Home audio amplifier failure

[NSM]

Thanks, I did find the remote, and will research possibly
trying to use it to de-mute, but I don't hold much hope.

It's possible the amp has a fault in the muting circuits.

I've also sent mail to Onkyo explaining the situation, but
don't hold much hope there either.

I'll post my progress as this saga unfolds.

Thank you, and everyone for the assistance and contri-
bution(s).

BTW. That "muting" word is very very tiny, meant for
eyes much younger than mine.

Welcome to my world.

N

 

[Gary Walker]

It's possible the amp has a fault in the muting circuits.


Welcome to my world.

N

I kinda' givin' thought that maybe an AC spike/outage
may have caused the problem. Although all the equipment
is on a strip, I can't see any other cause, unless it's faulty,
as you mention.

Gary

 

[Ross Herbert]

First, this is my first entry into this group. I ran a NG search for this
problem, and the result(s) indicated
here. Sorry, if that was wrong.

I have an Onkyo home audio component system. The
amplifier in this system(Onkyo A-RV401) has flamed
out, as least I'm pretty sure it's the amplifier.

Next, I'm not an electronics guy. I'm just looking for a
little seasoned advice.

The system no longer produces any sound, no tuner,
tape, CD, headphones, nothing. However, I can crank
up the volume to full, and faintly hear the audio. As
usual, this worked fine one day, and failed the next.

It appears that this component can be replaced with
something like, for around $400-600. It also appears
that current models have the tuner/amplifier integrated
into a single unit, where the existing unit(s) are separate.

It's my opinion(only opinion) that replacement should
be the choice, rather than a repair attempt.

Comments?

Thanks, for the help.

Gary

For others if not yourself the owner manual can be downloaded here
http://onkyousa.com/own_manuals.cfm?cat=Receiver

Is the display panel and/or any other indicators alight? If they are
on, could it be something stupid like the mute button on the remote
activated?

Ross Herbert

 

[Ross Herbert]

PS. If I had read ALL of the other posts before posting myself I would
have seen this point has already been covered.

 

[Mark D. Zacharias]

I kinda' givin' thought that maybe an AC spike/outage
may have caused the problem. Although all the equipment
is on a strip, I can't see any other cause, unless it's faulty,
as you mention.

Gary

I have a PDF service manual. If you would like it, and can take an
attachment of 1.5 meg or so, you can e-mail me direct at:

[email protected]

and reverse the domain name.


Mark Z.

 

[Gary Walker]

Well, that's kool, I do that sometimes myself....

Yeah, it appears that the amp is in permanent mute mode.

I did just speak with the amp repair friend(guitar/instru-
ment amps), and he said he'd need a schematic. Over-
all, it just seems like it will require extraordinary effort
as opposed to a ~$300 replacement.

Thanks,

Gary

 

[NSM]

Well, that's kool, I do that sometimes myself....

Yeah, it appears that the amp is in permanent mute mode.

I did just speak with the amp repair friend(guitar/instru-
ment amps), and he said he'd need a schematic. Over-
all, it just seems like it will require extraordinary effort
as opposed to a ~$300 replacement.

It may be in mute mode for a reason - perhaps solvable by reading the
owner's manual?

N

 

[Gary Walker]

Well, I have read the owner's(aka instruction manual),
both in hardcopy & online. Very little is said concerning
the mute specification, other than: (paraphrasing)

Mute can be initiated via the rc transmitter(which I never
used since the unit was new, >10 years ago).

Mute can be disabled via the rc transmitter, or by offing
the amp. I've pretty much proven this power cycling of
the amp will not de-mute.

I'll agree though, mute is probably on for a reason, it's
just a matter of whether the reason is valid(reversible),
or invalid(irreversible, without internal intervention).

Because of its long periods of service(it gets left on >24-
36 hours sometimes), I had just been wondering how this
might affect its health, and what I'd do if it failed.

But, I expected an amplifier breakdown, not a false mute
mode interruption. I am going to try one last thing this
afternoon, as soon as I can dig up a couple of AAA bat-
teries. I'll replug the rc cable, arm the remote, and see if
the rc operation has any effect.

But, I hold little optimism.

Pending results....

Thanks,

Gary

 

[jakdedert]

I've been following this thread, and am wondering if the mute function on
this amp is different than most I've used.

In every one I've owned, the mute is really a -10 to -20 dB attenuator as
opposed to an absolute silencing of all audio. In fact, I usually use my
daily driver in mute mode because it gives me finer control over the volume,
especially given the 'stepped' nature of the remote operation. With the
mute off, I don't turn the knob past 10 o'clock or so in normal operation.
With the mute on, I get up to maybe 3 o'clock before distortion set in. (Of
course, this mode occasionally 'bites' me when someone hits the mute button
with the volume up.)

jak

 

[Gary Walker]

Well, don't know much about attenuator etc., but the amp
seems to work like this.

It has an on/off button(stay with me here....). when one
chooses to operate the amp via rc, only the rc on/off
should be used. The amp's on/off should remain on.

Next, this mute function, as I described earlier, doesn't
completely eliminate all audio. But, I think that's what is
intended. Like you, I hardly ever operate the amp at
anywhere past the 9-10 o-clock range.

However, with mute activated, the volume must be in-
creased to 100% just to hear even the most faint sign
of audio. Don't know, but I suspect this faint audio is
what I would term bleed through/crosstalk etc.

I did review attenuator meaning, and if that's the inten-
tion of this amp's design, then the definition should be
changed from reducing to 99.50% elimination.


Thanks,

Gary