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Cambridge Audio 751BD has failed--worth repairing?

I've had 5+ years of reliable service from this machine which I bought new, but a few days ago it suddenly failed. It refuses to load DVDs or Blu-Rays, just displays the "unknown disc" error message after a long delay and a lot of whirring. CDs play intermittently with lots of freezing and skipping. I sent a message to Cambridge Audio's customer service department and they told me to try a factory-reset, which of course had no effect. Otherwise, they said, contact the dealer. In other words, they don't know (or care, apparently) who is an authorized service provider. I use this machine for both music and movies, though mostly (except for SACDs) as a transport through a Bryston BDA1 DAC. Is it worth trying to repair? Have any of you had similar experiences with CA universal disc spinners? One solution I've been eying is the Oppo UDP203 for video and SACDs, and a used PS Audio PerfectWave transport for CDs, though only if I decide I don't like how the Oppo handles CDs. However, if it's economically feasible to repair the 751BD, that's my first choice. Advice and opinions welcome. Thanks.
cooper52
willland's avatar
willland
846 posts
 
I owned a 751BD for a few years and it operated trouble free during that time.  Sounded great, for movies and music, and loaded very fast.  I sold it only because I got a steal on an Oppo 105 which I wanted to be able to use it's DAC feature.  

How much is economically feasible to you?  Under $200.00 would be acceptable to me.

Bill
pokey77
1,266 posts
 
Sounds like the optical drive is going bad. Cambridge should have those; shouldn't be that expensive to fix. Surely much cheaper than a new universal player of equivalent or better quality.
cooper52 OP
182 posts
 
I figure a $200 or $250 repair cost would be about right. If the folks at CA had been more forthcoming about who can do authorized repairs, that would have been helpful. Or is 5 years about the expected life of one of these machines? If so, maybe I should find another brand.
cooper52 OP
182 posts
 
     Update: Through the dealer who sold me the player, I was able to contact Cambridge Audio directly and ended up trading in my 751BD for a substantial discount on a refurbished CXU. I had the option of trading up to a CXUHD (their newest model) but after reading up on these two players, I saw that the CXUHD contains no DAC circuitry and even though I use an outboard DAC anyway (Bryston BDA1), listening to my SACDs would be a problem because though I could listen to the CD layer of the hybrid discs, I have a few in my collection that are SACD only and the Bryston DAC isn't DSD capable. I may be missing something here, but the CXUHD doesn't appear to have a way to convert DSD to PCM the way most SACD players do.

     Of course my new CXU has a lot of interesting bells and whistles (including Darbee video processing) which I may or may not actually use, but generally I do consider it an upgrade from the 751BD. High marks to Cambridge Audio's US representatives for the excellent customer service I received.
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