How I Fixed my Vintage CD Player that was Skipping Tracks

#cdplayer, #skippingtracks
My 1989 vintage Luxman DZ-112 CD player began skipping tracks while playing CDs. This short video provides information on how I fixed the problem myself. I also discuss how I acquired the CD player and how I used it and expanded its capabilities. This video was created in March, 2021.
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[@ByteDelight]

Wow, just cleaning and re-lubricating the (single) guide of my daughters 'brand new' Sony CDP-N500 (just bought a tower set at a thrift shop for her, she wants to go oldskool) with bearing oil, solved it as well! No more skipping! Very nice you shared this with us.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Very happy to hear of your success and for your daughter’s interest in playing CDs👍👍

[@Analog_smog]

Super helpful! Saved my early 90s Denon player from constant skipping

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

COOL!!! Very happy for you👍👍

[@Techrewinds]

wow that a nice luxman cd player I've been looking for one on ebay Great video

[@AudioElectronicsChicago]

I had to do the same thing on few CD players and it worked for me as well! Cheers

[@Ceko]

Thanks for this! My 2000$ cd player skipping is driving me nuts, I’ll check out the rails!

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Hope it works for you!

[@kalayongyuanOK]

Thanks for this informative video. As a guy who loves retro CD player, my Denon DCD-1420 CD player has been skipping tracks on certain minor scratches CDs so I’m going to try to use this method later on!

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Thanks for your nice comments! Looking forward to hearing about your efforts to fix the skipping.

[@rogerb5615]

Thanks for a CD player repair video that has the BEST production values of all those found on KZbin. I just brought a Sony CDP-311 back to perfect operation following your tutorial.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Hi Roger, thanks for watching, your nice comments and sharing your success👍👍

[@markw208]

Just FYI, most optical disc players use white lithium grease for lubrication. It’s not greasy, stays put, but also dries out and hardens. It may also flake off. Use a little WD-40 on a Qtip to lube parts like shafts or gears. A little goes a long way.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Thanks Mark👍👍

[@markw208]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector , I like your video transitions 👍

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

@@markw208 - thanks again Mark. I’m having fun cleaning 20 LPs with a low cost vacuum system. I will make a vid about this too. Be well Virgil

[@laidback93]

This is perfect. I'm about to open up my old Pioneer PD-M423 that skips and does not read at random times and was wondering what I could substitute safely for white lithium grease.

[@gang208]

@@laidback93Silicone grease is now preferred for these applications. It's stable and dielectric.

[@rcenzo]

That worked , you are the best .

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Cool! Glad to hear you had success👍👍 Enjoy!

[@keithwiggins8240]

Thank you for the tip, 20 mins cleaning and lubricating and all seems fine.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Thanks for sharing your GOOD news! Very happy for you 👍👍

[@peterwikvist2433]

Thank you sir!

[@therrtman12]

I had the same problem on my 1987 technics CD player I cleaned it and appears to be working now!

[@kozkoz7776]

that was very helpful l need to do the same this weekend for my teac cd player thats doing the same thing recently it was working fine for many years l too use a DAC magic external dac and hopefully that would fix the problem you explained it flawless for me to understand wish me luck !

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Good luck and let me know how it goes👍👍

[@kozkoz7776]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector l fixed my teac player thanks to you followed everything to the letter NO SKIPPING l do need to change the belt l will do that soon l cleaned it for now also oiled the motors l saw that years ago on another tutorial about dvd players

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

@@kozkoz7776 COOL!!! Happy everything went well. You’ll find a belt soon. Congrats👍👍

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

1989 and it still works!

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Hi Bonnie. Thanks for watching! I sold it to a nice guy up north who wanted it for his cabin and integrates well with his other stereo gear. I decided to buy a new CD transport called the Audiolab 6000cdt. I connected it to a new Mytek Brooklyn DAC+. It sounds great. Be well😀

[@Peter-69]

Sir, you just saved me $599! Thank you! I was going to buy a new transport, yet your video helped me to fix the issue. I re-lubed the guiding rod with airbrush needle lubricant for smooth gliding.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

So happy for you!

