Pro-Ject makes some nice products, but frankly, any modern CD player is dumbed down to little more functionality than we had with 8-track tapes. Play, stop, eject. Probably next and previous track -- although not necessarily with a convenient interface. Things like search fwd/back and pause are becoming exotic niceties, and things like shuffle, random, program, display buttons that toggle time elapse / remaining (if you even get a time display at all) are pretty much extinct. Frankly, if everyone just gave up making new CD players at all, and just focused on producing belts and pickups for existing models, I would be 100% fine with that. The market peaked a while back, and I would rather just have a supply of parts than the stream of "cheap yet comically overspec'd DVD-RW drive coupled to a limited-purpose embedded computer" devices that we have now, as many of them fail even the simplest of audio CD player design goals -- like gapless playback. I am not kidding.
11:38 Question: Isn't the body of the electrolytic capacitor isolated from the pins of the capacitor which also means that the body of the capacitor is not connected to any point in the circuit board ?
Some are, others internally connected to negative. In this case it was. I don't think I showed on camera when I put the meter between the chassis and the case if the cap and got 0 ohms. Someone else asked that so I went through my caps and tested and some were and others not. Obviously a continuity test between chassis and the top of the cap will tell you if it is a good ground will take 0.1 seconds. If ir says 0 ohms then it's good.
@@12voltvids Thank you for your answer. I did not see you checking zero Ohm between ground or chassis and the top of capacitors, but I assumed that you did because you were measuring the voltage between different points and the top of capacitors which would mean that the top of those capacitors is zero with respect to ground or chassis.
My Solution is a brand new $30 SATA PC DVD burner and an old Dell desktop output to a USB connected DAC. Bonus is Exact Audio Copy for audio extraction to internal SSD drive and or NAS. Works like a champ. If the drive dies, another $30 and Amazon and awaaaay I go.
pronounced Pro-ject (not project), they are an audio company based in Austria and founded in 1991, started with cd player's but made their name producing low cost but excellent all-in-one turntables, also well known and respected for their style of small box hifi components (amps, phono stages, DACs etc) and the cd player we see in the video.
@@michaelwolak3098 yeah my Pro-ject debut 3 is still used regularly after over ten years, not had to replace the belt but I did upgrade the cartridge and changed the original platter for an acrylic one.
I am not sold on their turntables. I had one from a friend to look at a while back. Cheap cheap cheap manufacture. A plastic box with an AC motor. No mechanical parts for an auto return, so just a simple bent metal tube tonearm on a pivot strung up with fishing line attached to some weights to act as a crude anti-skate. If you ask me it seems like they describe "cheap" as "minimalist" to fool people.
@@averyzucco220 They have an extensive portfolio of turntables. I bought one recently. It's anything but cheap feeling. It is definitely minimalist -- perhaps more minimal than I would like -- but it is not plastic. It is well constructed, with (AFAICT) high-quality materials that are well-designed and properly manufactured. I'm sure there are "cheap" models to be had, but I would not say that's representative of their brand. FWIW, I'm not a huge fan of the anti-skate fishing lure either. If I could change one thing, that would probably be it. If I could change two things, I would add an opto-coupled motor stop at the end of play. Some have said the lack of return mech is due to the nonlinear load it can put on the drive -- fair enough -- and that ANY auto-stop mechanism may either fail to play the entirety of the record, or fail to detect the end of a record. I suppose either could be a problem, but it seems that we had a run of a couple of decades where this wasn't that much of an issue. I think you could side-step the problem, if it exists at all, with an opto-sensor mounted on a worm-drive with an adjustment screw. There. Zero drag, and the ability to tune the threshold point.
Hi, Dave. Just a thought, but if the relay is part of the power supply, could it be that the relay is not turning on. Therefore, no power is getting to the rest of the circuit.
I wonder the brand "Project" is actually not a boutique brand, but instead some kind of a kit that students assemble in school or college or something. The other possibility I thought of is that it is part of the white van scam audio items. The fact that it runs on a wall wart, uses a computer like drive, and a small control board makes me think like it could be a project put together by students to learn to put parts in a case. Same with the small number of audio jacks on the back.
It's definitely a commercial product, made by Audio Systems GmbH of Vienna, Austria. But it was very likely assembled in China. It's got the essential outputs for a CD player, namely L&R analogue, and digital coaxial for an external DAC. Don't know what else a consumer CD player would need. Running on a wallwart, external transformer, makes it easier for approvals on the unit itself, like the unit doesn't need to be UL approved if it's only low voltage. According to the specs it can play SACDs with 24bit audio.
It is a commercial product from Austria. Not exactly cheap either. The reason for the external transformer is 2 fold. Different markets and voltages and not requiring UL or CSA approval because it runs on low voltage. Only the transformer needs approval so they just use a commercial product. I would love to find service data on this so I could probe it more but without service data I am going nowhere. Could be one of those buck converters missing a critical voltage. I see the 3.3 and 5v but are they correct and are there others? That's the 64000 question.
