Linn Karik's CD drawer cannot be closed

Nothing lasts forever! It could be time for a new CD player. If there is any good news, it's that there are lots of choices now. Sorry for your loss.

A Karik lasts forever. It sounds (as a mere transport) better than a few modern ones I tried that cost well above above a 1000$.
I'm connecting it to the Cary Xciter DAC and they live happily for a few years now.
Currently I'm not in the financial situation to make upgrades.

Mine died with the opposite problem. The drawer would not open. In addition it admitted a nasty smell that something might go up in smoke. Linn has no factory support or parts. No more Linn product for me. I still have an operable Numerik.

"Linn has no factory support or parts"
Is it due to financial problems ?

Linn has abandoned the disc player market completely. Their philosophy is to give you a token credit for your old unit towards one of the new network players.

I don't believe Linn has any financial difficulties.

So...as I said, nothing lasts forever. I would start looking for my next CD player. Just my two cents.

Your Karik owes you nothing. It gave you 19 years. How many of us have cars, washing machines, or refrigerators that old?

I empathize, but the good news is it can be fun to buy new or gently used newer gear.

My 1989 and 1992 model year Sony players are still working perfectly. The Karik not so much.

In the automotive world, my 1970 BMW which I've owned for 44 years is still running although it has been modified and updated to suite my demands.

BTW a 2015 BMW will not be running in 44 years no matter what care is lavished on it, not that they receive much anyway.

Most products today are designed to be disposable. I tend to like those which are not.

Not too many techies left to actually troubleshoot and finding gears that get stuck and belts that lost tension.
Getting matching replacements may also be challenging as it might require browsing in huge commercial catalogs such as McMaster or Granger...
Yep BMW models are truly disposable after 2004. My favorite are 5- series of early...mid 90's. 7- series are sweet as well of the same years vintage. They're built to last.

The 80's 5-series was a good car too. My '83 lasted me twenty years and over 200,000 miles, at which time parts cost made keeping it running any longer a bad investment.

But the gears and belts for CD transports can be found cheap on ebay. The drawer on my Theta Data Basic stopped opening, and in a call to Theta I learned that they no longer service that model. I was informed that the problem with the drawer in my Data was a common one, a result of the plastic gear that opens the drawer breaking down. It seems that the toxins in the air in Southern California affects the plastic the gear is made of! Luckily, the gear is available from Japan and China on ebay for $5-$10, and can be changed by a non-professional such as myself. Took about 30 minutes complete---very easy.

Guys, my KarikIII broke down.
Can anyone have a schematic diagram?
I will be many thanks if you send an email to fishhunter52@gmail.com

Good news! My Karik repaired!

Hello fishhunter2.
I see this an old thread, but what/who was your fix for the Karik? My tray is starting to drag and not open reliably.
Of course this is happening right when I'm replacing my other old Linn stuff (same era) and only wanted to keep the transport in service. Go figure. Opened it up and cleaned a little here and there, which helped only slightly.
As for the joy of getting a new one. The offerings these days for transport only are less than exciting to me. I want the half rack size of the Karik and also don't want to give up the random access to individual tracks from the remote control that a number of the transport only units offer (Woo Audio, NuPrime which I like otherwise for the money). Also don't want a total entry level unit to go with my new gear.
The Bel Canto seems to fill the bill, but hard to find any recent reviews on it at all. Weird. It's a slot loader too, which I'm not crazy about, and it's too expensive to go with blind at 1700 bucks. May just go with the little Pro Ject for now.
Anyway, any advice on the Karik appreciated.