Sony D-303 Discman -- Capacitor Issue

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Oliade677

Active Member
Picked up a Sony D-303 Discman yesterday. The unit powers up through both the AC adapter and the battery compartment. The digital out port works perfectly, but the headphone and line out ports sound fuzzy. Oddly enough, the fuzziness is much more prevalent when powered through the AC adapter. I popped the player open and located two leaky capacitors. Unfortunately, I have no idea what I need to replace them with. I've replaced caps in the past with moderate success, but a google search with the parameters listed on these caps yields no results. If someone can point me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it! Hoping to get this bad boy up to snuff.

 
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OverLoad, my thanks to you! I replaced the caps with those found in your link (though ordered through DigiKey for cheaper shipping). She rocks now!
 
How many caps?

did you need to repair the D-303? I've got the same issue and wanted to know how many to order.

Thanks!
 
Repair of Sony D-303 Discman 2

Oliade677 said:
OverLoad, my thanks to you! I replaced the caps with those found in your link (though ordered through DigiKey for cheaper shipping). She rocks now!
Click to expand...

Can you repair my 2 Sony D-303's as I do not have the dexterity to do so or I would have done this kind of repair long time ago for these discmans and walkmans that I own?

Please contact me through here and or pm me thank's.
 
Oliade677 said:
Picked up a Sony D-303 Discman yesterday. The unit powers up through both the AC adapter and the battery compartment. The digital out port works perfectly, but the headphone and line out ports sound fuzzy. Oddly enough, the fuzziness is much more prevalent when powered through the AC adapter. I popped the player open and located two leaky capacitors. Unfortunately, I have no idea what I need to replace them with. I've replaced caps in the past with moderate success, but a google search with the parameters listed on these caps yields no results. If someone can point me in the right direction, I would really appreciate it! Hoping to get this bad boy up to snuff.

Click to expand...
Google - ebay discman repair . There is a service centre that still repairs discmans. They will change all the capacitors for about 150 dollars. When Sony manufactured D-303s in the early 1990s the projected lifetime of these players was only a few years; the new models were coming at the speed of one for every few months. At that time nobody could have known that D-303 would end up being one of the best portable CD players in history. Of the more than 1000 different models ever manufactured. D-303 ranks in the very top 10 'discmans' ever made. The capacitors degrade as they age, whether the discman is used or not, as they age the sound quality goes down. 20 plus years after being put to an audio work they have to be changed. The sled/rail assembly will have to be cleaned as well and re-lubricated again. The audio signal processing have to be checked and re-calibrated. Doing all this will improve the sound quality. Call them and ask for the surface mount [SMD]capacitors to be replaced. Your D-303 will then have about another 10 plus years of life, even 15 with a careful use, before another reconditioning.
 
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