[grsimmon]

I have a couple of older California Audio Labs cd players that I love,  use regularly, and plan on holding onto for audio eternity.  The company is out of business,  and there is only 1 service provider in the US that I am aware of  ,   so I have an interest in maintaining the longevity of the electronic innards of these units.   

I have always heard that "heat is the ultimate enemy"  for electronics equipment in general.  These CAL players have sealed casings,  no vents.  I am considering drilling small holes in the casing sides next to the capacitors / power supplies to facilitate heat venting,  with the hopes of increasing pc board / capacitor / wiring longevity.   But what about dust?   So my question is,  which one will do more harm in the long run,  the heat if I leave things as they are,  or the dust if I open up holes?     Any ideas,  suggestions, etc.  are gladly welcome and appreciated. 

My apologies if this is posted in the wrong place,  not sure where else to put it.

[ctviggen]

I wouldn't drill holes in it.  Heat management is a complex subject, but I would assume that if they don't have holes now, they're not supposed to have holes.  Heat is supposed to go from the inside to the outside using whatever heat management techniques the engineers decided to use.  If they over engineered the heat management system (or engineered it correctly), no benefit would occur from drilling holes.  In fact, holes could lessen the effect of the current heat management system. 

[BobM]

I agree - don't mess with the casings. But I also don't think you have to worry too much about heat in a CD player, unless there's a tube inside.

Do you have an enclosed cabinet or an open rack? If they are in a cabinet then leave the door open when on, or install a small fan to blow over the tops of your equipment and circulate air. You don't need a lot of air flow, just enough to move it around.

Enjoy,
Bob

[WGH]

...there is only 1 service provider in the US that I am aware of 

You can also try Paul Walker for CAL repairs, he used to work for them.

Walker Electronics
15560 N. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd.
Suite B4-223
Scottsdale, AZ  85260
602-437-2516
wztronics@yahoo.com

[grsimmon]

Thanks to all for your comments - the casings will remain untouched!  Big thanks for the repair contact in AZ,   that just potentially doubled my options. 

[art]

HEAT!

I hope you are aware that the laser diodes in those things have a definite lifetime expectancy. The rest of the player may last forever, but they won't.

How long? Dunno. But once the laser starts to wear out, there is no hope for it.

(I bought several for the players that we made. Still new in the box, just in case. Hey, when we charged $2500 for a player.........1990 dollars..........we hoped that they would last a long time, but made plans for the day that some died. None have, so they may still be there when we retire. We shall see.........)

Pat