In order to play SACD it would need a DVD drive with a dual laser because sa discs are on hybrid DVD/cd discs with a separate layer. Conventional cd players play the cd top layer and the sa players play the lower layer. The ir laser on a regular cd player looks right through it.
I think most CD players with Optical Output are of such high quality that you can't get better than humans can hear. Personally, I really like my audiophile quality Sony Playstation 2.
We have Pro-ject turntables here in the UK... Everybody loves them but the specs are utter crap! Wow and flutter through the roof compared to 80's turntables! They think they are better.
A company named suos-hifi produces the board marked BlueTiger and they mention that you can request info, though the CD-80 board is now obsolete. Doesn't help with that PSU board, but may point to issues on it. Potentially many expensive and time-consuming rabbit holes. though this is (or was) expensive kit.
Yes, it's a reference design based on an Analog Devices DSP. Which unlike many other Chinese brands based on MTK reference designs, hasn't any info leaked yet.
yep still going strong, now have a large range of turntables from low cost to high end plus they produce a wide range of accessories and mini sized components (amps, cd players, DACs etc).
That 4v maybe sure be 5v and ripple, or buck convertor failing? Don't blame you for giving up, no Schematics for the POS, not worth the time hours to reverse engineer it. I can't believe what they charge for that POS?
Project CD Box SE. Apparently this was a circa $600 CD player. Although it does look like a cheap Chinese product to me, and certainly not high-end.
The problem with these boutique units is service and support. Better to stick to name brand units
I did some checking and the brand is "Pro-Ject".
Pro-Ject makes some nice products, but frankly, any modern CD player is dumbed down to little more functionality than we had with 8-track tapes. Play, stop, eject. Probably next and previous track -- although not necessarily with a convenient interface. Things like search fwd/back and pause are becoming exotic niceties, and things like shuffle, random, program, display buttons that toggle time elapse / remaining (if you even get a time display at all) are pretty much extinct.
Frankly, if everyone just gave up making new CD players at all, and just focused on producing belts and pickups for existing models, I would be 100% fine with that. The market peaked a while back, and I would rather just have a supply of parts than the stream of "cheap yet comically overspec'd DVD-RW drive coupled to a limited-purpose embedded computer" devices that we have now, as many of them fail even the simplest of audio CD player design goals -- like gapless playback. I am not kidding.
11:38 Question:
Isn't the body of the electrolytic capacitor isolated from the pins of the capacitor which also means that the body of the capacitor is not connected to any point in the circuit board ?
Some are, others internally connected to negative. In this case it was. I don't think I showed on camera when I put the meter between the chassis and the case if the cap and got 0 ohms. Someone else asked that so I went through my caps and tested and some were and others not. Obviously a continuity test between chassis and the top of the cap will tell you if it is a good ground will take 0.1 seconds. If ir says 0 ohms then it's good.
@@12voltvids
Thank you for your answer.
I did not see you checking zero Ohm between ground or chassis and the top of capacitors, but I assumed that you did because you were measuring the voltage between different points and the top of capacitors which would mean that the top of those capacitors is zero with respect to ground or chassis.
My Solution is a brand new $30 SATA PC DVD burner and an old Dell desktop output to a USB connected DAC. Bonus is Exact Audio Copy for audio extraction to internal SSD drive and or NAS. Works like a champ. If the drive dies, another $30 and Amazon and awaaaay I go.
Hi, Dave! Have you checked the relay? Once I had a similar problem and was all about a tiny relay.
pronounced Pro-ject (not project), they are an audio company based in Austria and founded in 1991, started with cd player's but made their name producing low cost but excellent all-in-one turntables, also well known and respected for their style of small box hifi components (amps, phono stages, DACs etc) and the cd player we see in the video.
Great where do I find a schematic for this pos?
I still have a turntable made by them many year’s ago and all I have replaced is the drive belt
@@michaelwolak3098 yeah my Pro-ject debut 3 is still used regularly after over ten years, not had to replace the belt but I did upgrade the cartridge and changed the original platter for an acrylic one.
I am not sold on their turntables. I had one from a friend to look at a while back. Cheap cheap cheap manufacture. A plastic box with an AC motor. No mechanical parts for an auto return, so just a simple bent metal tube tonearm on a pivot strung up with fishing line attached to some weights to act as a crude anti-skate.
If you ask me it seems like they describe "cheap" as "minimalist" to fool people.
@@averyzucco220 They have an extensive portfolio of turntables. I bought one recently. It's anything but cheap feeling. It is definitely minimalist -- perhaps more minimal than I would like -- but it is not plastic. It is well constructed, with (AFAICT) high-quality materials that are well-designed and properly manufactured. I'm sure there are "cheap" models to be had, but I would not say that's representative of their brand.
