My Pioneer makes noise! (1 Viewer)

[Jonathan W]

While watching THE CONVERSATION, my player is silent and well behaved until the last four minutes of the movie, whereupon the machine itself starts to get louder with a mechanical grinding noise. I've read how others here know about how noisy DVD players can get. Why do these machines - especially one as respected at the Pioneer - get noisy when playing certain sections of a disk?

 

[Jeff_A]

Which model?

 

[Barry_B_B]

I have two Pioneers, the 525 (?) and 333, both are rather noisy but its constant, does not vary in level. Maybe some dirt/dust in yours?

 

[Kevin P]

Noise can vary during DVD playback depending on the position of the laser pickup and the condition of the disc. The disc spins faster when the pickup is near the hub and slower when it's near the edge. Also, a warped or otherwise damaged or out-of-spec disc could cause added noise as the pickup and drive motor has to compensate, especially near the outer part of the disc.

Pioneers also tend to be a bit noisier in terms of disc spin noise than the competition.

KJP

 

[Steve Owen]

Yes, that's probably my one complaint about my Pioneer 5-DVD changer (525 I think)... it's a bit loud especially when it's a very quiet passage in the movie.

-Steve

 

[Jonathan W]

Thanks for the insights, folks. Yeah, I have the Pioneer 525 and it is, overall, a great machine. The noise only makes a difference in cases like THE CONVERSATION where silent sequences play a huge role in the dramatic impact of the film. As far as dust or dirt, my player is typically just slightly noisy, while often being completely silent. Only on a few disks do I notice the noise, so I guess I chalk that up to the condition of the disk. My copy of THE CONVERSATION, however, is brand new. It doesn't look warped and I would guess that it is processed per regulations. If a disk is slightly warped, I think it is really hard to tell.

BTW - which way does the laser read the disk: from the outer edge to the inner hub, or from the inner hub towards the outer edge?

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I know that CDs are read from center to edge. Good question re: DVDs!

 

[Mike_Ch]

Jonathan,
The lower-end Pioneer's are notorious over here for transport noise. I've got the 535, and its especially noticable when switching menu's etc. I don't notice it however because its behind a glass cabinet
Cheers,
Mike

 

[ScottR]

I have had to exchange Roots several times, but not because of noise. But I have noticed that there is noise in different places on each copy that I have. I have noticed that Warner discs get noisy in certain parts moreso that others. I have a Panasonic A310. I wonder if it is my player. Surely not every copy of Roots would have this problem in different spots. Maybe I should try it on someone else's player to see if it gets loud in the same part of the film.

 

[Kevin P]

I know that CDs are read from center to edge. Good question re: DVDs!

DVDs are the same way, center to edge. On RSDL dual-layer discs, the 1st layer is center to edge; 2nd layer is edge to center, so the laser doesn't have to seek back to the center during the layer change.

Laserdiscs are also read center to edge.

KJP