bluecrab

Ah. Sad to say, that pretty much eliminates a DIY effort by me, as I am not a solderer. Thanks for the info!

It looks SO simple and easy in the photos, making me feel like I might not botch it. (My repair history with MD decks is fraught.) Let me consider it just a bit. Many thanks!

I thought that having the figurative screw loose was all but required for being here, but my E10 doesn't see the humor. 😉

Thanks. I will check. Can't have extra screws loose! 🙂

That's what I saw when I opened up the E10 yesterday. I also removed the front panel. I had two mishaps. One was that the front panel, once detached, was reluctant to go back into its original position; that is, wasn't flush. A little fiddling with it took care of the brief problem. There was a bit of a front panel issue—right around the loading slot—when I bought the deck, but the seller fixed it on the spot. The second issue was...well, after I put the lid back on, 4 screws remained. I removed the lid again, but could see no obvious places for the screws. Same for the exterior. However, save the power button, the deck's functionality is all good. In fact, the power button is now slightly better-positioned than it was, although it still doesn't work. It feels like it does have a spring, though. My evaluation of all this is that the minidisc gods want me to leave well-enough alone, and just continue to use the external switch. (I do have a friend who could easily make the repair, but that would mean either a 3.5 hour drive or shipping.) Much thanks for all your advice and willingness to help!

More than kind of you, Kevin. I will take a look inside the unit. The photos help!

Thanks! Based on your input, the look & feel, and the E10's SM, I think there is a reasonable chance that it's the spring. There could have been some kind of mishap when the deck was repaired (not by me). IIRC, that's when the issue began. Unfortunately, the repairer is not local, and I don't want to ship the unit back and forth again for this issue. It's apparently stuck in the "On" position, as supplying power to the deck turns in on immediately. I don't recall seeing a spring or anything else where it shouldn't be, but the least I can do is open it up and look again.

So what keeps the button IN and what releases it?

Good point. Right underneath my E10 is an HHB BurnIT CD-R, which does have the clunky on/off. As much as I'd like the E10's power button to work, the deck is one of the two that remain (the other being an MXD-400), and I am wary of messing much with it.

Not sure, because I cannot recall if, when it was working, whether the power button stayed depressed when pushed. (It does not do so now.) Visually I did not see anything amiss inside. I would lean towards "mechanical." I suppose it could be something as simple as a spring.

I'll bet you could fix that faulty power switch in 5 minutes!

Oh yes, of course, I have used other MD decks as DACs...JB940, JA20ES, JA333ES...more. Interesting to know that about the 63KI. I'm not at all familiar with its SM5872BS DAC, other than the info on its Data Sheet. I do know the 930's CXD8735N, from having owned that deck. Yes, it is justly renowned as sounding good. I have in fact used the E10 as a DAC...not bad at all, but not as good as the 930. Just fine doing its DDC thing, though!

Not having said anything for some time, I just wanted to note that my Sony MDS-E10 is making a fine DDC (digital-to-digital converter). I had not intended this use. CDP (via optical) > E10 (via coax) > standalone DAC (via RCA) > powered speakers. Simply connecting the CDP to the E10 was physically easier for me, and resulted in less cable clutter behind the DAC. I do wish the on/off button on the E10 worked, but it does not. The deck is connected to a rocker switch, and powered on/off that way.

It's a couple of months later (and more) since I ran the the E10 direct to my my Kanto TUK powereds. Since then, I have added a Cambridge Audio DACMagic 100 to the mix. It has a Wolfson WM8742 chip for its DAC, and I have the E10 connected to it via coax. For me, at least, the DM100 exceeds both the E10's AK4524 and the TUK's own DSP in how it sounds. Yes, MD decks have long been renowned for their DACs, but this is a new level of detail I'm hearing. (I'm allowing for the TUK's AMT tweeters.)

I have used them both ways, CD > MD & MD > CD, the latter to enable ripping the result into iTunes. This was a project that took about two years. I even have a folder in iTunes devoted to that effort: "MD/CD Heaven." The editing abilities of minidisc completely surpass those of CD, where there isn't much you can do post-recording.