I just received a 5 year old Harmon Kardon AVR310 receiver from a friend. I hooked up some old (at least 10 years) B&W bookshelf speakers and a Marantz CD player and I get no sound at low volume levels. (the cd player and speakers are fine as they work well on another system) As I crank the volume up to a level (which I would think might be deafening if all was okay!) I hear the music coming through just weakly, but if I stop turning the volume knob, the music dies. Any ideas???
i had this using at 8 ohm amp running 6 ohm speakers :S didnt no too much then but yea i had to turn it up all the way to get a tiny sound maybe that your problem?
guys i'm stumped. my previous receiver (sony gx60es) was set at using 4-6 ohm speakers (which are b&w dm310s). as for my new receiver (hk avr310) i see no impedence selector on the back of the unit. i've also tried connecting the speaker cable to either the HF or LF or both poles on the speakers. no difference. it's not that there is no volume. it's just that as i turn the volume knob up, i here some volume (but barely), but as soon as i stop turning the knob, the volume dies. it's bizarre. i also tried the cd player into the dvd audio input (no aux input). mute isn't on. not sure what/if tape monitor is on? help!!!!
HV: I had an AVR 310 and had a noise problem with it, this was unfortunate as out of six HK receivers I have had it was the only one I ever had a problem with. The volume control on this receiver is digital controlled. It sounds to me that their is obviously a problem with this section/circuitry of the receiver. As Jan suggested try the tuner section to see if you get the same results. This particular receiver was the middle of the road in HK's line when HK made the "" 10 series. It should have no trouble driving just about any speaker,within reason to moderate even fairly loud volumes without distortion. HK receivers do not use that silly impedence selector switch which is useless to the consumer and only is for the benefit of the manufacturer to meet UL safety standards so they can be approved for a four Ohm rating. HK's are rated for 8 Ohms but I can assure you they will drive most low impedence favoring speakers with ease all day long this is due to their high quality power supply build. Check the tuner,check the speaker wiring,check for muting if this doesn't bring results then take the unit in for repair.
You can also try headphones to see if the same problem exists.
You have not mentioned to what level you are turning the volume. The volume settings differ from one make to another and as such for instance -25Db is very loud on one receiver and moderate on another one.
Thanks, guys. I'm turning up the volume from -80 DB (lowest setting) to +10 DB (highest setting) and only around +2 to +10 to I begin to get a whisper (at most of sound). But like I said, only as I'm rotating the knob to increase volume. When knob isn't turning, even at +10 DB - no volume.
Another thought. If the unit has motor driven volume, and you are so inclined, you might open it up and slip off the belt and try that. Some babies have direct to pot volume with ancillary motor controls, others have drive by wire.
Ok then HV if you have to turn it into the double digit (+) range(this is clipping) then the unit needs repair. When I had my AVR 310 a volume setting of anything less than -25 would be very loud.
So it's in the shop. And I didn't trip on the way there. I described the problem to the tech and he seemed a little puzzled. But he'll look at it. I'll let you know what happens. I appreciate all the help!
so here's what i was told from a harmon kardon 'certified' repair shop. the technician noted the same problem i did. so that's good. then he 'reset' the main chip (?) hoping that the system would recover from a possible glitch somewhere. it didn't. so he deduced that it's not an analog problem and that it's a digital problem. they suggest shipping it to another repair shop in greenville, ohio (i'm in st. louis) to have the problem, diagnosed and fixed there. why can't it be fixed here, i don't know. is it worth sending to have it fixed, i don't know either. some 'certified' harmon kardon repair shop they are.
Let me venture a guess as to why it has to be sent to another shop. With the complexity of most HT products today, most shops do not have all the test equipment and set ups to diagnose many problems which exist. This is particularly true when it is a problem in the digital sections of the unit. Most companies have "master techs" located in two or three cities in the US. These are the techs who have proven their ability to properly diagnose the problem and provide an answer with "minimal" cost to whoever is paying the bill. Quite often this works out to your advantage as the original tech had neither the know how nor, more importantly, the desire to spend the time required to search down the problem. Techs work on a flat rate for any warranty repair. Most manufacturers are not generous with their flat rates. Any tech who finds themself in over their head or just not wanting to waste time they feel could be better spent on more productive billable hours (that means the tech probably sees your unit as a "dog" that will come back to bite him many, many times before you finally give up in frustration) will shuffle a difficult problem off to the regional service center. If the unit is in warranty, this usually works to your advantage. It means you don't have your unit worked on by the tech with lots of blown up parts in their bench drawers working on your gear. Regional techs are often the best you could hope for. They will take the time to at least try repairing your unit. If the unit is out of warranty, I would have a talk with the friend who sold you this unit before I proceded any further. With a five year old receiver which didn't cost that much in the first place, I doubt you want to have this unit repaired.