Possible problem with a CD changer

[philharve]

Hi All

I have a 10-stack, Compact Disc changer fitted into the boot of my car, bolted beneath the parcel shelf so that it does not obstruct items being placed on the boot floor. It's a Sony CDX-727.

Inside the car is a top-of-the-range Sony FM/MW/LW Cassette Car Stereo, XR-C5300 series.

I tested it for the first time yesterday and noticed that when the CD changer is selected it only plays through the righthand car speakers. This may be due to a fault or an incorrect setting.

I think the problem is not with the radio-cassette unit because all speakers are active when the radio-cassette is in operation. However, there may be an option in the radio-cassette unit that selects either the left or right channels, or both. If there is, I have yet to discover how to select both channels when the CD is selected. The manual is not much help.

It did occur to me that there may be a disconnection in the wiring between the CD changer and the radio-cassette but finding it may be difficult because all the wiring has been professionally plumbed in and I don't know how to remove the radio-cassette. It may be that the left channel has become unplugged.

Of course, one of the channels out of the CD changer may be faulty in which case a repair is necessary.

Being an optimist I tend to suspect it's a setting problem but I don't know whether it lies with the CD changer or the radio-cassette. If it's a fault then I tend to think it will be electronic - blown output stage - rather than mechanical like a wire break. If it's a wire break then I'll have to replace the interconnect wiring.

Are there any members who have experienced a similar problem? What is most likely to be the cause of the problem?

REGARDS Phil

 

[LANDR0VER]

Is this only occuring when the unit is switched to the cd????

 

[philharve]

Hi LANDROVER

Yes.

REGARDS Phil

 

[LANDR0VER]

If your radio works on all speakers i would check the connections at the head unit and at the changer,it is very unlikely that the problem is in the cables.

 

[philharve]

Hi LANDROVER

Thanks.

 

[marshie001]

cd changer

i would check the changer end first (easiest to get to), it should have two phono leads one red one white, this is what carries the sound to the head unit you probably have one loose or knocked out, if you dont find it then check the same wires at the head unit end!

 

[philharve]

Mystery solved!

Hi All

There were TWO faults, one tending to mask the other.

There was a loose phono connector on the reverse/back of the changer unit. It only required pushing the plug fully home to make a good connection. The loose fit would probably result in an intermittent audio signal on one of the channels, probably the lefthand one.

The second problem was much more devious and had to do with the LEFT-RIGHT and FRONT-BACK (speaker) balance settings, or rather how the settings are portrayed on the radio-cassette's readout which uses a row of 16-segment displays. I'll say this, the integration of analogue and digital readout is ingenious, but I feel, unnecessarily complex!

It took about 15 mintes playing with the controls of the Sony XR-C5300R before I realised how the controls were affecting the displays.

What Sony has done is to create a combined 'analogue' sound level meter/balance level control using part of the displays. These very same displays also identify, in alphanumeric form, frequency, channel name, RDS data, disc number, track number, radio-cassette status, etc. Periodically the displays seem to perform a little dance equivalent to (say) a screensaver. Having dancing segments just adds to the complexity of the readout which is too flashy for my liking.

The trick to finding the solution was recognising what the displays were indicating when the radio-cassette control buttons were operated. Once I'd spotted the 'analogue' nature of the displays the solution became obvious. Apparently, the balance controls were set by the previous owner to favour the speaker in the driver's door. Why? Who knows! Rebalancing the speakers by paying particular to the behaviour of the analogue readout solved the problem.

Maybe the previous owner never mastered setting up the radio-cassette.

You live and learn.

REGARDS Phil

 

[angus falconer]

Maybe he was deaf in the right ear. Or maybe his wife didn't like his music.

 

[philharve]

I've met the previous owner and he is retired and he is married. He also has a technical background, as do I, but sometimes these all-singing, all-dancing, hi-fi systems are just too clever and overly complex to operate. What ever happened to knobs and dials?

REGARDS Phil