Noisy Sony BDP-S760

[Mr. Mer]

Hi guys,

Just took delivery of my shiny new 760 this weekend and although the picture quality is excellent, both in DVD and Blu-Ray play back, it has a really annoying 'purring' sound coming from it.

More noticable when playing DVD (or CDs for that matter) it can ruin a silent moment between sections of dialogue and once heard is hard to ignore as you tend to find yourself listening out for the noise once you're aware of it...

It is mounted on a dedicated shelf in an AV rack with plenty of ventilation so it is not the fan...

I would appreciate any other owners' feedback if they have experienced this same problem.

Cheers

Mr. Mer

 

[DanielCoffey]

I believe I am having the same issue on BD playback, but only on BD, not DVD. That said, I have only received the player yesterday and played one DVD (Monsters vs Aliens) and one BD (Forbidden Kingdom) on it so far.

There is a quiet "purring", with a regular rhythm of about 3s duration in a pattern of (since you are describing it as a purr) "purr - purrpurrpurr" then a pause of a couple of seconds or so then it repeats.

I would suspect it may be caused by the disc rubbing on the tray somewhere since the tray has a deep indent for the disk to sit in?

It is very quiet and only noticeable in a silent room in quiet parts of the movie and is less intrusive than, say, a VCR playing.


EDIT : How many times a second does a BD disk actually spin by the way?

Anyone else? Reckon it will settle in or should I arrange a warranty return?

 

[nedmundo]

Cooling fan?

 

[DanielCoffey]

I will pull the tv stand out tomorrow when I tidy up my cables and check the fan during BD playback.

I would expect a fan to have an even and rapid rhythm if something was rubbing somewhere but I suppose if the fan has a variable speed controller it may make a slight rattle at very low speeds. This "purring" is an irregular (but consistent in its irregularity) pattern of noise repeated at regular intervals.

 

[RickDastardly]

same issue with the Sony S360

 

[Mr. Mer]

"It is mounted on a dedicated shelf in an AV rack with plenty of ventilation so it is not the fan..."

I think it might just reflect the quality of the drive Sony are using on these players. Most of budget is probably gobbled up by the electronics. I just wish manufacturers in general would cater for customers who don't have the deepest pockets but are prepared to pay for reasonable build quality and performance.

Cheers

Mr. Mer

 

[DanielCoffey]

@Mr Mer.

I think I have found what the source of the 760 purring noise is...

I placed my 760 on a table and listened in a silent room as I replayed the BD of Forbidden Kingdom. It is not the fan - it was not spinning because I could see it. There were in fact two noise sources in the machine - one was just the spinning of the BD disc and it was not an issue. The other was the purring we have both mentioned. It appears to originate from the centre of the 760 towards the rear and only occurs when a film is playing.

It is definitely a faint noise and only those with good hearing can detect it easily (my wife can't hear it at all, even when next to the machine). Almost any white noise will mask it (such as a computer in the same room).

I spoke to the Sony Centre where I bought my 760 yesterday and they advised me that it is the BD laser stepping motor. As the disk spins, the reading head is constantly adjusted to maintain focus and what we are hearing is the stepping motor as it makes minute adjustments to the position of the head.

Apparently any BD player does it but those with a more heavily-built case will dampen the noise enough that it is not generally audible. It is not considered a fault unless extreme but they are happy to listen to it in the store if necessary to make a decision with you as to whether it is out of tolerance.

Apparently the noise will never go away. It is not something that will "settle in". We either have to put up with it, buy a more expensive BD player with a heavier case or put the player in a stand with a cabinet and door to reduce the noise.

In my opinion, I would rather have the excellent picture quality the 760 delivers and put up with what is admittedly a faint noise than have to spend a lot more money on another player.

 

[Mr. Mer]

Thanks for the in depth investigation Daniel...

Very helpful and I can relate to the trade off as it looks like build quality is the only real way to suppress the "stepping noise" as it shall now be known. No questioning the PQ of the Sony...

The noise on my particular 760 was more noticeable than the second unit I listened to but I have to make a decision fairly quickly...

Hmmm

Cheers

Mr. Mer

 

[trebor2]

Just to add my experience with this player. First unit I purchased was returned immediately to the Sony centre after noticing the "purring" noise. Second unit made the same noise, although quieter. Decided to put up with it and now only really notice it on silent scenes. Didn't notice it on my old 350 player though.
Glad it was brought up in this forum as at least I now know what it is! Think I'll be looking for a more solid build quality for my next player.

 

[fuzzz]

I put my S760 to the cabinet behind the glass...and no purring sound

 

[b0se]

I took the S360 back due to the noise it made, was hoping the S760 was quiet. Oppo 80 is silent, but didn't play nice with my set-up.

Pioneer 320 was pretty much silent, if that helps :¬)