Very Sad Day!

My Krell kps-20i CD player started to skip over the weekend so I reached out to Krell to see if there was anything I could do to try to fix it myself or if it would need to go back for service. They informed me that they are no longer servicing any of their machines with Phillips drives due to the lack of parts. I paid $9K for that unit when it was new and it was built like such a tank that I thought it would last forever. I guess I can try to sell it for parts, on A-Gon, but what a bummer.

see if you can get the part number for the phillips drive and try to ebay a NOS one. i have a backup drive for my panny dvd and my meitner CD-3

Buy the Allsop CD lens cleaner CD for $6 and give it a whirl.

Worked on my Cary.

Could be the best $6 you've ever spent in your life.

Good luck.

GG

If it does turn out that you have a transport problem, just use the digital inputs with another transport.

Gordon Gray said:

Buy the Allsop CD lens cleaner CD for $6 and give it a whirl.

Worked on my Cary.

Could be the best $6 you've ever spent in your life.

Good luck.

GG

Click to expand...

+1 - it may well work!

In case you've missed the information of your transport, it's the Philips CDM-9 Pro Transport. I did a quick google and saw several on FleaBay! Now you just have to find some competent technician to replace the transport and you're back in business

Good Luck,
Spike

Sorry to hear of your troubles Mark, hopefully the cleaning suggestions will work or if not you can procure another drive for min $$ ……… in the meantime spin some 'black pizza' !!

Thanks for all the suggestions guys will see what I can do to salvage what was my favorite component I purchased over the years.

Mark,

If you try the Allsop lens cleaner, please report results.

Gordon

Hola. We understand when you say "very sad day". Your Krell is a fine machine and also a very expensive gear. Still on the market, you could find the complete optical lent assembly. You must find which model is it, because Philips is an OEM, and many brands like Mark Levinson, Sonic Frontiers, Krell, Proceed from Madrigal, and many others use Philips laser pick ups lenses. Just follow Gordon's advice, and try to clean it. Do not worry, you can apply force to the lens. It is a moving element, but when you press it, it has a stopper. This is for making the cleaning better. I remember that once I got some Philips goods at England. Had no problem to get it to here. If you change the whole pick up assembly, then you have to look for a joint solder and take it off. This joint solder is for prevent any static electricity that it could be exposed and it will damage the C-moss integrated circuits that the units might have. Ask your technician about it! Happy listening!

Mark,

I should have clarified and I apologize if I am stating the obvious. Potential causes are:

1) The laser needs replacing.

2) The laser has some debris on the reading mechanism that is causing the mis-reads and subsequent skipping.

3) A combination of 2) and 3).

If 2), the Allsop will hopefully resolve the problem.

If 1) or 3), you'll need to find new parts and a qualified tech to do the surgery.

Difficult to diagnose until you try the Allsop lens cleaner, which I recommend that you try first.

Run it for five minutes or so. I have done so in my CDP and have not damaged the laser. I had my laser replaced a year or so ago in my CDP and it started to have mis-read / skip issues. I do have dogs and it's highly likely that hair on my hand made its into the "innards" of the player. The Allsop resolved the issue.

Good luck.

Gordon

Hi Mark, sorry to hear, and yes, please try the cleaning options first, and if not, then parts sourced as explained and my input would be to speak to the techs at Normans here in Atlanta for repair.
They did a marvelous job a few years ago on my old Pioneer Elite CLD-97 laser disc player. It just needed alignment and a fresh belt, and it's been purring along since (well the two times a year I pop an LD in for old times sake ).

Okay I finally got the Allsop lens cleaner and ran it through twice last night, but still have the same issue. The Krell plays the first few tracks and then it starts to skip as it gets deeper into the CD. It was worth a shot and I really appreciate the advice. How delicate an operation is it to replace the transport? I have a guy in Marietta that can fix just about anything electronic, he's worked on our TVs & VCRs over the years and has saved us a fortune.

well, seeing as right now the Krell is a doorstop and Krell themselves won't fix it, what have you got to lose?

Mark,

Had the same initial result with my Cary. Gave it a couple of spins and it didn't resolve the issue. Sent it back to the factory and they said they found debris stuck to the laser.

I'd give that Allsop another try. Let it run for ten minutes or so. You never know.

By the way, is the problem consistent? Happening at more or less the same place, etc.

If that fails, I'd consider JonFo's recommend. If they can dismantle and check the laser, clean it and problem fixed, best solution. Next best is to replace with new laser assuming no transport issues.

Good luck.

Gordon

PS: See if you can get laser specs, manufacturer info from Krell. I would hope they could provide that as a minimum. Also see if they can provided transport info.

Clean the laser manually with a cloth and metho.

Now is the time to get a music server.

Gordon Gray said:

Mark,

Had the same initial result with my Cary. Gave it a couple of spins and it didn't resolve the issue. Sent it back to the factory and they said they found debris stuck to the laser.

I'd give that Allsop another try. Let it run for ten minutes or so. You never know.

By the way, is the problem consistent? Happening at more or less the same place, etc.

If that fails, I'd consider JonFo's recommend. If they can dismantle and check the laser, clean it and problem fixed, best solution. Next best is to replace with new laser assuming no transport issues.

Good luck.

Gordon

PS: See if you can get laser specs, manufacturer info from Krell. I would hope they could provide that as a minimum. Also see if they can provided transport info.

Click to expand...

The Allsop I got, unbeknownst to me, is also a stereo set-up test disc as well as a lens cleaner so it does a cleaning and then moves into a bunch of audio test tracks. I guess I could put it on play and repeat on the cleaning section for 10 minutes. It is pretty consistent in that it plays the first few tracks with no problem and then starts to skip the rest of the disc. Almost seems like the laser/transport is getting stuck as it moves through the disc.

Mark,

Yes, I have that one as well as a "cleaning only" version.

Put her on repeat and give it a try.

However, the "consistency" would indicate that something else is going on.

GG

Hi-O. It sounds to me like your problem lies in the mechanism that moves the lens across the disc; like perhaps there is something wrong midway through its travel. I'd take it to your electronics guy for some Exploratory Surgery. It's probably repairable.