I’ve learned a lot from these forums but this is my first post.
I have a PWT that is on its third drive and I’m trying to figure out what to do. PSA has been great about servicing my unit and more than fair considering that it is out of warranty. I’m sure my situation is unusual.
I bought the unit new but apparently it was several years old when I got it. I bought it in March 2019. The first drive lasted about 15 months and PSA replaced it. The second drive lasted about 7 months and PSA replaced that one too. I just received my PWT last week from Colorado with the third drive and already it appears that it is acting up. When I open the drawer it doesn’t open smoothly - it starts out fast, then slows down, and then speeds up again before it opens all the way. This started happening literally on the 3rd CD I played through it. The two previous drives also exhibited this behavior before they failed (drawer finally wouldn’t open at all). I play an average of 5 to 15 CDs a week on the unit. The two previous drives wouldn’t close sometimes so I would have to give them a push or jiggle the tray. This drive doesn’t do that yet but we’ll have to see if it starts.
Right now the drive is working but I’m worried that it will fail soon. PSA told me that for subsequent drives they would charge $500 and guarantee the drive for a year (they don’t sell the parts anymore). If this drive fails I don’t think I would spend $500 to fix it because I don’t have confidence that it would last over a year. FWIW I really like this piece of gear. I’m using it with a PWD Mk II and I was hoping that it might be the last CD player I ever buy. However, I can’t see spending $500/year to keep it going.
So here are my questions:
- Has anyone heard of a problem like this with the PWT?
- When I got the drive fixed the first time I was informed by PSA that this unit was “B Stock” and only had a one year warranty. I was not informed of that by the dealer when I bought it (obviously I won’t be doing business with that dealer again). Could there be some reason why a B Stock unit would be having these problems? Did B Stock include inferior parts?
- Could there be something I’m doing to cause this problem? The unit is on an audio rack in a non smoking home at regular room temperature. I have 2 other CD players that are 10+ years old and they are still using their original drives. One of them has literally played thousands of CDs without a problem.
- I can buy a used PWT in very good condition for around $1200. If I did that would I be more likely to end up with a transport that worked for many years? Is this a case where the older parts were better quality than the newer parts?
- What is the average life of the drive in a PWT?
Thanks for any help or insight you can give.