Master Tasuke
Journeyman
thought i'd start a dedicated thread on how to enable the vintage classic PIONEER ELITE series
PD-91, PIONEER's very first ELITE series CDP, to more reliably read CD-Rs.
((NOTE; the PD-91 is a notoriously finicky CDP in regards to CD-Rs, and, even after this adjustment, it can be rather crotchety about them, apparently due to CD-R brand/reflectivity/CD Burner/ETC. as such, while this adjustment IS absolutely beneficial to the PD-91's CD-R read tolerances, it IS NOT, unfortunately, a cure-all that will enable the player to read everything you throw at it. in fact, the player will often take 30secs./1min. to read the TOC, and/or sync to a track and begin play,
on many CD-Rs. others, it will read just fine, usually taking just a wee bit longer to sync up than it would reading a garden variety Redbook factory CD. in fact, this adjustment speeds up the players
handling of factory CDs, to the degree where the player will nominally read TOC and/or begin playback in less than a 1/2 second. just remember that this is a fussy machine, for whatever reason, with homegrown CD-Rs, and that your personal mileage will most likely vary with your copy
of this magnificent, yet temperamental machine...))
- PD-91, with top aluminum panel removed -
((NOTE, unless you have modded this player as i have, and bummed the alum top plate from
from either the Japanese market PD-3000, or -5000, or from the U.S. PD-93,
then your U.S. and/or EURO/WORLD version PD-91 will require removal
of 16 screws, both rosewood panels, and the pressed sheet metal top bonnet
in order to gain access to the player interior))
now then. there is a series of Variable Potentiometers on the section of PCB directly aft
of the disc transport cage/assy;
there are only TWO of these that you want to mess around with.
VR-3 and VR-4, FOCUS GAIN and TRACKING GAIN, respectively.
BOTH are located at the far right, right beside the black-anodized heatsink
vertically mounted on the central stay/DIGITAL section shield;
you will want to adjust these, counter-clockwise, to the positions shown
in that photo directly above.
do this, while attempting to play a CD-R. it should sync/read the disc at those positions
illustrated above. if not, then load another CD-R until it is successfully read.
further adjustment MAY be necessary, if your 91's laser pick-up is tiring out.
in fact, if it is too heavily worn, it may not read ANY CD-R, even if it still spins
factory discs just fine. as always, your personal mileage may vary.
also, please bear in mind that i am NOT a skilled Technician.
i have no electronic service education whatsoever, and this advice is wholly based
on my limited personal self-taught experience.
that said, someone reading this out there just might know how to dial this player
in for smooth CD-R operation better then i do, and may have had better success with it than
me. if that person is out there, then, please, by all means, contribute to this thread...
PD-91, PIONEER's very first ELITE series CDP, to more reliably read CD-Rs.
((NOTE; the PD-91 is a notoriously finicky CDP in regards to CD-Rs, and, even after this adjustment, it can be rather crotchety about them, apparently due to CD-R brand/reflectivity/CD Burner/ETC. as such, while this adjustment IS absolutely beneficial to the PD-91's CD-R read tolerances, it IS NOT, unfortunately, a cure-all that will enable the player to read everything you throw at it. in fact, the player will often take 30secs./1min. to read the TOC, and/or sync to a track and begin play,
on many CD-Rs. others, it will read just fine, usually taking just a wee bit longer to sync up than it would reading a garden variety Redbook factory CD. in fact, this adjustment speeds up the players
handling of factory CDs, to the degree where the player will nominally read TOC and/or begin playback in less than a 1/2 second. just remember that this is a fussy machine, for whatever reason, with homegrown CD-Rs, and that your personal mileage will most likely vary with your copy
of this magnificent, yet temperamental machine...))
- PD-91, with top aluminum panel removed -
((NOTE, unless you have modded this player as i have, and bummed the alum top plate from
from either the Japanese market PD-3000, or -5000, or from the U.S. PD-93,
then your U.S. and/or EURO/WORLD version PD-91 will require removal
of 16 screws, both rosewood panels, and the pressed sheet metal top bonnet
in order to gain access to the player interior))
now then. there is a series of Variable Potentiometers on the section of PCB directly aft
of the disc transport cage/assy;
there are only TWO of these that you want to mess around with.
VR-3 and VR-4, FOCUS GAIN and TRACKING GAIN, respectively.
BOTH are located at the far right, right beside the black-anodized heatsink
vertically mounted on the central stay/DIGITAL section shield;
you will want to adjust these, counter-clockwise, to the positions shown
in that photo directly above.
do this, while attempting to play a CD-R. it should sync/read the disc at those positions
illustrated above. if not, then load another CD-R until it is successfully read.
further adjustment MAY be necessary, if your 91's laser pick-up is tiring out.
in fact, if it is too heavily worn, it may not read ANY CD-R, even if it still spins
factory discs just fine. as always, your personal mileage may vary.
also, please bear in mind that i am NOT a skilled Technician.
i have no electronic service education whatsoever, and this advice is wholly based
on my limited personal self-taught experience.
that said, someone reading this out there just might know how to dial this player
in for smooth CD-R operation better then i do, and may have had better success with it than
me. if that person is out there, then, please, by all means, contribute to this thread...
