Determined to follow Sir JojoD’s DIY as posted (just in case I lose one, or two CDPs in the process), I bought two “junk” CDPs "as-is" from a Jap warehouse here in Davao on Monday. No testing is allowed for "as-is" units sold here. What I got were a Sony 502ES and a Kenwood D-3300P, dirty but no scratches. Both models were priced 150,000 yen each when these were introduced in 1984 and 1987 respectively and weighed roughly 10 kgs. each.
When I got home, I found both illiterate: can’t read, so I removed the covers, cleaned the lenses twice with cotton soaked on water first, then cotton soaked on alcohol next. I checked the belts and fine-tuned the disc’s spinning motion through the spring-loaded screw, which affects the CDP’s data-reading capability, and available on both units. I noticed the screws were still factory locked (with paint or transparent glue) and never been adjusted.
After a few minutes, I tested them again and the results were positive. By this time, the units already read fast although both seemed picky with respect to CD-Rs fed. No problem with branded ones such as Imation but only 50% good on CD-R generics, unlike the Onkyos, which sing fast as soon you feed them with a shiny platter.
The Sony 502ES’s sound was initially not that impressive but after three days of 6 hours daily play, it now sounded better compared with the D-3300, which performed well once it started reading data. I still have to appraise the sonic qualities of these two in relation with my existing gears since I was quite busy the past few days, but I’m quite happy with how they look, especially the Kenwood, which is slim and 19-inch wide, with two wooden side panels, walang sugat o galos, and very thick case.
