Here's a question from a newbie. My problem is this:
I recently bought an A/V system consisting of a Marantz SR7300 receiver, Onkyo 301 DVD player, KEF Q5 fronts and Celestion surround speakers. I've connected all the wires (properly) into the receiver and I'm certain the speaker/wires are appropriate for the amp. However, when I turn on the amp, the audio is barely audible even when I crank it up to the highest volume. I've briefly went through the initial setup in the receiver's setup menu but still the volume from all the speakers are very low. Has anyone encountered the same problem?
Further, I've connected the DVD player into the receiver (DVD digial in) through an optical link. However, the 7300 can't detect the signal (the input is on digital auto-detect). However, when I connect to the optical link in the front AUX1 input, the receiver is able the detect the signal, albeit the low volume problem.
So, do I have a defective amp or have I miss some crucial step in the installation process? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
ch33ch
Hawk
Posted on
Cheech:
I have never heard of such a problem. If it is the receiver, it may simply be that the amp was not properly set at the factory. Crucially, we need to try to isolate where the problem might be.
My first question is whether you get very low volume when you use the tuner? If not, then the problem isn't in the receiver's amp section, but is probably up-stream from the receiver (interconnects?). However, if it is, that tells me that it isn't up-stream from your receiver.
My next question is whether your speaker wires are good (looking down-stream)? Get some AR brand speaker wire from Best Buy (very reasonably priced) and just hook up one speaker with it. If it also sounds very low, then you probably need to take the receiver back.
cheech
Posted on
Dear Hawk:
Thank you for your response. I greatly appreciate your assistance. However, as to your suggestions, I've probably went through all the different possibilities already. For example, I've tried using the tuner, the headphone jack, etc. But EVERY permutation I've tried has not be able to resolve the same problem - low volume. And as for the speaker wires, I've installed some rather expensive XLOs for the fronts. I am certain it has nothing to do with the downstream end.
So, my conclusion is that the receiver is most likely defective. But dammit, that's going to be a painful procedure. I just hope there's just some hidden switch I missed and that everything will just work out once I turn it on.
Frustrated,
ch33ch
Hawk
Posted on
Cheech:
I feel your frustration. I hope you didn't feel insulted by my post. Many people who post issues like yours are totally ignorant of what to do and I can never be sure of the poster's knowledge. Obviously, you already eliminated the possibilities.
I think it is most likely that you have defective software. Have you tried Stereo Direct Mode? That bypasses the processor and the software. If is still a problem in Stereo Direct, then you probably have a bad amp.
cheech
Posted on
Hawk:
Thank you for your post again. Well, based on what we've said so far, I've asked Marantz's technicians to come by the house to test out the receiver. Well, the problem was apparently new to them too as well and their conclusion was that the receiver was defective (they're not sure which component in the receiver was the culprit though).
I have the 7300 replaced now and everything sounds great! What a relieve. But I guess my case will now go down in history and it will definitly add to the knowledge base on amp problems.
Cheers,
ch33ch
Hawk
Posted on
cheech:
As I have said before, these things are complicated! Everyone needs to take it down a notch as every manufacturer will have a clunker from time to time adn coming to a rash judgment is pretty silly. The key is what did the manufacturer's rep do about it when you let them know about the problem. Clearly, Marantz did the right thing! Thank you for sharing your experience with us.