Find replacement for MHZS CD33E PCB board

I know a place in China where I can get this board. I got one spare for myself as I ruined the first one. It is NOT CHEAP. The board with all the parts on cost Yen $ 900! Almost half the price of the CD player.

Do you know how to type Chinese? If so, you can send me an email. I can refer you to a Chinese guy. He should be able to get you a replacement and mail it to you in Singapore.

CAT

I don't know how much you paid for your CD33e. Mine was HK$ 1,800 only and I used it mainly as my first DIY project in modification. As an experimental CD player, the additional Yen $900 I paid is acceptable in my opinion.

My experience with this CD33 player is that it is not very stable. Most of the friends I know having this player got problem with the CD Tray after 1 year or so. Either it won't open (and you need to press the eject button several times to have the job done) or it won't read (in that case you have to eject the CD and put it back again).

If I were you, I will make my decision based on 1) How much did I pay for it and 2) How long have I been using it. If I have been using it for 1 year, I would suspect problem(s) is / are coming and I would rather sell it off.

If you really want to have the board, I can check for you the price of it (it is the Analog output board, right?). It will be better for you to send me a photo of that board to avoid mistake. I will probably go back to the Mainland before Aug 20. If the price is okay with you, you have to transfer me the money before I can get it for you. I will estimate the shipping cost for you as well. I am sure HK Postal Service is FAR BETTER than the China Post.

CAT

No, no ... Am I mistaken or you? Yen = RMB = Chinese dollars.

100HK$ = around 88Yen only! And I think $ 1 Singapore = around $ 4 Hong Kong. That means the board with all the components = $250 Singapore dollars!

You can send me email through here. The version of the board you posted is an OLD version. I think they have NEW version for the 33e.
Mine is called CD33, without the "e".

CAT

Spells,

Can you describe what is the problem with your CD33? I think there are should be some people here who can help.

At least KK Ho mentioned here a critical problem of CD 66 .... maybe we can offer help as well so that you don't need to throw away your CD player.

CAT

Hi Spells,

You see, lots of good friends around here to help you out! :wink:

Long time no see VIEWER!

Can you give us more details .... distorted = ? High frequency or all frequencies? Any NOISE, like Wooo... or hum? Do you know how to use a Mult-meter?

Check this thread out:

http://www.hififever.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=952&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=725

You may want to go back one or two pages as well. Lots of information from Koifarm, t and others in helping me out to fix my CD33 in the past.

If you are not a DIYer ... then perhaps you just give it up until you can find someone who can help you out.

CAT

Spells,

Frankly speaking, I think your situation is not that desperate, ha..ha..

But if you are not a DIYer, I cannot say, to urge you to take dangerous steps to try to fix your CD player.

As you said, sometimes there is NO sound coming out .... it would suggest a poor contact, soldering, etc. As the machine gets warm, the problem surfaces.

CAT

Dear Viewer,

Really LONG TIME NO SEE la. I thought you might be busy these days as the market is much better than 2 years ago.

I am not an expert, ha...ha... far from it. Still learning from people like you around here.

Not much DIY after fixing the Cary KT-88 amp. I did install a pair of TAMURA Input Transformer for my computer boss into the Marantz 7C I first made. The sound stage improved quite some.

However, I do have a lot of new toys. I changed my speakers to Castle Conway 3 Floor Standing. The Bass is more solid now. I sold my Antique Sound Lab AV-25 out and got an Audio Research VT-60SE. I got a CEC DAC DX70MKII and will pick up the CEC Belt Drive CD Transport later this weekend. Practically, I changed EVERYTHING!  :

Will send you a photo or so after everything settled.

I am selling my CAYIN 17A out. Any interest?

CAT

Dear WINDWSS,

Ha..ha... let's see who else will surface. CD33 really brings lots of old friends together. Unfortunately, our Western friends like t, Koifarm, KiKo and Blair no longer join us here.

WINDWSS, if you knock on the pre-amp casing and the noise "din din" I suppose comes out, I would strongly suggest you to check the grounding. My colleague pre-amp got the same problem. He purchased it from a local DIY guy who has been selling Pre-amp, amp, etc. at HiFiFever and Review33 as well. Finally, my other colleague fixed it for him as the problem arise from a grounding problem with the volume switch.

I will have to check with my China friend on this CD33 tray problem. So far, almost everyone who got this CD Player has this problem one year after their purchase. I will see what he has to suggest. For my case, it is not an overheating problem as the problem exists even when the CD just starts up.

