I purchased a NAD T763 receiver this past April and everything seemed to be working fine until about a month ago. All of the sudden the receiver would "pop" and power off. At first, you could power it back on and it would stay on for a day or two until eventually it wouldn't stay on for even a minute. I took the receiver back to the dealer who sent it back to NAD. The NAD technician called the dealer and told him he could not find anything wrong with it. I picked it up from the dealer and hooked it up again. Same thing...."pop" and powers off. I disconnected all components from the receiver with the exception of left and right front speakers. It played for about 10 or 12 hours before it cut off again. It sounded like the left speaker was fuzzy. Thus, I disconnected it and had only the right speaker connected and tried that. Again, it cuts off. Now, I can't get either the left or the right speaker to produce any sound at all; even connected up individually. Before I tried any of this I had the receiver running without any speakers for a while just to see if it would cut off and it seemed to stay powered up. First, I'm wondering why I can't get any sound at all now. Second, I'm wondering why it keeps powering off. Any thoughts? I have a pair of NHT VT-1.2 speakers that I'm using.
Sorry for the long post. I don't know alot about audio components and I'd appreciate any direction on where to go next with this. Thanks in advance!
Take it back to your supplier and tell him that you want a replacement. Aswell take your speakers with you and connect a nad with them to check if the spks have a any probs.
Elmosaurus
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Posted on
I see this from time to time on this forum, and I have to wonder, are you ABSOLUTELY sure you have a good connection for the speakers wires on the posts?
If you have even a few strands of wire loose, it causes a short, and the NAD components are very sensitive to this; the protection circuit cuts it off instantly.
Repeated 'shorting' can cause amplifier stage damage, and thus, the lack of sound you're hearing.
What type of speaker wire termination are you using at the receiver end?
The only reason I'm not jumping on the 'defective unit' path, is because you had this issue, sent it in, and the tech found nothing wrong.
E.
Elmosaurus
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Posted on
I see this from time to time on this forum, and I have to wonder, are you ABSOLUTELY sure you have a good connection for the speakers wires on the posts?
If you have even a few strands of wire loose, it causes a short, and the NAD components are very sensitive to this; the protection circuit cuts it off instantly. Even a few strands or a spade lug that pokes into the back chassis (which is grounded BTW, so part of the circuit) will cause a short.
Repeated 'shorting' can cause amplifier stage damage, and thus, the lack of sound you're hearing.
What type of speaker wire termination are you using at the receiver end?
The only reason I'm not jumping on the 'defective unit' path, is because you had this issue, sent it in, and the tech found nothing wrong.
I was concerned myself about the speaker connections. That's why I tried one speaker, both left and right, one at a time. I even went so far as to purchase banana plugs and tried that. No luck there either. I hope I haven't screwed something up by trying the connections more than I should.
I know what you mean about the NAD technician not finding anything. I'm sure they did check it out and found nothing wrong with it. The sales guy at the store where I brought it said if I had more trouble to bring it back in and he would play it in the store for a while. This may be what I have to do now.
I have had the receiver on for almost 48 hours, set to tuner, with nothing at all connected to it and it has yet to power off. Again, I hope I haven't made matters worse by connecting and disconnecting the speakers too much.
Thanks for your replys!
Butch
Elmosaurus
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It sounds like you understand my caution then, and also that your dealer is willing to work with you.
Assuming this is an authorized dealer, his stock for old units should have been pulled recently and all replaced with Version 2 units.
I would pursue getting him to swap for a new unit if he really wants to earn and keep your purchasing loyalty.
Take it back. I had the same issue with my 762... and ended up taking it back. It seems that it only happened when the receiver was given a digital signal through a coaxial input. Definately do what Elmo says... be strong with the dealer, and insist they give you a new one.
Brad: Sorry you had trouble with your NAD but it does make me feel a little better that I, perhaps, had nothing to do with the receiver going "bad".
I took the receiver back to the dealer today. I asked that he hook it up to some speakers to see if he could get any sound out of it. At first he wanted me to leave it so he could check it out when he got the chance. After making a copy of the work order he asked if I had a minute; he hooked it up. After fooling with it for several minutes he became convinced something was wrong.
He said he would contact NAD and find out what could be done about the problem. A few hours later he called and told me they had told him to give me a new receiver. I'm glad! I had told him I was concerned that if the receiver did get sent back and somehow was fixed; what's to say that it might not happen again. I'll go see him tomorrow.
I just need to make sure I get good speaker post connections in order for things to go smoothly so that something like this doesn't happen again. Although, it worked fine for several months and I made no changes with any equipment or wiring what so ever.
I'll be using the banana plugs and I hope that will make for a better connection.
Thanks to everyone for their help! It is much appreciated!
Well, I'm a little frustrated. I took my box/accessories back to the dealer today. He said my new NAD receiver should be in on Friday. He said I would be receiving a "brand new" receiver from NAD. My question to him was: how come you can't give me one from stock and replace your stock with the one that comes in on Friday? According to him; he can't, "that's just the way NAD does things".
So, now I'm wondering am I really getting a "brand new" one as he stated. Or, is it going to be a reconditioned, broke/fixed, remanufactured unit. Gee, if it's going to be brand new....why can't I have one from stock.
This has left me sceptical about the dealer and NAD.