[@helifynoe9930]

I am listening to my 1987 DENON DCD-900 CD player right now. About five years ago it started skipping and delaying start ups. My guess was that it was not sliding on the rails fast enough, so I added a few drops of electric shaver oil to each rail, an oil I prefer since it is not a toxic oil. That fixed it all in an instant. Been working great ever since. This week I fixed the 22 Faders (Slide Potentiometers) in my 1978 Soundcraftsmen PE2217 Preamp - Equalizer. I used Deoxit the restore the electrical slide contacts in the 22 Faders, and then spent forever carefully adding silicon lubricant to the 22 Faders. It's 45 years old, but works and looks as good as new.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Great to use what’s on hand! I’ll try to remember that approach. Thanks for sharing!

[@samsungtablet1445]

Saliva SPIT works amazing ...repeat every 30 minutes....guide rails .....gears and the spinning motor lubricate motor bush saliva on folded paper

[@helifynoe9930]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollectorMy air conditioner motor was squealing big time due to the oil having all dried up. Out comes my electric shaver oil again. I kept dripping on the shafts, front and back, until the brass bearing felt pads were soaked again. Anyhow, the air conditioner is still working even though it is now 24 years old. I also was sick of having to add the typical recommended oil to my living room fan. So out comes my electric shaver oil again. This time it lasted forever, and when switched from high to off, it kept spinning for 3 minutes. So for some reason the non-toxic electric shaver oil lasts a heck of a lot longer.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

@@helifynoe9930 - cool story. Like a collector of vintage stereo gear you have the heart to keep things running instead of throwing stuff into the local dump. Thanks for watching 👍👍

[@new-knowledge8040]

I had the same two problems with my 1987 DENON DCD-900 CD player. Anyhow, I fixed the 2 bugs, about 5 years ago. I fixed the door problem by replacing the belt with a belt that I had removed from an old dead mini cassette player. The skipping problem was instantly fixed once I added a few drops of shaving oil on the slide bars used by the scanning mechanism. The total repair cost, was about 1 cent. I also had just recently purchased a cheap Sylvania DVD player. But it seems as though it had been sitting on the shelf for quite a few years. When I powered it up, all it did was open and close the DVD door, over and over and over again. So I opened up the casing and after finding nothing visually defective, I assumed that the scanner was stuck in one place, and that this door problem was some kind of a built in bug indicator, indicating that there was a problem in this particular section of the DVD player unit. So I added a few drops of shaving oil on the slide bars, moved the mechanism back and forth a few times, and bingo, the DVD player was up and properly working, and thus the door problem was gone. Anyhow, that was what had reminded me of my old DENON CD player and its problems.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Thanks for watching and sharing your 2-cents worth of success. Great results!

[@new-knowledge8040]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector 2 cents. Good one. LOL

[@bobsoft]

When the door open/closes constantly its caused by a dirty tray leaf switch. That switch tells the micro-controller whether the door is open or closed and often gets dirty. That resides at the front below the tray mechanism on a small circuit board. Remove the board and clean the switch with contact cleaner by working it into the switch.

[@ejadmixsali9534]

Me too problem looks same.. Must try Thanxs for a video Bro... ☺️

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Good luck and I hope it works for you😁

[@ejadmixsali9534]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector Yaaaa bro its done.. Now run smooth... Old grease harden,spray contact cleaner wipe with cotton bud then oiling back.. Thanxs bro for good video. 🥰👏👏👏👏 My player JVC.

