have little technical knowledge of stereo equipment so bare with me.
I've had this receiver for 8 years and have had no problems. Now, suddenly, I'm having a problem with the volume fluctuating louder and softer without any rationale explanation. This seems to happen with all of the components (TV, Blueray, CD, etc).
Is there a specific problem that this would point to?? Is there a way to do some sort of "hard reset" in case something has gotten out of wack with the internal board? I've already tried simply unplugging and leaving it for a while and plugging back in. The problem seems to come and go a bit, but tonight it was coming back strong.
"You might want to have a qualified tech look at it. Most HT receivers are good for about 5 yrs. So you got 3 extra yrs out of it. It's time to replace the receiver. If you can afford high end (an integrated amp or seperates) instead of another receiver, this would be the way to go. Are there any independent high end retailers near you?"
Thanks for this reponse Ja(me)s. I must have just missed it and then realized there was also a "Receiver" forum.
Can you tell me what "HT Receiver" means? I guess when I bought this Marantz I assumed it would be the kind of product that would last for a LONG time (even if it didn't keep up with technology). I know there are receivers from back in the 60's and 70's that still work today.
If I was going to buy something new, what would your recommend? We have a pair of Paradigm Mini-Monitors and a small sub and have always thought this works well for our needs. We have never really embraced surround sound and I'm not sure we will any time soon. We're mostly listing to music (CDs, Records, and more and more things like Pandora). We also run our TV and DVD through the Amp, but again.....we don't really care much about surround.
We'd like to get something that would maximize our sound potential with the Paradigms, but that's pretty much it for now.
HT stands for home theater. Are you telling me it's stereo 2 channel? If so, sorry for the confusion.
I will not recommend a specific brand or model. What I do recommend is that you and your wife or whoever the rest of "we" is go to high end stores and listen to different amplifier and speaker combinations. Take your time really listen for what is satisfying within your budget. Find out if the store has a return policy or home audition before making a commitment. This equipment starts at $1000 per unit ($1k+ for the amp, $1k+ per speaker...). Again, only make this move if your budget can handle it. I hope this helps.
Is it just a dirty potentiameter? When you turn it up/down does it make a 'scratchy' noise? Such scratch noise pots can frequently be fixed by the application of some cleaner. A tech could give it a squirt for you for cheap.....ask first about $$$.
If the Marantz is indeed headed for the scrap heap, no need to spend wild amounts of money. Let' alone a 2k pair of speakers, if you're happy with the small Paradigms. something like an Onkyo A-9555 for about 500$ OR something like the Outlaw RR-2150 for maybe 700$ would be a plug in replacement for the Marantz. I think both I listed have phono inputs.
OTOH, if you have the time, money AND inclination, you can really break the bank.
NO substitute can be had for going somewhere for a listen. Preferably a real stereo store, not a big box or multi-mart.
The very same issue has just started tonight with my SR-5200. It's about the same age as yours and like you the sound fluctuates randomly on any of the inputs. I haven't spent a long time troubleshooting it yet and hope that the average lifespan of this equipment isn't 5 years; if so, I'm rather disappointed. Admittedly I have also had some minor capacitor pop on turn off for a few years now and the volume dial also doesn't respond well. Unless theirs a fix, I might be in line for another receiver.
Any certified repair facility for the manufacturer will provide an estimate of repair costs before doing any work. If you accept the estimate, the cost of the estimate will be deducted from the final repair bill. If you reject the estimate, you'll pay only for the time it took the tech to troubleshoot the gear.
If you like the receiver that much, I would recommend what jan vigne recommends which is to take it to a qualified service tech. ususally a vintage or service center for marantz would be good. I believe based on your information, it sounds like a problem with a capacitor and an op amp within the amplifier section. Generally in troubleshooting you would have to THEVENIZE the circuit, which in short, skip going thru the normal troubleshooting of going from circuit board to circuit board and split in half the general area where the problem is, in this case in the amplifier stage. In regards to the scratchy sound, there's a lubricant that you can purchase made for connectors or metal parts that most electronic parts stores would carrry including radio shack. One of the top brands are called DEOXIT...it helps improve contact and prevents rust or corrosion. Having the internal components and parts cleaned by a qualified technician I would advise, sort of like a tune up in a car. Dust and dirt tends to build inside an electronic component surrounding itself around the various semi conductors, especially around potentiometers, oscillators, transformers, coils, including transistors etc. If home theater receivers is what you want and looking for budget, probably a new marantz, yamaha, pioneer I would recommend. In regards to separates, affordable high end, I would recommend emotiva, outlaw, adcom, nad. Most other high end gear are out of reach for most of us unless it's used. If used, I suggest buying from WWW.AUDIOGON.COM where the majority of the audiophiles are there take care of their gear and when they sell it, it's to UPGRADE or downsizing. You might get good bargains at independent audio/video as well and might want to check ebay too if you can't find what you're looking for. Audioholics is another good site. It's going to cost you more on local dealer high end store because of distribution costs and mark ups!!!
Some persons are not happy with an ISF cal after it's done, anyway. Most people love the really bright, saturated screen of the new LCD sets. Besides, you can get well over half way to an ISF cal with the proper use of an aftermarket setup disk.....Digital Video Essentials, for example, will really get your display on track. And for <1/10th the cost of an ISF visit. Most of those disks will also include an audio section, which I've never used or explored.