Mark Levinson 39 Drawer problem

I appreciate your passion, and I have not given up (yet). I still own another CD player so I have a backup solution. On the other hand, "ianrmack""is right: The unit is 20+ years old...
Unfortunately, the unit is very difficult to service as the PCB is multilayer, so any soldering effort is easily compromised. My experience with ML when it comes to service is not good, as also expressed in this forum several times. I can appreciate that ML tries to protect their service agents, but they should make service manuals available for old models (they used to do this but stopped when - I believe - Harman International acquired them). This and the associated cost if you need to go to a service agent are definitely reasons for me not to purchase any new ML anymore.
I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Thank you for sharing agosto 😉
My ML390S started off life (with me) as a ML39 - then top of the pops CDP and cabel radio decoder DAC in Munich in about 1996.
Back in South Africa in ~ 2000 and after a nasty lightning strike wiping out my then satelite decoder and the connected ML39 too. I then had it repaired and fupgraded to a 390S. Did it sound as much better as was e.g. reported by John Atkinson and company? 🤔 Hardly that I could tell... 🙄
More recently it got a laser replacement also here in SA by the former ML service technician and got another lease of life. 
By some flight of fancy I acquired a ML36 Dac for almost peanuts... because I liked the idea to listen to an R-2R Dac once again like the original ML39 using the 390S as a transport. In many cases I now like this setup to the upgraded 390S, if just marginally.
This may be so of course, as the Burmesters 961s, having highly resolving JET Air Motion Transformer tweeters are not too kind to lesser CD material, more ruthlessly resolved by the 390S' high up-/over-sampling rate. 
All this may put some perspective to my soft spot for these ML products, including the 326S pre-amp also used as a phono-pre and all nicely talking to each other via the ML communication links. 👌
Hm, what a novel to explain 🙈
M. 

Michélle

most of my equipment s from the 90s as well and I am quite happy with it. I concur that subsequent research in semiconductors and circuit designs should yield to better audible results when comparing new products with the ones I own. On the other hand, I am happy with what I got (mostly ML) and enjoy my music. Just a shame that the 39 won't do anymore.
Thank you for your thoughts

Hi again, maybe let us know what your replacement will turn out to be, will you?
Having had a look about for some such, before my laser replacement, I had more than a hard time to find ANYTHING comparable, never mind at serious price multiples of say e.g. some Esoteric units (also ML31.5 top loader reference transport...) which by no means could convince me of their sq superority, and this in a much more 'magnificent' setting of sound optimised demo room, B&W 802 D3, et al. 🥴
So, it be interesting to learn your findings for my personal edification. 😉
Thank you, Michélle 

Michélle

I will keep you posted. My other unit is a 31.5 so I have means to listen to good music right now...