[@kennethfingleton4794]

My CDR skips and some tracks dead on two high usage CD players - JVC & Dennon. I have two low usage players and they both work - LG & Pioneer. So my new outboard Apple SuperDrive is not at fault. And it is not DRM issues. It is time for these late 80's machines to get some cleaning. Thank You Virgil.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Hi Kenneth, Sounds like you will be busy! Shortly after the video I decided to buy an new CD Transport. It’s an Audiolab 6000cdt. So I use it as a transport (no DAC inside) like in the video and use the Mytek DAC. I would be interested in hearing about your progress. Happy cleaning & spinning😀

[@CM-dw3gh]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector hi Virgil. did it finally go back to not reading discs then? I used the same solution on the laser (99%) and sprayed deoxit on the Internal female RCA ports. Not perfect as it will play only normal (redbook?) CDs, not CD-R's which its meant to. It still just stops starting a new track in the middle of the album. Then won't even skip. It's the NAD C521BEE and going by various forums it's a cracker for sound which I can't disagree with but reliability is not its forte

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

@@CM-dw3gh - mine does continue to read CDs & CD-Rs. I had to remove and reattach the clamp that holds down on the CD once or twice because it didn’t read the CD at first then it was fine. Did you clean/lubricate the guide rails?

[@CM-dw3gh]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector no I didn't. The only reason is its always OK with finding the disc and reading it after the draw closes. I didn't see how the rail would effect my issue. It just seems over sensitive with a slight scratch on disc. However I did get a lot of 'no disc' errors when I bought it, but after turning the Little pot screw under the laser clockwise this fault went away. Is there any other place I can clean with alcohol that has contact with the disc? Glad to hear yours is OK after all this time

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

@@CM-dw3gh not sure where else to clean on your NAD player

[@SDsailor7]

I have a pioneer pd 6010 that momentarily gets stuck and no sound output and i hear some rattle like gears not meshing and after a moment it jumps to the next track. Does anyone have any idea what might be the problem? Thank you

[@jasonnm5972]

Thanks a lot!

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

And thank you for watching! Hope it helps.

[@TheJeffShadowShow]

My Sony CDP-55 (from 1986!) has been skipping within songs for a few years now. Some CDs play perfectly fine; others skip back and forth twenty seconds or more. The tray closes fine but I have to flick it a few times to open. Just ordered the belt on eBay.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Hi TheJeffShadowShow - glad to hear you ordered a belt. Hope it does the trick!

[@pizzaz6171]

I have a luxman cd player from about the same era. It too skips. The cd will play for a bit and then it will skip ahead a few seconds and a few minutes. Eventually skips into the next track and so on. Was this the same problem as you described? I was hoping to see a video like this because I took my player to a repair shop and they wouldn't even touch my player. Thanks for the a bit of reassurance. My player is in mint condition. Hopefully I can tackle the skipping without trashing the player.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Mine skipped tracks almost exactly like you. Give it a try. I never fixed something like this before and I learned from other vids. Hope it works for you. Keep me posted & good luck!

[@anthonysunay7916]

The first thing you do when you have skipping is to look at the eye patten with an Oscilloscope this will give you a hint about the tracking and the laser power and if you need to clean it. The white grease is silicone and to be honest should be used in those players.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Wish I had an oscilloscope at the time. My tech has one for $75/hour. Yes, white grease should be used, you are correct. I sold the player and now use an Audiolab 6000 CD transport and an Oppo BDP-105 blue ray player. I miss all those buttons on the Luxman

[@jimkoll1870]

I'm listening to my Kenwood CD changer I bought in 1993, and being 30 years old, I just wanted to be prepared should anything go haywire! I am interested in periodic maintenance of the unit-so it doesn't break down. It would be difficult to find a replacement with all the cheezo-junk being sold now, in 2023!

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Hope all goes well. Thanks for watching👍👍

[@surangaegodagamage31]

Hi I see this is bit old video. I recently bought a YAMAHA CDX560 vintage CD player and it has track skipping problem for some CDs. I wish to know how was your historical experience with the solution you explained in this video after two years. Anuway thanks for your experience shared.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Hi Suranga. I continued using the Luxman CD player as it worked just fine and was in excellent condition. I got the itch to buy some newer gear and sold it to a nice man for his stereo system at a cabin on the lake. I bought a new Audiolab 6000cdt CD transport and connected it to my Mytek DAC via a digital coaxial cable. I miss the Luxman CD player as it had so many options and buttons. Good luck with your Yamaha CD player as you continue your journey!

