Mike Lindsey Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 That would be the Rega Planet for you wise guys out there. This thing just loves to skip and I'm not quite sure what to do. It's generally above 100db (100 - 105) during some loud bass passages when it happens, but it's very annoying. My turntable doesn't even skip at that volume with the Daruma Roller Balls underneath it. First off, let me say I really like the sound this thing produces. Certainly more warmer than my Panasonic DVD player. I have it plugged into the tape input on my Scott 299 and it is dead silent with the volume turned all the way up. It has a very quiet noise floor and sounds more natural than my Panny. Now to the problem. My equipment is sitting in a 8 foot custom oak wall cabinet made by the previous owner of the house. It has 5 shelves, and my Scott and Rega are on one shelf, with the TT directly on the shelf above. Each shelf is separated by 18" and they are made of 3/4" plywood with oak veneer. My right La Scala is no more than 1/4" away from the wall unit and the CD player is no more than 6 inches from the same speaker. The Planet is known for its VCS (Viscous Coupled System) foot system, which eradicates the need for a suspension, while also reducing error correction. Nevertheless, I also tried the Roller Balls and it still skipped. Last but not least, I just finished bringing in three 12" x 12" paving blocks which weigh 20 lbs each, and placed those on the shelf and then put the Rega on top. It's still skipping. Anybody got any ideas? Thanks, Mike This message has been edited by Mike Lindsey on 08-22-2002 at 02:33 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 It doesn't skip at lower volumes? I have never had a problem with a CDP skipping, but I did like the sound of my Ah! Tjoeb when I placed a weight (ziplock bag full of sand) on top of it. You might try some weight on top instead of underneath your Rega. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 Mike, Does it skip or shut off? Mine statred to either play for a couple minutes and then would quit and the display would say no disk or no sound was coming out but the display was still counting. If I skipped to the next song it would play for awhile. I thought it might be because I was palying my system to loud, but I turned the volume all the down and it still screwed up. I put my old Onkyo on and played it as loud as I wanted with no problems. I'm taking it back to the dealer to get it looked at. I would like to try the sand trick, but with the lid in the way it's going to be tricky. Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted August 22, 2002 Author Share Posted August 22, 2002 Mine just plays the same note over and over until I turn the volume down, and then it continues. Sometimes tho, it will just go silent and then continue a couple of seconds later. It doesn't do any of this at normal or quiet volumes. Well, I won't say normal because normal for me is 95db plus. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@silverfox@ Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 mike try some coushen foan spounge under it, and also a penny or a coin on the head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted August 22, 2002 Author Share Posted August 22, 2002 Silverfox, Are you confusing my Rega Planet with a turntable? If so, this a CD player. I probably should have been more specific 'cause not everyone is familiar with the models. If not, please excuse my ignorance. What head should the coin be stuck to? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 Its the stand and the fact that the Rega has no suspension. You really need a good stand or some separation from the Speaker. You could try several options like a sand filled concoction. Try the footers underneath it as well. Really you shouldnt have your equipment so near your speaker and a wood stand like you describe is notoriously bad. But I imagine you can remedy the situation with a little thought. For what it's worth, I had the same problem when I turned the EICO up to ear splitting levels in my little room, and this even with a dedicated stand. I had to put other devices under the Planet when I went to this level. I'll do some thinging on the least expensive option or tweak. kh This message has been edited by mobile homeless on 08-22-2002 at 04:11 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted August 22, 2002 Author Share Posted August 22, 2002 Well, right now I've got a 1 gallon container of Distilled Water sitting on top of it. It seems to be working for the moment, but I'm sure it doesn't measure up when you consider the ASSHAT factor. Mike This message has been edited by Mike Lindsey on 08-22-2002 at 04:16 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 Mike, This is crazy. Mine never gave me any trouble when I had the Heresy's. I hooked up my KLF20's and I started having trouble's. Now with the Lascala's it's also causing problems. I put a half of glass of water on the shelf that the Rega is on and I saw no ripples in the glass. Besides this little problem how do you like the Rega? The sound to me is so warm and clean. I hooked up my Onkyo last night and it sounded so cold and harsh (kinda like an ex-wife). I am using a Flexy stand. My speakers are 2.5 feet on each side of the stand. This is going to be just like there is no difference between wire. I will say it, there is a big difference between CD players. danny This message has been edited by dbflash on 08-22-2002 at 04:27 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@silverfox@ Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 My humble apoligy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted August 22, 2002 Author Share Posted August 22, 2002 Danny, The Weight on top doesn't seem to work either. What actually happens is the CD jumps back anywhere from 3 - 10 seconds and continues playing. If I don't turn the volume down, it will get in a loop at the exact same place and continue to skip back. As soon as I turn the volume down, it continues forward. I have never had a problem with my Panasonic DVD player at any volume, so I don't know what to say here. It is stacked on top of a couple of other pieces and then my ICBM is on top of that (weighs about 3 lbs)... I guess I could just turn the damn volume down... Mike This message has been edited by Mike Lindsey on 08-22-2002 at 05:02 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 Mike, If the 8 pounds of water sitting on top of your player solves the problem, when nothing else did, I'd think the problem is not with the suspension, but rather that the player itself is vibrating due to the SPL you're generating. That being the case, you could sit the thing on carbon fiber cones sitting on a 500 pound block of granite and it wouldn't solve the problem. You need to dampen the chassis, not isolate it from the support. The gallon of water is going that. Okay. I can think of a few other ways to do this. 1) Get a block of something heavy and nice looking (marble, corian) about the same size as the top of the player, put a sheet of sorbothane on top of the planet, and plop the heavy thingie on top of that. 2) Get a VPI Brick or larger $hackti $tone or similar audiophile widget and plop it on top of the player. 