Thread: Marantz SA8260 Question

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Post by alcon January 9, 2011 (1 of 42)
I've read much about the Marantz SA8260 having a common problem reading some of the SACDs. I have an opportunity to purchase an 8260 at an attractive price and would do so if I knew they could be effectively repaired if the problem pops up. Can I expect a successful repair and at what cost? Thanks

Post by stvnharr January 9, 2011 (2 of 42)
alcon said:

I've read much about the Marantz SA8260 having a common problem reading some of the SACDs. I have an opportunity to purchase an 8260 at an attractive price and would do so if I knew they could be effectively repaired if the problem pops up. Can I expect a successful repair and at what cost? Thanks

The issue with the Marantz SA8260 and it's failure to read discs is easily fixable, even though the players are all a bit oldish, having gone out of production in 2005. Marantz will fix things for you for $200. But if you are handy with a soldering iron and able to fix easy electronic things, you can do the "fix" yourself for almost free, as all that is required is to solder in a 1k resistor onto the transport board that is located under the transport unit. You do have to do some player disassembly, but not too much. I can provide you with all the information needed, if it comes to that.

However, this same player is much like many of the early generation players and the transport/laser unit can get weak and fail. Replacement units are getting harder to get, but can still be gotten. They cost about $200 from Sony, it's a Sony transport unit, or for a bit less than half the price from Taiwan.

If one is not handy with these things, the Marantz service cost for total repair will about equal what one pays for the used player, or more.

But when operating properly, the 8260 is a decent sacd player.

If you do decide to purchase the player, insist that the seller either ship in the original carton or double box. The player is easily damaged if packed in just popcorn and some bubble wrap. And if the player arrives damaged and doesn't work, it gets complicated.

I write all of the above from a lot of personal experience with this particular player.

Post by alcon January 10, 2011 (3 of 42)
Thanks for your insight into what I may encounter. I have a friend who is an electronic wizard who could, if necessary, help in the fix you mentioned. However, maybe the better solution for me would be another SACD player, one with a better reliability record. Is there a new or used "budget" player(s) (under $400.00) that you could recommend? My amplifier is a Tube Audio Design (TAD)-60, my preamp is also a TAD product, TAD-150. Both units are tubes. I have time to search for a SACD player if I could be pointed in the right direction. My eyes are sore after reading many, many reviews. Unfortunately, it has been impossible to find anyone selling a SACD player where I could go and listen to it. You could contact me at:
alcon19@comcast.net or post here on SA-CD.net. Again, thanks very much for your thoughtful reply to my original posting.

Post by stvnharr January 10, 2011 (4 of 42)
alcon said:

Thanks for your insight into what I may encounter. I have a friend who is an electronic wizard who could, if necessary, help in the fix you mentioned. However, maybe the better solution for me would be another SACD player, one with a better reliability record. Is there a new or used "budget" player(s) (under $400.00) that you could recommend? My amplifier is a Tube Audio Design (TAD)-60, my preamp is also a TAD product, TAD-150. Both units are tubes. I have time to search for a SACD player if I could be pointed in the right direction. My eyes are sore after reading many, many reviews. Unfortunately, it has been impossible to find anyone selling a SACD player where I could go and listen to it. You could contact me at:
alcon19@comcast.net or post here on SA-CD.net. Again, thanks very much for your thoughtful reply to my original posting.

Well, I happen to like the Marantz 8260 players. But I also fix them up a lot by replacing the entire analog stage, so I have a jaded view.
IMO the only decent "budget" player on the market is one of the Oppo models. They seem good value and are reasonably reliable.
Buying used, especially a cd player of any type, is always tricky. You really have to know your stuff.

Post by Wildfi June 10, 2011 (5 of 42)
stvnharr said:

The issue with the Marantz SA8260 and it's failure to read discs is easily fixable, even though the players are all a bit oldish, having gone out of production in 2005.

However, this same player is much like many of the early generation players and the transport/laser unit can get weak and fail.

But when operating properly, the 8260 is a decent sacd player.

I write all of the above from a lot of personal experience with this particular player.

Hi,

Sorry to bring up this old post. Thank you for your comments stvnharr. Need your advice here

I've this player. It has 2 issues.

1. It gives TOC error very frequently. However, after some deliberation, it plays almost all my redbook CDs, especially once you leave it on for a while to warm-up. Although i admit a couple of CDs/SACDs are very hard to make it play.

2. With SACDs, it just hangs in the middle of the track. This is only seen with SACDs, especially the stereo layer.


There're people ready to replace the lens around here for ~$100. I'm a bit reluctant to try this route, as some people have ended up sending the player back to the official marantz svc center as the issue persists after the replaced lens. I was told that allignment of SACD lens is hard and is recommended to be done only in a factory.

