Marantz CD-74 - repair / mods / general questions - StrautC

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Marantz CD-74 - repair / mods / general questions

Please bear with me as I explain my situation... this post might end up being rather long.
I have a Marantz CD-74 onhand that my father has owned since it was new. It has trouble reading discs now, and I believe the laser assembly has gone bad. With all of the recent improvements to clocks and DACs, I imagine that this player can't hold a candle to modern players, but it is built like a tank. It makes my Marantz CD-67SE feel like a Fischer Price toy.
Now, if I could get the laser assembly repaired, this thing would probably make a damn fine transport and an excellent digital solution if connected to a modern DAC. The only problem is that the CD-74 does not have a digital output. I've done a little research, and its big brother, the CD-84, did have a digital output. In fact, I think that's the primary feature that differentiated the two, but information is scarce so I could be incorrect. This theory is bolstered by the fact that this CD-74 has a single extra RCA jack on the back labeled NC, which the manual simply describes as an output that is "Not connected and should not be used." I opened up the unit and the output is indeed not connected, but I get the feeling that this is used for a coaxial digital output on the CD-84. I'm thinking that Marantz probably used the same circuitry in the 74 and 84, and just didn't connect the output in the 74 model - it certainly would have been cheaper for them to do it that way. It's clear that they used the same chassis for both, hence the "NC" jack on the rear of the 74. Question is, did they do this with the internals as well?
So, basically what we're talking about is repairing the laser and then retrofitting a digital output into this thing.
Now, here comes the questions for those of you who probably know a lot more about this than I do:
1. Can I get a replacement laser assembly for this thing anywhere? I get the feeling this is a Phillips CDM-1 transport. I don't know for sure, as it's not clearly marked. I just know that the transport in my CD-74 is an all-metal, extremely study design, and that the CD-74's bigger brother, the CD-94, did in fact use the CDM-1, which was also used in the Wadia WT3200.
2. Could the "NC" jack on the back become a coaxial digital output? Would it just be a matter of tapping it in wherever the CD-84 got its digital output, or do you think they used separate boards, cut traces, etc to differentiate the CD-74 and 84?
3. Any idea where I could get a service manual for the unit?
4. Is there someone out there who would actually do work like this, or someone who would discuss it with me?
5. Am I crazy?
I like tinkering with electronics, and I'd rather not throw this player away when I might be able to turn it into something very useful. Any info you can provide about this unit in general, or my questions in particular, would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Chris

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Topic - Marantz CD-74 - repair / mods / general questions - StrautC 13:31:30 11/17/03 (1)

I think I have to disappoint you - René R 02:15:25 11/18/03 (0)

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