Thank you very much for the videos, were very helpful in getting a preview of what's involved. Was able to replace Denon 3930 laser, now Hybrid SACDs recognized right away. Did not adjust any of the level screws - replaced laser, it just worked. Enjoying the music while it's snowing outside here in Canada.
I've just successfully replaced the laser in a Denon 3910 that had stopped playing thanks to your video. The 3910 has the same body but slightly different interior but with the information you've given it was easy enough to figure out. The black front panel has to be unscrewed and pulled away a little and a bar across the top held by two screws, removed to allow enough room to remove the covers on the laser assembly. Thanks to your warning regarding the springs I avoided losing them. The ribbon connector has a tiny bar which must be pushed out a millimeter or two before being removed and of course pushed back when replaced. The left bar along which the laser slides can be left in place; the right comes out to remove the white gear assembly. I believe you did one thing wrong: changing the allen screws which adjusted the height of the assembly/beam. Sorry yours didn't come back to life but good karma to you on your next project for showing me how to revive mine!
Thanks mate! Thanks to your videos I saved myself buying a new SACD player with just a 15 GBP laser! I had exactly the same issues but now it is reading SACD again.
Excellent set of videos. I am a hands on electronics eng and also enjoy repairing similar devices as a hobby. Just one point to viewers. I suggest it is better to use a pointer device other than a pencil. This because a pencil tip is graphite. Graphite is carbon and is a very good electric conductor. One could accidentially leave a graphite trail on a circuit board or between adjacent components etc and it could conduct and short out. Particularly easy to happen on tiny surface mounted components and on miniature connectors and ribbon cables.Absolutely avoid using a pencil if you need to investigate components while they are live (power on). This point is not meant in any way to deflect away from this excellent video which i find very helpfull.
Great explanation and tips! My Marantz DV9600 has very similar Philips transport, and failed to play CDs (SACD and DVD were OK). I initially tried adjusting the allen screws with the old head to no avail. Only differences were: 1) There was black 'tape' holding the back side of the cover on which I had to remove, and there was a ground (you call it Earth) wire with a copper screw to remove on the top of the cover. 2) I had to remove two solder blobs on the new pickup instead of one. 3) There was a small white plastic piece on the old pickup that helps keep it on the left rail (looking from the front) that I transferred to the new one 4) I was able to keep from losing the springs by carefully keeping the black plastic retainer upright. Thank You! I was able to get a great player working again (original list was about $2000 US in 2005).
Just tried this on my 3910 and it worked perfectly even after I adjusted the rail alignment screws over the years trying to get the old laser to work. Played DVD, SACD and regular CD's right away after the replacement.
Guys, if your unit cannot read SOME discs, but some can, CLEAN THE LASER pickup little bit. It really helps, you don't need to change the laser immediately
Well I should probably come clean - after completing these videos I had considerable trouble getting all my SACDs to play trouble free. Because of this I decided to record them in real time using a digital recorder capable of 24 bit 96 kHz resolution. It took me several days to record all 6 channels on the multi-channel disks, along with the stereo only ones, in fits and starts, with continual re-adjustment of the laser head necessary, plus several lens cleans along the way. Eventually I made it and, now that all my discs are transferred to digital (and sound great), the (not-so) trusty 2930 is once more confined to my garage!
Hello, I have problems with my Denon Cara S-5BD, it does not read the DVDs or the Blu-ray, but if it reads the CDs, buy the laser unit and change it, but now it does not read the DVDs, blu ray or cd ´s, I hope you can help me or guide me. Thanks for your time, I'm really interested in fixing this equipment.
I did the same as you and failed miserably with it. I got in touch with a local hifi repair company and they quoted £70 to replace it. I may just do it but how long will it last?! 😁
Well my friend , The laser went in a lot easier when I first looked at how you dropped everything LOL ! But the darn thing still will not read hybrid sacd or anything copied on to dvd including sacd images that worked great when I first bought the two 3910s a couple years ago , used . I am beginning to think that these must develop other problems besides the laser ,when they get 10 years old .
Ridiculous how such an expensive, fairly "recent" player can have such issues. I have a few first generation Sony DVD players from 1997 with thousands of hours of play and they still work fine. One even has nearly 10k hours according to the diagnostic menu.
Sorry, I never thought - all I did was search the net for a 2930 laser pickup and order it. It came in a yellow box with no information on it apart from a sticker labelled SF-HD65. This does appear to be a laser code, though, so hope that this helps. Apologies for the delay in providing this info.