[@jerryspann8713]

Just picked up the DZ-111 for $15 at my local thrift. Just needs the tray belt replaced. There is a cd in the device and it plays.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Jerry you lucky guy!!! We can only dream about finds like this. Your effort paid off👍👍

[@diamond6719]

I find when I use my cd doctor machine they don’t skip

[@davida4882]

Question: I recently purchased a Victrola 8 in 1 Navigator. I absolutely love it except for the fact that the CD player cuts off the first second or two of each track and adds a pause break in between songs that it shouldn't. I've seen this with several other units and it's very aggravating. Is there any way to fix and/or bypass this feature? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

I tried looking online for your specific issue, but it only discusses skipping on LPS

[@davida4882]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector Thank you so much for your help. I tried researching it online as well.

[@rogerturner1881]

i have a Technics PG4 [2000] I bought it in 2004. The last year or so, it started to play and skips WITHIN the tracks 2 to 6[on every cd].The rest[7>] were ok[no skips]. What could it be? Anyone else can help, from Greece

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Hi Roger. It might be a similar situation as mine. And your’s is only 20 years old. Where in Greece do you live? We took a tour of Greece just before the Covid pandemic. Even had a tour of Delos👍👍

[@rogerturner1881]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector Athens i am. i sent it for service. it still does skip within the track[1 to 4] but its better. they cleaned it . Perhaps i should get a new laser .

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

@@rogerturner1881 - you might want to research the laser replacement for your PG4 in terms of cost to buy and have it replaced vs getting a newer CD player. I sold my Luxman and bought a new Audiolab 6000cdt CD transport for about $550 USD. I connect it to my DAC with an digital coaxial cable since the Audiolab does not have a DAC chip inside. Keep me posted on what you do if you get another laser. Good luck👍👍

[@needsometreatment]

Question. I’m in need of a “new” mechanism for my luxman 105u. I know the laser is a kss 152a. But for me the problem is the gearing wheel. One of the wheels has lost some “teeth”. So it’s not in sync with the motor. And the motor has a plastic worm, most players like kenwood or denon has a kss 152a laser but a steel worm attached to the motor. So..has the luxman d 111,112,113 the same mechanism a the luxman 105u

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Love to have a Luxman 105u! Try searching this site for gears organdonorparts.com

[@needsometreatment]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector thx. When this one is ready it’s for sale

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

@@needsometreatment - what will you buy next?

[@needsometreatment]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector my set is the nakamichi 5 series the 7 series cd player and the dragon deck. Micro seiki phono and the infinity kappa 9

[@margaretehaefele4625]

well presented!

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Thank you Margarete! Happy New Year👍

[@derekkras]

those DACs when connected , did they improve the sound quality a lot ?

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

It did. The DAC in the Luxman is good, but it’s from 1990. The Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ is a very good one. I sold the Luxman and bought a new Audiolab 6000 CD transport to connect to the Mytek. I also use an S-Booster linear power supply with the Mytek instead of the power cable and internal power supply.

[@apollon755]

Hi ,i see in background a 6000cdt. Can you tell us if you seen any problems?some complaints about scratch ing cd s .thank you sir.😊

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

I’ve seen those complaints and the video. I don’t notice any scratching on my CDs. The only scratching occurs on the CD jewel cases😂 The 6000cdt is a terrific CD transport. I have it connected to my Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ via a Toslink glass cable

[@apollon755]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector thank you sir for reply.i have a marantz pm7200 and i think to buy 6000cdt.i have also q dac from audiolab to support it ..

[@62patounet]

Use a sensor cleaner for the laser the Kits is not good !

[@Jeff-wb3hh]

I've tried this and it did not work for me. Just playing a CD for a few moments you really can't tell if it fixed the skipping problem without playing several CDs all the way through. Did the cleaning of the lens and cleaning and re-lubing the glide bars actually it fix the skipping problem in the long run? Are you now able to play CDs all the way through without skipping now? Thanks.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Hi Jeff, Yes I am able to play CDs all the way through and it’s still going. Maybe give another tear down? PS - what is the make & model number of your CD player? Virgil

[@new-knowledge8040]

In my case, 5 years have passed by since I re-oiled the slide bars to fix the problem, and it is still working perfectly. I used shaving oil.

