Teeth on Arcam Diva CD players [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

PDA

View Full Version : Teeth on Arcam Diva CD players



board
11-14-2013, 02:57 PM
I have an Arcam Alpha 6 CD player, and the teeth on the wheel that loads the tray has broken off. It will probably be almost as expensive to repair it as buying another player (used).
I've been looking at another Arcam CD player but from their Diva series. Does anybody know if the Diva series also has the problem with the broken teeth (which seemed to be a problem on the entire Alpha series)?

Mr Peabody
11-14-2013, 05:05 PM
The Alpha 6 has lived a nice long life if this is the first issue you've had. I am not aware of any inherent issues with the Arcam drive system. I used to have an Alpha 9 and one of the members has had one for years and still may have it. The Arcam players sound great. If you want to take it up a notch look for a used T+A "CD Player", the sound is similar to Arcam but better in most aspects. I used the T+A for a few years before moving to my current player.

board
12-02-2013, 10:23 AM
Thanks for your suggestion, but I managed to find a new wheel. Maybe I'm too used to German or Japanese quality equipment, but I did find it quite obnoxious that I had this problem with the player. I might have had it replaced before, actually.
In another forum a guy told me that this was a problem for the entire Philips CDM9 transport, which is used in the Arcam player (he had the same problem in a Rotel player). I've read other accounts of broken teeth with the Alpha players here on Audioreview, so Arcam probably used this transport on their entire Alpha series. From what I've found out, the Diva series uses a Sony transport, so maybe that has better teeth.
I don't know if I will upgrade my CD player at some point. I had never heard about T+A before but it does seem very expensive. I don't think I can even buy that brand in my country, but I might audition some CD players at some point.

Mr Peabody
12-02-2013, 11:56 AM
Now that you mention it I do remember a big issue with several brands using the Phillips disc drive, however, for some reason I didn't realize Arcam was one of them. Glad you were able to find your part.