3) Take the top of the player off, and line the lower surface of the top (uh, the inside of the top?) with something like Dynamat. (This has the downside of not being removeable if it doesn't work.) 4) Use an approach like the Micheal Green ClampRack. Before trying 1 or 2, I'd get a big rock out of the yard and try that to see if it works as well as the water. Ray ------------------ Music is art Audio is engineering Ray's Music System Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prana-Bindu Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 I suspect it takes different frequencies and higher volumes to make the water ripple than it would take for the Planet to pick up and reverberate vibrations. There are many solutions: Click here for one such solution You can place a sand bag (large ziplock) underneath and one above the player. You can try Sorbothane feet, or cones, or bearings, or a combination of these separated by a platform (MDF, e.g.). It would help to have to levels of vibration control: one for larger vibrations, and another for micro-vibration. Perhaps the Planet is in a section of the room with a peak in the right frequency to get it skipping? When I had wooden floors, my cd player would skip if I tiptoed 40 feet away from the stereo. After building a sandbox on racquetball halves, I could do jumping jacks next to the equipment without a skip. I think you'll be impressed by the results in the playback after adding damping and maybe some coupling as well (darker background, more detail, better resolution, cleaner bass, soundstage and imaging benefits as well). Good luck tweaking! ------------------ May the bridges we burn light our way.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 The biggest problem with setting objects on top of the Rega is that's where its CD loading mechanism is...it has a pop-up thingy instead of the more common drawer that slides in and out. Larger objects placed on top interfere with the insertion/ejection of CD's. This post was meant for the folks who weren't familiar with the loading mechanism of the Rega...not for Mike as he already knows This message has been edited by edster00 on 08-22-2002 at 06:22 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 I would not do the water thing for a variety of reasons. And dampening the chassis is a no go since the Rega has the most dampened chassis I know of. Listen, the player has NO SUSPENSION (it is a top loader and the spindle is SOLID with not floating tray - this is one of the things that makes it GREAT but can be bad if you have a bad stand, rack, and your speaker is sitting in its lap} but the feet so if your rack is a mess and the speaker is inches from it, you are getting problems that are not that mysterious. Btw, dont ever touch the laser mechanism either. If someone did this in the past, there will be problems. Also, if it receieved some seriuos shocks while shipping, well...that is not too lovely either. Also, I would NOT open this chassis as it is unlike just about any CD player chassis you have dealt with, surely not typcial of the average Sony amongst this place. Short of moving the speaker, you are going to have to play with the stand and the various means of isolation. kh This message has been edited by mobile homeless on 08-22-2002 at 05:03 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted August 22, 2002 Author Share Posted August 22, 2002 I moved the speakers about 4 or 5 inches away from the stand (that's as far as they will go) and still no dice. I must say, I am very happy with the sound but this is very disppointing. I cannot change my rack unfortunately, so I guess I will have to live with this. I am attaching a picture of my wall units even though it is an old picture. My La Scala's are in the same place where the Chorus's once were, and my Scott and Rega are on the 2nd shelf of the right wall unit, just above the albums. The Scott is on the left side of the shelf and the Rega is on the right, closer to the speaker. Here is the pic... Mike This message has been edited by Mike Lindsey on 08-22-2002 at 05:18 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 Mike it abslutely sounds like you need to isolate or move the Planet. Just to make sure before investing in any expensive isolation methods...why don't you do what silverfox suggested, find some foam and place it under just to see if isolation stops the problem? then you can spend on the nice looking isolation stuff. I have used some meium density foam padding under my equipment and it works, ugly yes, but it works an inch or so thickness should do it...good luck, let us know what happens, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted August 22, 2002 Author Share Posted August 22, 2002 What kind of foam are we talking about and where can I get it? Thanks, Mike Edit: Just so you know, it has only happened on 2 CD's so far and it has to be pretty darn loud to boot. I'm talking 105db here. That's really loud in my room. I would suspect, that's pretty loud in almost any room. I can probably get by listening at 100db but I really like to let loose once in a while. BTW, I just got done listening to Kind of Blue on the Planet. Absolutely breathtaking! Coltrane is sitting here playing in my living room, I kid you not. I know I've mentioned it before but this CD just always does it for me. It seems to take me to a higher place. This message has been edited by Mike Lindsey on 08-22-2002 at 05:51 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 I had posted something along these lines elsewhere but let me suggest an experiment. My theory is that putting some springy device under the player is just going to allow it to move more. It is going to have some resonant frequency given the mass of the player and the "spring". Let me suggest you get some tennis balls or racquet balls. The latter make a bit more sense to me intuitively. Cut two in half so you have four pieces. You can try them directly under the CD player. That might not work. Instead, put them under the component below the CD player. The added mass will lower the resonant frequency of the pair. Finally, is that a center channel speaker on the shelf above? It could be part of the problem. As a third experiment, use two more half racquet balls under it. By the way, have you tried moving the CD player off the rack and on to the floor, just to make sure the problem is vibration into the CD player? Let us know. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted August 22, 2002 Share Posted August 22, 2002 What is the floor made of under the speakers and wood rack? Just wondering whether or not the vibration is coming through the floor or through the air. I am on a concrete slab in the sub level family room. Some vibration can be felt from the sub but it is minimal. Your structure of the equipment rack is pretty but perhaps a little slight. The AQ feet are very effective under my CD changer; the feet sit on top of the MSB DAC. It is always tough to get the sources away from the speakers. AQ feet are expensive; it would be intersting if someone has had equivilant performance from the Vibrapods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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