Elmosaurus
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Posted on
Look on the outside of the new box.
There should be a pretty little green sticker that says 'Version 2.0' in a circle.
About 1.5" in diameter.
If so, you've getting one of the new batch that was made after NAD identified production QC issues from the earlier units.
My guess is, you are getting a new new one.
The reason he can't give it to you out of stock, is because NAD is the one offering the swap; his stock and all it's serial numbers are already sold to him, and his books would be askew if he took in your unit to give you one of his. NAD went through alot of trouble from what I understand recalling ALL units from authorized dealers and replacing them with Version 2.0 units, to ensure that no authorized dealer continued to have an 'older model' from that swap date forward. By not allowing him to take your unit back, it prevents any dealer from ever 'polluting' their stock by accident with an older model.
Also, partially, it's a QC issue also; NAD as most companies, does not want the bad unit floating out there, (meaning, they actually CARE about their reputation) and thus, would rather get it back in their hands directly for analysis than trust the dealer to return it to them. (instead of selling it again as 'as-is' or it being 'lost in the shuffle')
It seems like it sucks because we're an impatient lot; but there's method to the madness.
Hang in there, you'll get the new one shortly, and you'll probably love it like there's no tomorrow. (and realize how few OTHER manufacturers would do a new unit swap over 7 months into your ownership of the unit?)
I hope so. The dealer is the one sending the defective unit back to NAD and he will be in receipt of the new one. I'll pick it up from him. I'll check for the sticker on the box. If it's not a "version 2" unit, should I say anything? What do you think?
Elmosaurus are you sure that version 2 was released to solve production QC issues from earlier units? Cause from what i know, version two was released to support new decoding formats and enhance the receiver flexibility, example DPL2x, multiroom etc. ! Only the board that hots the software is replaced, the rest has all been kept the same. Power supplies, heatsinks, decoders, volume contols, video switching boards, amplification, digital inputs, A/D convertors etc. etc. My T762 is currently based on software version 1.18 and it doesn't have any QC problems! The T762 can be upgraded to Version 1.20 But this does not means that T762 models installed with version 1.18 have any hardware fault! Infact NAd have discouraged me to upgarde to the latest version supported by the T762 as the changes quite minimal!
In the case of the T763, new decoding formats are offered, therefore the upgrade is quite substantial!
Elmosaurus
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Posted on
The unofficial word I got from a dealer rep, was that when the T763 line was designed (an upgrade from the 7x2 line) the specs were sent down to the production facility overseas.
The problem was the facility engineers didn't quite understand how to assemble them, and consequently, some of the first line units weren't built 'perfectly to NAD quality standards'.
This is technically heresay though, since there is no documented proof.
The Version 2.0 release was a majority of encoding/DSP changes, partially because of licensing (rumor has it NAD didn't want to deal with MS on the HDCD stuff) and partially because they sent techs out to the site to deal with the 'misunderstanding' at the facility.
Once the production line was corrected, those new units that met NAD standards were shipped out to authorized dealers after NAD pulled the units they still had in stock. (even swap out)
So, in essence, I don't want to say that the Version 2.0 firmware changes were more a coverup for the correction of the QC issues, but it seems that way more and more to me as time goes on, based on my business background. The DSP and decoding benefits that came out of it were more of a sideline gain than the main point; honestly, would NAD recall all in stock units from authorized dealers just to replace them with different decoding units, and to avoid licensing issues with MS on the HDCD venture?
Think about it.... ;-)
E.
Elmosaurus
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Posted on
Oh, and with that all said, I want to say whatever the truth is about what happened, my Version 2.0 is PHENOMENAL. It even converted my neophyte GF into understanding what 'audiophile' really meant.
And I can't say enough good things about my continued NAD experiences; I do feel a heartfelt sorrow for those that had problems, or those that shy away from NAD based on someone elses problem case.
Over the years, these units have consistently delivered incredible musicality for an extremely attractive mid-fi price for me, and many users I have talked to.
I hear the Arcam AVR 300 is marginally better, but you know what? it's also 40% more expensive! LOL
Also I bought this month a T653 and got version 1.25, unfortunately with the hum/hiss problem mainly on the surrounds but very annoying if you listen to DVD-A at low volumes, or any multichannel format.
Anyone notices a ~10dB difference when switching from Ext 7.1 to Digital on pure stereo? My Ext7.1 plays a lot louder than if I use the coax DVD input (I have T533) and seems much better sounding.
The store called me yesterday; my new receiver is in! I had the little sticker on there that said version 2. The white sticker on the box also eluded to the fact that it was version 2. I hope I have better luck with this one than I did the last.
I haven't had the time to set everything up but I did connect up the speakers to see how it sounds. It sounds great. I want to make sure I get everything (TV, CD, DVD, VCR) connected up the best way possible. According to what I've seen the "component" connections are the best for video. Although, I'm not sure I can use that connection with my old Sony set. With a TV, cable box, VCR, and DVD player.....the video connections can be confusing, to me anyway.
Thanks to everyone that helped!
Butch
Elmosaurus
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Posted on
Butch,
Whichever connection type you decide to use, be aware that the unit won't scan convert the signals from Composite/S-Video to Component or vice versa. (it's rare that a unit does)
It does scan convert in between S-video and Composite, but you are really best using all Svideo if you can, or all Component if you can.