely sum of £25 for courier charges. A simple fix for Creek may not have been as simple to rectify by the likes of Richer Sounds, and certainly not for free either! Hopefully your issues are not serious and easily fixed.
 
...

The CD Player has two faults, the 1st started about 6 months back which i can live with (but i would like to be fixed at the same time)

That is the CD try opens and immediately closes again, so you have to be very quick changing disc's :laugh:

While I can't be sure, it sounds like a problem with the remote or the OPEN switch. Likely you are pushing the Open/Close Button once and it is seeing two consecutive pressed, one for open and the next for close.

Whether this is dirt and a problem with the switch or with the electronics reading the switch is hard to say.

The 2nd one is far more serious which has started in the past week.

When you put a new disc in (or power up with one already in it) the player struggles to read the disc, eventually it does so you can press play, then after 2 to 10 seconds the player stops and it starts to read the disc again (again struggling) and the whole cyclical repeats. This is happening with any disc i put in.

This indeed sounds more serious. Obviously the CD Player is having trouble reading the CD and that whether CD, DVD, or BluRay is typically an indication that it is time for a new player.

If we assume the fault is with the Read Laser, that can be replaced, assuming you can get one. Or, the Laser could simply need to be cleaned, though it would have to be pretty dirty to have a problem reading.

Then if we assume the Laser is OK, that leaves a problem associated with the electronics.

Usually though, when you start having problems like you describe, it is a bad sign.

As to the amount i would be prepared to spend a lot comes down to who fixes it, if its Richer Sounds then a max of a £100 or so, Arcam who use to when repairing faults strip the item completely down and test/service everything £200 to £300 as in effect i get a new player back. More than that and its hard to justify.

My fear is that the circuit board has gone which would push it towards the upper limit :(

That sounds about right. But remember, though not Arcam quality, you would have no problem buying a consumer grade CD Player in the £200 to £300 range.

Yamaha CDS300 CD Player - Superfi

Denon DCD720AE CD Player - Superfi

Marantz CD6005 CD Player - Superfi

Yamaha CDS700 CD Player - Superfi

Pioneer PD50 CD/SACD Player with DAC - Superfi

Marantz CD6006 CD Player - Superfi

It is down to how much you actually use the CD Player.

For roughly £500, you can get a Network Streamer which would allow you to Rip all your CDs to FLAC files and access them on your Computer Network. Since this is all electronic with no mechanical parts, it should suffer very little wear and tear.

If you can spend upwards of £1000, you can get the Bluesound VAULT-2 which has a CD reader built in as well as 2Tb of storage. That would allow you to store thousands of CD, and make the reading/storing of the CD very fast and easy.

Network Storage is nice because it gives multiple users access to the music. In fact anyone in the house with a Computer, Smart Phone, Tablet, or Pad can individually access that music in a high quality format.

With so many young people having their music in only non-physical formats, and as much as I personally resist it, likely Network Streaming of Audio is indeed the wave of the future.

And if you have kids, they are a lot less likely to scratch a FLAC file than an actual CD.

It is really just a question of how far you want to take it.

Steve/Bluewiizard
 
Here is a link to the Bluesound NODE-2 which is Streaming only -

Bluesound NODE 2 Hi-Res Wireless Music Streamer

And here is the Bluesound VAULT-2 which has CD Reader, 2Tb of Storage, and Network Streaming -

Bluesound VAULT 2 Hi-Res Music Server / CD Ripper

And here is the original Bluesound VAULT currently at about HALF Price -

Bluesound VAULT (White) Music Server (V500 2TB)

If you are ripping the files using a computer, most people recommend that you Rip them to FLAC format, and that you use a program called EAC (Exact Audio Copy). Though there are other similar programs that go to extra lengths to assure that the Audio Files are read error free.

Though I should really look it up again, I think you can average about 3000 CDs per 1Tb of disk storage.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Many thanks for all the links @BlueWizard :), i will have a serious ponder over them in the next few days.

Arcam have come back with a price for repair which is a fixed cost one of £198 plus postage to them which has to be done via a dealer, but postage back is included in the fee.

Now just have to decided which option to take :confused:
 
£200 for the repair seems pretty reasonable. At £300, I'm personally on the border. At £400, I'm definitely not going for the repair.

Still, the new Arcam FMJ-CDS27 gives you CD/SACD and Network Streaming for about £600. That's certainly an option to consider.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Many thanks for all the links @BlueWizard :), i will have a serious ponder over them in the next few days.

Arcam have come back with a price for repair which is a fixed cost one of £198 plus postage to them which has to be done via a dealer, but postage back is included in the fee.

