Life span of CDP?

I have heard a few people claim the average life of a CD laser is 10 years. I wonder if this is based from manufacturer specification or real life experience. My CDP was most likely manufactured in 1993. It spend about half of its life in storage. Seems still quite healthy. Read a claim which I copy below from the manufacturer. Wonder what is the usual working life of this thingy from your experience?

KARIK RETURNS HOME AFTER 79,000 HOURS AT SEA
In 1994, Linn sound systems were installed in the world's most famous ocean liner, the QE2, during a major refit of the vessel. Chosen for the job based on our reputation for exceptional
performance and unrivalled reliability even in harsh maritime
conditions, Linn systems were installed in all the major crew
and public areas onboard. Last month a KARIK CD player was removed from the QE2 and replaced after an incredible 9 years of
uninterrupted service on board. The first officer on the vessel informs us that the compact disc player had played for 79,000 hours without interruption. It had voyaged around the world 9 times, and traversed approximately one and a half million nautical miles of sea and ocean, the equivalent of a trip to the moon and
back. It even survived the famous Hurricane Louis tidal wave
which hit the ship in September 1995 and which had it rolling
28 degrees!

 

Well my 506 lasted 10 years no probs before I sold it on. My dad has a Technics SL-277 player which is still going after 14 years, it only cost £150 back then.

 

My parents had a 1987 Sony midi system, the CD player of that started to go wrong after about 6/7 years.

My old Sony CDP530 had a disc spinning 24/7 (as I never turned it off) and it is 4 years and old still works like a brand new machine.

My parents have a 1994 Goodman's multichanger CD player which is still in 100% working order however the Sony 530 has since replaced this.

My Marantz CD6000OSE LE is 2 weeks old and is still going strong.

 

79,000 hours at sea is nothing ...... a Naim CDP would be just getting "burned in" and comming "on-song" at about this time.
Heh, heh, heh.

 

I had a yamaha CDX-5 which lasted about 16 years before the dreaded skipping started

 

My Sony midi player (barring the first 6 months since they replaced the laser - as it turned out it really WAS the discs, not the laser - PDO made discs which went tarnished years later!) had about 5000 hours on it (easily) when it started really playing up; it wasn't the laser though, but the runners that the laser sled moves over.

I have a Technics SLP2 from 1985 in the garage - useage unknown as a mate gave it to me for nothing. It works OK but is a bit skippy sometimes - it uses a linear (hall effect?) motor to move the sled so isn't yer typical linear tracker (using worm or gear drive) so if the fault's in there I'm screwed.

It's one of the only players I've ever found that'll play track 13 on my copy of Hits 6 with no sticking or audible distortion. Even the Naim CD5 clicks through it (but doesn't stick) - the Planet and my CD Rom drives all get stuck or give up.

Original estimates for laser life on machines like the Philips CD100, Sony CDP101 or similar were 2000 hours. I reckon many many more hours than that is realistic.

I'm surprised by the Linn/QE2 thing though - I bet CD players don't like rolling around on the sea (Discmen are excepted as they're built for purpose).

HOW did DJs get away with vinyl on ships? On a 1986 holiday to Legoland, we went with DFDS Seaways; on the Dana Anglia, they had a "Compass Club" and I can clearly remember a DJ playing Level 42's "Lessons in love", then mixing into "Let's go all the way" by Sly Fox (amongst tonnes of other 80s cheese tunes - I was loving it!) on a pair of Technics 1200s - this was during a period of the voyage where most wusses were puking over the side (very rough - not galeforce but not exactly calm). Me being me, I was running around with a mate (both 11 at the time) and feeling fine; the turntables didn't mistrack once. I don't think they were on gimbles either - what gives?

 

My Marantz CD-63MkII KI Signature is still going strong after 8 years, although I have often wondered how much longer it's got to go.

 

Am I right in thinking that cheaper CD players (still talking seperates) such as Technics and Sony bottom modles have better buffer systems? I.e they read the disc very fast a few times (if the CD is scratched) and then with an algarithem guess the correct result? Where as better models don't tend to have as much error checking as it effects the sound quality?

 

My Marantz CD50SE, circa 1990 is still going strong in my office system

Michael.

 

I bought a Sony CDP-501ES in 1985. It was one of the first CD players to come to Oz. It gave flawless service for around 8 years. It then started to misbehave - there were discs it simply wouldn't accept and the number of these gradually increased over time, until by mid-1997 it was refusing most things - while a cheap Sony Discman accepted absolutely everything! So I took it to Sony (Schweiz), one station down the line, and they said they no longer had the parts to repair it. R.I.P.

By this time, I had the Linn Mimik (bought in summer 1996) and I subsequently cheaply acquired a Marantz CD-63II KI Sig. The Mimik continues to function perfectly and the Marantz is currently enjoying a rest, courtesy of the arrival of Sideshowbob's Meridian 588. It'll be interesting to see whether the Mimik starts misbehaving at around the 10-year mark.

 

Not that I know of - and certainly not on early players like that Technics Some of the current ones might employ this though, since the technology's been around in CD walkmen for ages.

 

Interesting (at least for me). However, not what I am expecting. For some reason my expectation is people with highend CDP will be kept by their owners for longer period and last longer. Maybe my assumption that higher price toys should at least have better built quality is not true after all. Seems the so call sensible price Japanese stuff last just as long.

 

My first philips cd player lasted me 8 years, and is still going strong in one of the kids set up another 3 years so far

 

I think the pattern is that the Phillips/Marantz transports outlast the Sony ones..or are less temperamental.

My Densen - which is Sony based - plays about 99.75% of CDs. My old Marantz CD63SE plays 100%

 

I've an old fisher CD player. A good bit over 10 years old. It's been well travelled and has only over the last year started to have problems. Never been cleaned or serviced (probably worth about £0.01 now) and may still be going strong and just needing a clean!

 

My Marantz can be a little picky on some scratched CDs but I am finding it more tolerent now when it was when I first got it. Maybe warming in has helped.

I would like to think that Philips transports last a while as I intend my OSE LE to last a few years as my next big upgrade is a proper turntbale.

 

Well FWIW I bought a Marantz CD63B in 1985 secondhand and gave it to my brother 6 years ago. When I saw him in January it was still working fine.

I guess that's 20 years with one service.