I think Spells is not a DIYer. Maybe we suggest him to use the CD33 as a plain transport.

CAT

Spells,

The CD33 won't sound good if you don't modify it.

The first and most important stage, like KK Ho here said, is the power supply. With a good and steady supply of power, the electronics then work well.

You haven't tell us whether you know how to Do It Yourself (you a DIY guy or not?). As a transport, the CD33 is not very good, the CD is just a cheap SONY model.

CAT

WINDWSS,

Do this experiment.

Turn on the Pre-amp, turn on the Power Amp. Get a metallic object like pen, screwdriver. Knock on the CASING of the Pre-amp with the tip of the metallic object. Even with the volume = off, you can hear the "din din" sound through the speaker. The CASING is like a MIC, pick up the noise made by the small "tap" from the metallic object and then transfer it to the rest of the system.

This happens to a lot of CHEAP Chinese Amp. You don't hear the "deee.... deee...." sound when you turn them on. Yet, you knock on the case, the noise comes out magnified. If I still remember it right, this can ALSO be a grounding problem. I think I have a DVD segment on this, give me some time to see if I can dig it up for you.


CAT

Dear Spells,

It is always hard if you don't have anyone by your side.

I started DIY just last April. I am an Economist and I never got the chance to learn Electronics. Lucky for me, I have colleagues who do DIY and I also have people who knows Physics beside me.

The job gets easy when you have PEERS! :wink:  I have been a teacher for over 20 years and this is what I learned from observing my students with their studies.

If you would like to learn more on DIY, join some courses in Singapore. Elementary ones will do. And the most important thing is, get someone you can share your ideas / products with.

CAT

Dear WINDWSS,

Sorry, my poor memory. I double checked the DVD segment. The noise should come out if you tap on the chasis / casing. Will it come out when you tap the Transformer or the Vacuum Tube?

This should be a problem of Microphonics. Could have a couple of causes; the casing, the socket, the transformer or even the tubes.

CAT

Dear WINDWSS,

I will ask to see if someone got the answer to this problem. Actually, the DVD I got should provide solution as the presenter demonstrated it. However, I really HATE to watch that DVD. It was taken by an amatuer, shaking left and right, panning here and there every two seconds. Watching it makes me nausea and want to vomit .... :cry:  

No kidding.

CAT

Dear WINDWSS,

That's good news.

I will try to see if I can watch that DVD of mine with a smaller screen. I hope in this way I won't feel sick that easily.

CAT

It is okay. I paid for that DVD .. ha..ha.. Anyway, I want to learn something too.

Hi Superwhite,

I intended to bring the Power Supply PCB  back to Mainland for their inspection yesterday. But as I have posted in another thread, the plaze is under heavy renovation and won't be opened until end of Sept.

Will see what had probably caused the problem of "No Disc" and other issues from the CD33.

CAT

Dear WINDWSS,

I tried to clean those contact points using Contact Cleaner already. The problem seems to go away for the first few times. Later, it won't work any more. I double the cable problem .....

CAT

WINDWSS,

Yes, I have more than one contact cleaner. However, they are all liquid type.

I sold the CD 33 out as spare parts to Koifarm in Netherlands. I hope he can make use of the spare parts to help his fellows there.

True .... if you are having no trouble with it, DON'T open it. My advice to all who wants to modify these players as well --- Plan and Do ALL modification in ONE pass. The PCB can't withstand too many soldering and de-soldering. Not to mention pulling the cables in and out.

I am VERY pleased with the CEC Belt Drive CD. Very nice indeed.

CAT

WINDWSS,

I am not sure whether you can match any DIY CD Transport with the DAC board of the CD33.

The CDM9 and the Pro 2 should be pretty good transports. I haven't compare them with my CEC belt drive.

For the DAC part, I have listened to High Grade 1541 chip set DAC and the heavily modified Lite DAC 60 by Accphoto. We compared the two side by side. They give different tastes. Personally, I prefer the Lite DAC-60 more.

BTW, I dropped you an email. Please check your usual address.

CAT

The last time I listen to this 1541, we were playing female vocal, jazz like stuffs. It was very nice compared with the DAC-60.

But for other aspects, it is not that good. Details, Bass .... seems to me I like the DAC-60 (modified) more.

Still wondering whether I should sell my CEC DAC ... ha..ha.. Afterall, Tube components got lots of modification that we can do.

CAT