CD changer cutting out. Volume causing vibrations?


I am using a Sim Audio W5 and P3; EVS Millenium II DAC; James 10 Loudspeakers and a Pioneer Elite PD-F27 301 CD changer. I bought the Elite instead of the Marantz as this unit has a coax digital out. The DAC only has a coax digital in. Sounds real nice when it works. At random, the cd player just stops and sets all of its counters to "0". You then have to turn it off and on again and all is well for a while. I called the dealer and Pioneer as well but they were not aware of a problem with these players. It seems to do it more often at high volume levels. Due to the room set up I can only get the speakers about 6 feet apart and 16" from the wall. The audio rack is between the speakers. The walls are panelled. Could there be enough vibration coming off the back wall at high volume to make the cd player cut out? Any ideas what is going on here? Anyone with a similiar problem?
msnloeth
Anything is possible.

I would first inspect the discs and make sure that they are clean. If you see smudges, smears, etc.. take the necessary steps to clean them. You might want to clean the laser lens at the same time just to make sure that it is not dusty.

If that is not the problem, i would then work on isolating the cd player from the surface below it. This can be done for about $2 using a bicycle innertube JUST BARELY inflated with air. Use just enough to float the feet off of the shelf.

I would then put a small zip-loc baggy of sand on top of it. You might want to "double baggy" the sand and reverse the bag inside the other one just in case the first one develops a leak.

You have now mass loaded / damped the component cabinet from air-borne vibrations and decoupled its' chassis from floor-borne vibrations as well.

If that does not take care of it, you might want to try unplugging ANY other digital devices that you have plugged into nearby outlets or circuits. It is possible that the clock circuitry from one device is interfering with the clock circuitry in the CD changer. This would cause it to go out of lock and need resetting. If that works, you can correct this by installing some type of PLC to minimize crosstalk through the AC system.

If the problem persists, put the CD changer back into the box and take it back to where you got it from. It has probably got a bad solder joint somewhere in the circuitry and needs to be repaired. Sean
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Check out the reviews at audioreview.com on this model as well as similar units by Pioneer such as the PD-F17. Seems to be some mechanical issues with them. Too bad, because I would like to replace my Sony CX450 with the PD-F27 to get away from using Toslink outs on the Sony.
I have a PDF 19 in the shop right now for the same reason. I listen primarily to acoustic jazz at normal listening levels. Unfortinatly those of us who want the convienence of a mega changer with coax dig out are stuck with Pioneer Elite. Hopefully there may be better options in the future. Its amazing how a company can produce a product at the top of their line, and when a problem occours with it give the same responce as my 15 year old, Ahh I Dunno!!. Oh well , good luck with your unit try to find a good shop and get it fixed.