My 13 yr old Sony AV reciever center speaker cuts out. Does it maybe 3-4 times per week. I can gently tap on top of the reciever and get it working again. Speaker wires are fine. I'm going to open it up. Where would I begin to look? Thanks
Center speaking cutting out on A/V reciever
- Thread starter Blaze
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I too have heard horror stories about people opening amps and it somehow stops working entirely. I would either take it to a repair shop (if it's an expensive one and you want to keep it) or just prepare to replace it.
Sometimes it's just something stupid like a bad capacitor that can be replaced, but I don't suggest the DIY route unless you are proficient with electronics.
I would verify that it isn't the speaker itself cutting out. Hook up one of the other speakers to that input when it starts acting wonky and see what happens.
What types of terminals do the speakers and receiver have? I HIGHLY recommend banana plugs if possible. They are very durable and give a secure fit.
Sometimes it's just something stupid like a bad capacitor that can be replaced, but I don't suggest the DIY route unless you are proficient with electronics.
I would verify that it isn't the speaker itself cutting out. Hook up one of the other speakers to that input when it starts acting wonky and see what happens.
What types of terminals do the speakers and receiver have? I HIGHLY recommend banana plugs if possible. They are very durable and give a secure fit.
I can tap on top of the reciever to make it quit. I mean I can barely tap and it will quit. I'm thinking something loose like a solder but I have never opened/worked on one of these other than to blow the dust out.
I agree with Dparm "prepare to replace it" when you open up a 13 years old receiver trying to see if you can easily repair it.
A new similar power receiver can be found for less than $300
A new similar power receiver can be found for less than $300
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I agree with Dparm "prepare to replace it" when you open up a 13 years old receiver trying to see if you can easily repair it.
A new similar power receiver can be found for less than $300
Thanks.. I'll probably go that route. I'm looking at Best Buy right now. I did a search and it appears these older Sonys will lose one channel at a time until you have nothing.
I agree with Dparm "prepare to replace it" when you open up a 13 years old receiver trying to see if you can easily repair it.
A new similar power receiver can be found for less than $300
Thanks.. I'll probably go that route. I'm looking at Best Buy right now. I did a search and it appears these older Sonys will lose one channel at a time until you have nothing.
Before you head out to the store, let me ask you a couple questions. What are you using for a source? Also, have you tried it on all sources, or just one?
Originally Posted By: DarthWader
Before you head out to the store, let me ask you a couple questions. What are you using for a source? Also, have you tried it on all sources, or just one?
I'm using the center speaker outlet but why does it come back on when I tap on the reciever?.. that leads me to believe something is loose inside. It did cut off this morning for a few minutes and came back on without tapping on it.
Before you head out to the store, let me ask you a couple questions. What are you using for a source? Also, have you tried it on all sources, or just one?
I'm using the center speaker outlet but why does it come back on when I tap on the reciever?.. that leads me to believe something is loose inside. It did cut off this morning for a few minutes and came back on without tapping on it.
When it cuts out you could also take a voltmeter and see what's happening.
Originally Posted By: Blaze
Originally Posted By: DarthWader
Before you head out to the store, let me ask you a couple questions. What are you using for a source? Also, have you tried it on all sources, or just one?
I'm using the center speaker outlet but why does it come back on when I tap on the reciever?.. that leads me to believe something is loose inside. It did cut off this morning for a few minutes and came back on without tapping on it.
Blaze, I'm a retired electronics tech. Take it to a repair depot and have it fixed (preferably a Sony depot as they have probably seen this fault a 100 times) and pay a few bucks to have it resoldered. Ask them to check for the other 100 things that they have seen go wrong while they are in there.
You will end up with a reasonable repair and the unit should last a while longer (my Pioneer is a 1991).
Many times I have seen a simple repair turned into a blow-up because of someone who shouldn't have been in the unit.
All the best.
Bob
Originally Posted By: DarthWader
Before you head out to the store, let me ask you a couple questions. What are you using for a source? Also, have you tried it on all sources, or just one?
I'm using the center speaker outlet but why does it come back on when I tap on the reciever?.. that leads me to believe something is loose inside. It did cut off this morning for a few minutes and came back on without tapping on it.
Blaze, I'm a retired electronics tech. Take it to a repair depot and have it fixed (preferably a Sony depot as they have probably seen this fault a 100 times) and pay a few bucks to have it resoldered. Ask them to check for the other 100 things that they have seen go wrong while they are in there.
You will end up with a reasonable repair and the unit should last a while longer (my Pioneer is a 1991).
Many times I have seen a simple repair turned into a blow-up because of someone who shouldn't have been in the unit.
All the best.
Bob
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Blaze
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I agree with Dparm "prepare to replace it" when you open up a 13 years old receiver trying to see if you can easily repair it.
A new similar power receiver can be found for less than $300
Thanks.. I'll probably go that route. I'm looking at Best Buy right now. I did a search and it appears these older Sonys will lose one channel at a time until you have nothing.
For something cheap and readily available, look into a Pioneer. I've got one that I bought sometime around 2001 that is still working just as well as the day it was new.
Also, you didn't mention if you have a Bluray player. If you do, make sure your receiver has a DTS decoder built in. IIRC DTS-HD Master Audio is becoming the defacto standard for Bluray. Its 7.1 channels though its backwards compatible with 5.1 channel DTS capable receivers. Bluray also typically includes a Dolby track as well but for the best sound its better to go with DTS.
My old Pioneer can do both Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1 and will play the 7.1 DTS or Dolby tracks just fine because of the backwards compatibility. The odd thing is this unit was made back when DTS wasn't very common and when having both an optical and digital coax connection was relatively rare so hurray to Pioneer for forward thinking/future proofing that receiver which was only $300 when I bought it.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I agree with Dparm "prepare to replace it" when you open up a 13 years old receiver trying to see if you can easily repair it.
A new similar power receiver can be found for less than $300
Thanks.. I'll probably go that route. I'm looking at Best Buy right now. I did a search and it appears these older Sonys will lose one channel at a time until you have nothing.
For something cheap and readily available, look into a Pioneer. I've got one that I bought sometime around 2001 that is still working just as well as the day it was new.
Also, you didn't mention if you have a Bluray player. If you do, make sure your receiver has a DTS decoder built in. IIRC DTS-HD Master Audio is becoming the defacto standard for Bluray. Its 7.1 channels though its backwards compatible with 5.1 channel DTS capable receivers. Bluray also typically includes a Dolby track as well but for the best sound its better to go with DTS.
My old Pioneer can do both Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1 and will play the 7.1 DTS or Dolby tracks just fine because of the backwards compatibility. The odd thing is this unit was made back when DTS wasn't very common and when having both an optical and digital coax connection was relatively rare so hurray to Pioneer for forward thinking/future proofing that receiver which was only $300 when I bought it.
Mine doesnt have DTS and currently dont have a Blue Ray but the model above it did have DTS at the time I bought mine.. it does have both coax and optical connections and I use the coax digital port for my audio "in" from the Direct TV HD satellite box. I'm just waiting for it to die then possbile open it up and look inside or just take it in and get an estimate. Its just that the new stuff looks so nice and priced reasonable for what I need. Thanks for the replies!
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