Yamaha CDX-410U

[808_state]

So I pulled this guy out of the closet today and gave the laser lens a careful swab with alcohol and then hooked it to the tuner connects on my C-2x. Fired it up and despite not wanting to read from the first track, the old click forward and hit play still works. Listening to Ok Computer sounds absolutely wonderful. My brother and I have owned this guy since 1988! (it came bundled with an AX-400u integrated and Yammy tower speaker set) Any ideas about the fussiness with not wanting to play from track one? Can the alignment be adjusted or would it need a transplant? The gain, atmosphere and detail this thing delivers can be pretty stunning and reminds me of how good I remember cd's sounding as a kid.

 

[808_state]

Incidentally there is nothing "overly smooth" about the sound through the line-in on the C-2x. It sounds dynamic and detailed, so much so that I can literally hear Thom Yorke's tongue and lips click when he says "waKe from your sleeP". After hearing so much bad digital for so long (earbuds, in the car etc.) it's so refreshing to hear how good it can sound.

 

[OMGCat!]

The grease on the tracks that the laser sled rides on can get hard after all this time and can build up causing the sled to get stopped before it can get to the proper position. Try cleaning it up and using some light oil on them rather than grease which will end up hardening again.

Glad it sounds good to you. I've been running a DVDS-2300 as a digital front end for a while and love it. It's the nicest sounding player I've ever had by a good margin.

I still need to go through my C2 pair and give them another shot. Like I was saying I didn't really dislike the way it sounded aside from the top end but the C-80 sounds like nothing at all which is what I look for in a pre. I suppose I shouldn't comment at all with un-restored units vs. one that has been fully gone through but both C2s sound so similar I figured it was their character. I retract my statements until I can be fair about it.

 

[808_state]

The grease on the tracks that the laser sled rides on can get hard after all this time and can build up causing the sled to get stopped before it can get to the proper position. Try cleaning it up and using some light oil on them rather than grease which will end up hardening again.

Glad it sounds good to you. I've been running a DVDS-2300 as a digital front end for a while and love it. It's the nicest sounding player I've ever had by a good margin.

I still need to go through my C2 pair and give them another shot. Like I was saying I didn't really dislike the way it sounded aside from the top end but the C-80 sounds like nothing at all which is what I look for in a pre. I suppose I shouldn't comment at all with un-restored units vs. one that has been fully gone through but both C2s sound so similar I figured it was their character. I retract my statements until I can be fair about it.

Thanks for the tip...I'm hoping it's something simple. I actually dropped it off at my tech's shop today to have him take a look at it. He's also finally going to get around to recapping my standard C-2 and I can't wait to hear it. To my ears it was clear and dynamic (definitely a quiet and black background) with great imaging but had a horribly dry and monochrome sound.

As I've said in other posts, transparency is not really what I look for. I don't mind slight coloration so long as it sounds good to my ears and doesn't obscure the overall clarity and the Yamaha sound just happens to suit me in every way (otherwise I'd be posting someplace else). The C-2x just continues to amaze me with how much it can reveal from various components. It makes my PF-800 table sound like something far more expensive and the image and depth it pulls out of my lowly 410u disc player had me grinning from ear to ear. Heavens I even bought a few cd's (and one LP) today. I honestly have yet to hook my GT-2000 table to it because it means purchasing a heavier rack but it will happen sometime in the next couple of months because I want to shake things up and rotate through.

So far I would say the C-2, C-2x, C-4, C-6 and C-70 all sound very different to one another and I'm looking forward to comparing them to a CX-1 very soon. I really hope to hear/own a CX-10000 some day. If the C-80 is anything like the C-70 then you have a really nice preamp (my NS-1000x's really like the C-70!). I would like to hear a C-85 with my M-85 to experience the pair as intended.

 

[808_state]

So just for the heck of it I hooked up my CDC-555 disc changer (snagged from an estate sale a few years back) up to the C-2x and gave the cleaner disc a spin. Popped in a Diament Zeppelin III and wow, not even close! Yawn! The 410u smokes the 555, so much so that even my wife noticed. While it's clear, the 555's sound is so shallow and small that even with added volume it can't fill the room like the 410u. The difference in bass is also quite noticeable. While the 410u can slam and ripple, the 555 just sort of thumps and buzzes. I think my wife finally realized what a difference the player makes.

 

[808_state]

Stopped by my tech's shop today and good news it's fixable. It is the laser but they are available. He said otherwise it doesn't suffer from any other problems common to this unit. I realize the pcm56 chip is far outdated but the way Yamaha implemented it in this model sounds great to me.

 

[Bratwurst7s]

I've been using Rivolita SKD 4002 grease in my CD players for a couple of years now.
http://www.albertlube.com.tw/en/product-430.aspx
(no affiliation)

I've been using it at work for the last 12 years and like it a lot. It doesn't seem to run or harden even after 10+ years in place and at the same time it stays very slippery. It seems to havee a fairly low viscosity and lets the laser bed slide very nicely.

Cheers,
James

 

[Bratwurst7s]

Btw, the PCM56 may be dated but is still a pretty nice sounding DAC. That whole family of Burr-Brown DAC's are imho pretty nice sounding. I have PCM61 (Denon DCD-1290) and PCM1702 (DCD-2700) in my players and love the sound.

Cheers,
James

 

[808_state]

Btw, the PCM56 may be dated but is still a pretty nice sounding DAC. That whole family of Burr-Brown DAC's are imho pretty nice sounding. I have PCM61 (Denon DCD-1290) and PCM1702 (DCD-2700) in my players and love the sound.

Cheers,
James

I agree Brat! I actually picked up a 2700 as well based on your thread about it but due to typical auction site shenanigans won't be able to use it for a while as it needs urgent repairs. I also picked up a CDX-2000 from the Yahoo jp auction but like my CX-1 will have to wait a little while before it can be shipped.

 

[808_state]

Btw, the PCM56 may be dated but is still a pretty nice sounding DAC. That whole family of Burr-Brown DAC's are imho pretty nice sounding. I have PCM61 (Denon DCD-1290) and PCM1702 (DCD-2700) in my players and love the sound.

Cheers,
James

And we're back in business! Just picked up the 410u from the shop and it's working great. The laser and spindle motor were replaced and it's reading and playing discs without issue. I haven't tried any cdr's but most of my discs are originals so that doesn't really matter. So glad to have this guy back. So lucky that aliexpress had jp3's for a reasonable price!

 

[Bratwurst7s]

Good news! I'm happy for you, enjoy it.

Cheers,
James

 

[808_state]

Good news! I'm happy for you, enjoy it.

Cheers,
James

Thanks, he is still working on the DCD 2700 but hopefully only a few weeks to wait on that one. This will work in the mean time. The vocals on this player sound so good!