Now just have to decided which option to take :confused:

Blimey, that is quite expensive in my opinion. Could be a serious fault, or it could be a simple fix, but £198 irrespective of which seems excessive. It's your decision obviously, but I know what I'd do!
 
Heck who i'm i kidding, Arcam here i come :rotfl: I do love the sound it gives :) and with the new speakers i need to keep my cost low for the moment.

Your kind post is not to waste though @BlueWizard as i will take a look at the £1000 to £1500 ish mark streamers you have mentioned as i assume they can give the same sound quality as you would get direct from a cd? Music plays a very important part in my life and i belong to the camp that would rather have the hassle for high quality sound or go without than to listen to compressed low quality music.

CD is without doubt dying though :( so if high quality streaming now exists it something i need to look into and take my head out of the sand.
 
Blimey, that is quite expensive in my opinion. Could be a serious fault, or it could be a simple fix, but £198 irrespective of which seems excessive. It's your decision obviously, but I know what I'd do!

Its the luck of the draw, but i know Arcam will completely strip the player down and test everything and even replace extra things that are on their way out, so its a fair price really. Way too much if someone like Richer Sounds did it, but for Arcam to do it i think its fair.
 
Heck who i'm i kidding, Arcam here i come :rotfl: I do love the sound it gives :) and with the new speakers i need to keep my cost low for the moment.

So ... £200 Repair or £600 FMJ-CDS27 with networking?

Your kind post is not to waste though @BlueWizard as i will take a look at the £1000 to £1500 ish mark streamers you have mentioned as i assume they can give the same sound quality as you would get direct from a cd? Music plays a very important part in my life and i belong to the camp that would rather have the hassle for high quality sound or go without than to listen to compressed low quality music.

The quality of sound you hear streaming Network files is directly related to the format of the files you are streaming. MP3 can sound good, but they are not the equal of a CD. However, FLAC and ALAC take about half the space of a WAV file, and are bit-for-bit perfect copies. Keep mind with 100Mb streaming capability on your computer Network, you will have no trouble streaming audio without error or interruption. I think it only takes about 1.5Mb to stream a Netflix movie which is much higher data density than a audio file. So, a typical 100Mb local network can stream many audio and video files at the same time. And if you have a new network card and Router, you can probably stream at 1Gb.

It should be virtually impossible to tell the difference between a streamed FLAC file and the original CD.

As to Internet Streamed Audio content, that varies from station to station or service to service, but it should at least be as good as FM Radio, and very much approaching CD quality. TIDAL streaming service, which is not cheap, does stream at CD Quality. But today, CD quality is not that much. You can download High Resolution Audio files that are 24b/192k compared to the 16b/44.1k of standard CDs.


CD is without doubt dying though :( so if high quality streaming now exists it something i need to look into and take my head out of the sand.

Most people who convert their CD collection to FLAC files do not abandon the CDs, and still play them on occasion. For for absolute convenience, Streamng of FLAC files is hard to beat.

Most Streaming Devices come with an APP (application) that you load onto your Smart Phone or other Smart Device, and this is how you interact, browse, and select music. And keep in mind each person in each room can play independent content. Your entire collection is accessible to multiple people in your house, and should you not secure your Router, it is accessible to anyone within the range of your Wireless Router.

So there is a huge convenience factor to Streamed music. However, even with something like the Bluesound VAULT/VAULT-2 with built in CD reader, it takes time to transfer your CD collection over. But I expect that to be pretty convenient with something like the VAULT. You don't even have to listen to them as you Rip them to the Vault. Just put one in when ever you think about it and it is automatically converted to FLAC (assuming you select FLAC as your format) and stored on the Hard Drive.

Though, especially for me, there is some value in having Tangible media. I think I can gaze though a CD collection much faster than I can through a Streaming APP browser, so there is still room in the market for both.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bluewizard[/quote][/QUOTE]
 
As long as you're happy that's the main thing. I agree that you'll get the full service package from Arcam and you'll end up with a CDP that is as good as new, something that the likes of Richer Sounds can't do.

I don't think CD's are defunct just yet, and there are plenty more years left in the format. I know one thing for sure, and that I'll always have a standalone CDP. I've got over 1500 CDs, and over the last 10 years or so I've ripped them all into FLAC files which I could stream if I wanted to through my Squeezebox Touch, but to be honest I still prefer banging on a CD instead.
 