The questions really are,

-Is it worth getting the lens replaced now against waiting for it to break completely. In this case, i can get to enjoy it for a while more (hopefully) rather than ending up in a worse state. I really like the way it sounds.

-How does this player stack-up against the current-day players, SA8003, KI-perl-lite, SA-11S1/S2,Audiolab8200 CD(highly reviewed redbook only with digital in i could get an oppo 980H for SACD transport). The problem here is, i dont have around a thousand dollars to spare right now.

Post by stvnharr June 10, 2011 (6 of 42)
Wildfi said:

Hi,

The questions really are,

-Is it worth getting the lens replaced now against waiting for it to break completely. In this case, i can get to enjoy it for a while more (hopefully) rather than ending up in a worse state. I really like the way it sounds.

-How does this player stack-up against the current-day players, SA8003, KI-perl-lite, SA-11S1/S2,Audiolab8200 CD(highly reviewed redbook only with digital in i could get an oppo 980H for SACD transport). The problem here is, i dont have around a thousand dollars to spare right now.

Wildfi,
To answer your questions:
1. Your laser needs replacing, now or later is all the same. Laser replacement on these players is a simple procedure. However you also need the TOC fix, with the 1k resistor added to the board. I recommend doing the TOC fix procedure first, and then proceeding to laser replacement, if needed.
Send me an email at my address and I will send you directions on how to do both procedures.

2. It is cheaper to fix your 8260 than to buy a newer player. I can't really comment much on the players you mention other than the Oppo is not too expensive and will give good service.

Steve

Post by canonical June 10, 2011 (7 of 42)
Wildfi said:

I've this player. It has 2 issues.

1. It gives TOC error very frequently. However, after some deliberation, it plays almost all my redbook CDs, especially once you leave it on for a while to warm-up. Although i admit a couple of CDs/SACDs are very hard to make it play.

2. With SACDs, it just hangs in the middle of the track. This is only seen with SACDs, especially the stereo layer.

I had the same (or similar) problem with my Marantz SA8003 after about 18 months of ownership. I was about to buy a new machine (the SA8004) ... and then I thought ... what do I have to lose ??? ...

So I opened it up (after unplugging it, of course), and gently cleaned the top of the lens with a slightly damp tissue. Closed it up - re-connected ... and -- instantly -- it worked perfectly again ... no problems since .... must be about 9 months now. No more TOC errors ... and no problem recognising the SACD layer on hybrid discs. Has been perfect ... all it was was a bit of dust on the lens.

Post by stvnharr June 10, 2011 (8 of 42)
canonical said:

i had the same (or similar) problem with my Marantz SA8003 after about 18 months of ownership. I was about to buy a new machine (the SA8004) ... and then I thought ... what do I have to lose ??? ...

So I opened it up (after unplugging it, of course), and gently cleaned the top of the lens with a slightly damp tissue. Closed it up - re-connected ... and -- instantly -- it worked perfectly again ... no problems since .... must be about 9 months now. No more TOC errors ... and no problem recognising the SACD layer on hybrid discs. Has been perfect ... all it was was a bit of dust on the lens.

Yes of course cleaning the lens is an easy first option. Cleaning the laser will correct the problem if dust is creating the reading/playing problem. However, the 8260 has a well known history of a design fault and crummy laser transport. These issues were corrected with the 8001 and subsequent players.

Post by Wildfi June 11, 2011 (9 of 42)
stvnharr said:

Laser replacement on these players is a simple procedure.

Steve

Thanks Steve.

I've sent an email.

Like i mentioned earlier, I was advised by one of the technicians against replacing SACD lens as its known to cause issues due to the complications with the lens allignment. I also heard from a fellow forumer at another forum, he had the same exp and the the player was taken back to marantz svc center and its been there for 3 weeks now.

Q:
1. Have u heard/exp something like this before? It could well be that the technician was too lazy to do this and hence told me this. In the other guy's case, it could be just that the technician was a little too busy to do a good job.

2. Have you replaced lens for this player successfully

Post by stvnharr June 11, 2011 (10 of 42)
Wildfi said:

Thanks Steve.

I've sent an email.

Like i mentioned earlier, I was advised by one of the technicians against replacing SACD lens as its known to cause issues due to the complications with the lens allignment. I also heard from a fellow forumer at another forum, he had the same exp and the the player was taken back to marantz svc center and its been there for 3 weeks now.

Q:
1. Have u heard/exp something like this before? It could well be that the technician was too lazy to do this and hence told me this. In the other guy's case, it could be just that the technician was a little too busy to do a good job.

2. Have you replaced lens for this player successfully

Quick Answers:
1. Some players that use the KHM-230AAA transport unit require some adjustment, but NOT the 8260.
2. Yes I have replaced transport units successfully.

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