Antique Apparatus /Rock-Ola Gazelle cd8 static

After 3 years of blindly flailing away at this box (with some crucial help from this board), I finally got it to work!
Now that it actually plays I find it has a bit of unwanted noise coming out of the speakers. When the CD player (a 1994 model CDM-4 industrial ) is playing a CD the speakers sound like a wind-burned recording with a rustling sound, randomly accompanied by pops and flat-out static. This noise doesn't increase when you turn up the volume so I can overwhelm it with music, but that usually isn't an ideal situation in a house full of people who don't like hearing the Pouges Greatest Hits on heavy rotation!

I changed the Volume control potentiometre but that didn't have any effect, all the connections seem tight and everything is mutually grounded. I also cleaned the laser on the player and have tried wiggling and tapping everything I could reach, yet dispite all this abuse the noise neither varied nor stopped.

Could a worn out CD player cause this or maybe a woggy amp?

Also, does anyone have the correct schematic of the display and keypad for this box? it is an early 1994 model which has the keypad/buttons below the title strip pages (which are manually flipped with a thumb-wheel) and the digital display is up top behind the glass arch. The manual I have from Victory Glass (AMR# R-574) only shows the later model when the buttons were combined with the display up top and the former keypad/button space got a blank-off plate that said "Rock-Ola".

I once again thank you all in advance for your help,
Dale

Hi Dale,
Is this phono equipped with Rowe, or RockOla "guts" ?
Ron Rich

It has Rock ola "black system" innards

Dale,
I dono that ( or any RO) system-- If it's possible to remove the input plugs from the amp, do so and play a selection--if no "un-wanted" noise with the plugs pulled--the DAC is probably going bad. If noise persists--amp problems--Ron Rich

Hi Rich,
I pulled the input plugs and the noise is still there, so I'm guessing its the amp like you said.
Damn!, but I'm in too deep to quit now!
Oh well, I'm off to ebay or maybe I'll try get ahold of Ross over at RJB in California (He got my Rock-Ola control computer back from the dead).
Thank you,
Dale

Ron,
Oops, I meant RON, not RICH. Sorry about that.

I do have one more question; What is a "DAC"?
Dale

"Digital/Analog Converter" Ron Rich

Ron,
I talked to Ross at RJB and he confirmed your diagnosis: bad or weak capacitators in the amp.
I'll send it to him for a replacement job and a re-adjustment as well.
I have some mixed feelings about it though- at just the right volume the pop and static from the amp balances out with the audio and makes the CDs sound just like old, well used 78s!
Once again, Thank You for your help.
Dale

Hi Dale!

That is a VERY common issue with those amps, there are 6 1uf 50 volt Tantalum capacitors on the pre amp board in the amplifier, very common failure!

Mel