As to Internet Streamed Audio content, that varies from station to station or service to service, but it should at least be as good as FM Radio, and very much approaching CD quality. TIDAL streaming service, which is not cheap, does stream at CD Quality. But today, CD quality is not that much. You can download High Resolution Audio files that are 24b/192k compared to the 16b/44.1k of standard CDs.
Haven't looked into the price with them yet, but have to say i am very impressed with the library :)I've been try to think of obscure titles and yet Tidal has brought everyone up so far.

Most Streaming Devices come with an APP (application) that you load onto your Smart Phone or other Smart Device, and this is how you interact, browse, and select music. And keep in mind each person in each room can play independent content. Your entire collection is accessible to multiple people in your house, and should you not secure your Router, it is accessible to anyone within the range of your Wireless Router.
Steve/bluewizard

How would this work then? My preferred choice would be to copy everything to a spare hard drive on my PC using EAC and then or at the same time converting to Flac (however EAC works).

What i dont get is how i would then access the stored music on the PC other than by direct connection to the Amp and using the PC as the player. Is this where i would need something like the Arcam CDS27? Equally I would like to be able to move my current FB1+ speakers to my bedroom (i have a spare amp) how would i get hold off the stored data there, i wouldn't need a cd player in that room, just some way of accessing the stored music. Hope that makes sense :)
 
Arcam have come back with a price for repair which is a fixed cost one of £198 plus postage to them which has to be done via a dealer, but postage back is included in the fee.

Now just have to decided which option to take :confused:
At that price. I'd say go for it. You are not going to get even close to CD36 quality for £200.

[I'll create a thread when I've had some time to play around with my new FM / DAB / internet radio / streamer].
 
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...How would this work then? My preferred choice would be to copy everything to a spare hard drive on my PC using EAC and then or at the same time converting to Flac (however EAC works).

What i dont get is how i would then access the stored music on the PC ...

Here is a video of how the Cambridge Stream Magic APP works - Basically you browse the music on the App with full album artwork and details, then select the music you want to play. With some apps you can built Ques or Playlists.



And a couple other videos detailing the Cambridge App. Other brand might not be identical but they will be similar.





Usually when the App/Streamer initializes, it searches the local network for music files. I'm told you can limit where it searches, so you get your music files rather than picking up sound effect files that might be part of a Game (as an example).

Once the App/Streamer have found the music on your Network, it catalogs and organizes it all, and then you are ready to play. As you can see from the videos, once it has the music, you simply browse and select the music you want to hear.

You can probably do the basics on the Device/Streamer's display, but you get much easier and more versatile access using the App.

Though the video is not as good, here is a video about the Yamaha MusicCast App -



Again, the specific features on the app related to the product you have may be different but the overall function will be similar. You choose which Device you want the music sent to, then you browse and select the music you want, then you start it playing.

Steve/bluewizard
 
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Just like Computers on a Local Network can share information, so too can a Network Player and computer. If content is accessible on the Network, the Player will find it and catalog it. Once cataloged it is available for you to play.

All the data/music travels on the Network and the Player decodes it to analog and sends it to the amp.

Steve/bluewizard
 
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Hi,
Just seen this thread. Have you tried an independent repairer? If not this place might be of interest.
London Sound and it is run by Mike Solomons. I bought parts for an Armstrong 621 amp and he was most helpful and knowledgeable.

London Sound

Good luck
 
Hi,
Just seen this thread. Have you tried an independent repairer? If not this place might be of interest.
London Sound and it is run by Mike Solomons. I bought parts for an Armstrong 621 amp and he was most helpful and knowledgeable.

London Sound

Good luck
Thanks for the link :) I shall keep it for future reference

I boxed the player last night and noticed just how totally filthy it was (not surprised as I do a lot of construction work and the 1st thing I do when I get home is pop a CD in)

So I'm hoping it's all dirt related, in which case a full strip down and service by arcam is money well spent. Considering all the black marks on the silver case I think it's fair to say that this time around I am getting the better deal with the fixed price :D

Anyhow dropped off at superfi today who haven't charged me postage to arcam :)
 
Your welcome for the link. No doubt it will come back all shiny and gleaming.
My Arcam 7 CD player had a similar opening and then closing fault and it took my dealer two goes to fix it but it was worth it as the sound it makes is good and yours will that much better again.
Good luck
 
OK so superfi ended up charging me 52 quid handling fee (which takes the micky), but full credit to arcam :) for the super fast repair.

New drive mechanism fitted and optical laser changed (unless that's included in the mechanism?) as it was worn so not dirt then. Even cleaned the silver casing, looks almost new now. Very impressed by arcam :thumbsup:
 

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