[@dean6816]

I don't play cds anymore! I plac FLAC through my Rega dac. Before that I had I C.A. Dacmagic aswell.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Hi Dean, I play FLAC files through my iPhone using an app by Onkyo. That’s how I got started. Enjoy👍

[@dean6816]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector I play mine through a nas connected to my laptop then through my REGA DAC's second revision with the asynchronous usb so I get 192khz 24 bit! Not arsed about that dsd shit! 😝 Big vinyl fan as well!🔊

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

@@dean6816 - yeah those DSD files are hard to locate. My brother-in-law plays DSD files from his smartphone via USB to a high-end Marantz CD player using its DAC. Be well👍👍

[@dean6816]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector I might have heard dsd once or twice and I don't know if it was the setup, but to my hearing, I was not overly impressed 😒. Most people who are not audiophiles are happy with mp3s through Bluetooth speakers so there's no way this is gonna take off!

[@SDsailor7]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector I am hoping that i can get my pioneer fixed so i can continue making reel to reel recordings of my CD's

[@quebecpatriot1874]

I got to rain on that parade....old Sansui doesnt respond to either lens cleaning or slides/clean/lube :/

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Sorry to hear about your Sansui! I did sell my Luxman DZ-112 and bought an Audiolab 6000cd CD transport. I connected it to my DAC with a digital coaxial cable. Hope you can find a replacement used or new CD player. Best to you👍👍

[@quebecpatriot1874]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector still trying to mess with it....took it apart and lubed everything but still will skip at around the 50 secs mark no matter what track its on...might be the motor that drives the lazer table...there are 3 motors in that thing

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

@@quebecpatriot1874 - that’s a complex unit🙏🏻

[@quebecpatriot1874]

@@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector well, I am not complaining...I got a complete, mint, non-smoker not a scratch barely any dust inside complete kit (minus the speakers) amp (B-3000)/pre-amp(C-1000)/tuner (T-1000)/dual tapedeck(D-3000WR)/CD (CD-X105) and a pair of odd not sansui speakers for $50 :)

[@jimtwisted1984]

How the hell would a mouse get in there unless you left it open?Oh man that was gruelling.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

They are small creatures😂

[@jewllake]

Hi - is the fix still working? Just did this to my onkyo dx-7500

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

I sold my CD player over a year ago and bought an Audiolab 6000cdt CD transport to work with my DAC. Haven’t heard back from the guy I sold it to.

[@helifynoe9930]

My 1987 CD player is still working, thus no longer skipping, 5 years after adding electric shaver oil to the slide rails. So is my 24 year old DANBY window mounted air conditioner. The motor had almost seized up and was squealing big time, due to the felt pads that hold the bearings oil having dried up completely. But once again I used the electric shaver oil there too, and it has been working ever since, adding many years to its life.

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

@@helifynoe9930 - love your story. I’ll have to remember that one!

[@SpacedOdyssey]

Clean the laser with rubbing alcohol

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Yep. That was the first thing I tried. No luck. Thanks for watching👍👍

[@samsungtablet1445]

Car windscreen wipes EXTERIOR ...WORK FOR ME....I USE THEM ON THE CD SHINY SIDE TOO ...MAKE A POINTY THING WITH WIPE AND DO LENS ALSO .........THE CD CLEANER DISC wash brushes in water then I wipe brushes with the screen wipe Exterior type............. then if machine no accept CD cleaner CD....I line up brushes with lens then reciprocate with finger... magic ....thank you all for energy supplied

[@dobermanguy9437]

I watch the video but the guy never told us did this take care of his problem😂 all he did is show us to clean this and do that but he never said this was the problem

[@VintageLuxmanStereoCollector]

Read the title of the video😳 The servicing of the player did solve the problem👍👍