FWIW, I'm not a huge fan of the anti-skate fishing lure either. If I could change one thing, that would probably be it. If I could change two things, I would add an opto-coupled motor stop at the end of play. Some have said the lack of return mech is due to the nonlinear load it can put on the drive -- fair enough -- and that ANY auto-stop mechanism may either fail to play the entirety of the record, or fail to detect the end of a record. I suppose either could be a problem, but it seems that we had a run of a couple of decades where this wasn't that much of an issue. I think you could side-step the problem, if it exists at all, with an opto-sensor mounted on a worm-drive with an adjustment screw. There. Zero drag, and the ability to tune the threshold point.
Hi, Dave. Just a thought, but if the relay is part of the power supply, could it be that the relay is not turning on. Therefore, no power is getting to the rest of the circuit.
I wonder the brand "Project" is actually not a boutique brand, but instead some kind of a kit that students assemble in school or college or something. The other possibility I thought of is that it is part of the white van scam audio items. The fact that it runs on a wall wart, uses a computer like drive, and a small control board makes me think like it could be a project put together by students to learn to put parts in a case. Same with the small number of audio jacks on the back.
completely wrong on both points 😞
It's definitely a commercial product, made by Audio Systems GmbH of Vienna, Austria. But it was very likely assembled in China. It's got the essential outputs for a CD player, namely L&R analogue, and digital coaxial for an external DAC. Don't know what else a consumer CD player would need. Running on a wallwart, external transformer, makes it easier for approvals on the unit itself, like the unit doesn't need to be UL approved if it's only low voltage. According to the specs it can play SACDs with 24bit audio.
At least you don't lack imagination. Other than that: No. You're wrong in all your assumptions.
It is a commercial product from Austria. Not exactly cheap either. The reason for the external transformer is 2 fold. Different markets and voltages and not requiring UL or CSA approval because it runs on low voltage. Only the transformer needs approval so they just use a commercial product. I would love to find service data on this so I could probe it more but without service data I am going nowhere. Could be one of those buck converters missing a critical voltage. I see the 3.3 and 5v but are they correct and are there others? That's the 64000 question.
In order to play SACD it would need a DVD drive with a dual laser because sa discs are on hybrid DVD/cd discs with a separate layer. Conventional cd players play the cd top layer and the sa players play the lower layer. The ir laser on a regular cd player looks right through it.
I like these repair DVD player/cd videos !
This is why I stick with name brands, my Sony CDP-CX235 has been going for a long time now!
But there is nothing new anymore available from this brand.
Indeed
I think most CD players with Optical Output are of such high quality that you can't get better than humans can hear. Personally, I really like my audiophile quality Sony Playstation 2.
Maybe "Re-ject" would be a better name for it
Those Chinese international cost 300.00-899.00 wow!!!! That's crazy, you can get a more reliable one at goodwill!!!!!!
I'll hang onto my CDP X555ES
@@12voltvids Sony are kings at cd players
@@12voltvids I would too.
We have Pro-ject turntables here in the UK... Everybody loves them but the specs are utter crap! Wow and flutter through the roof compared to 80's turntables! They think they are better.
They're certainly no Technics 12x0s. They don't seem to track that well either...
A company named suos-hifi produces the board marked BlueTiger and they mention that you can request info, though the CD-80 board is now obsolete. Doesn't help with that PSU board, but may point to issues on it. Potentially many expensive and time-consuming rabbit holes. though this is (or was) expensive kit.
Yes, it's a reference design based on an Analog Devices DSP. Which unlike many other Chinese brands based on MTK reference designs, hasn't any info leaked yet.
I wonder if the cd drive would work installed in a pc computer? Maybe it's just the external control / power board, a chip gone or something.
Its not a pc drive. You would need the interface board.
I wonder if the brick psu isnt putting out enoygh.
The brick is just a transformer.
It's most likely something on the main PCB.
Yip thats what I think
As far as I am aware the company is still going and making turntables
yep still going strong, now have a large range of turntables from low cost to high end plus they produce a wide range of accessories and mini sized components (amps, cd players, DACs etc).
I need parts for one of those. The company seems to have no interest in support of any type. Is it for sale?
Thanks in advance,
DrRick
I will ask when I talk to the owner.
@@12voltvids thank you in advance
@@12voltvids any response from the owner?
Thanks,
Rick
That 5V looked low. I wonder how much ripple was on it.
Couldn't tell you. Its a buck converter. Don't know which one it is or what it is supposed to be. Need schematic.
That 4v maybe sure be 5v and ripple, or buck convertor failing? Don't blame you for giving up, no Schematics for the POS, not worth the time hours to reverse engineer it. I can't believe what they charge for that POS?
Owner is going to attempt to find a schematic. He has more incentive to find it than I do.
Project also make stero turntables
Could it be the regulator failing on the 3.3v
Could be anything. Need schematic.
you dont use a pensil eraser on the ribbon cable connections? or clean them
Its not the ribbon cable. The unit has no power