Half of my audio system has stopped working...

[practicetee]

So I am a first time homeowner, and my 11 year old Ryan home has an existing audio system on the main floor. There are two speakers in the ceiling of four different rooms, the dining room, family room, breakfast nook, and outdoor patio.

The built-in ceiling speakers are AccentPLUS1 NV-AP16C and the receiver is a Yamaha R-S201. The receiver gets it sound from a Sonos Connect. There are switches in the walls that control the volume of each individual set of speakers.

Two of the sets of speakers have stopped working, the dining room and family room sets. I have tried switching around the wires going from the receiver into the wall jacks, changing the lines on the receiver, and swapping out the wall controllers and none of that has made the speakers work.

What do you think I should do next? Could my receiver be bad? Could all four speakers be broken? Is it something where if one blows neither in the pair work? I just don't know what to do at this point and could really use some help!

Thanks....

 

[lovinthehd]

Were you powering all the speakers simultaneously with this receiver?

Have you tried connecting the non-functioning speakers with new wires, bypassing the in-wall/ceiling wiring?

 

[practicetee]

Thanks for the reply... Yes all 8 total speakers were powered with the receiver and worked flawlessly for about 10 months. Then all of a sudden one day three months ago I turned the system on and half the rooms were out.

I just removed one of the non-working speakers this afternoon and installed a new one in its place but there's still no sound. I plugged it into my TV's surround sound and the speaker worked when attached to that system.

So thats why I was wondering if one goes bad does the pair stop working. Also, could the receiver have gone bad?

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks for the reply... Yes all 8 total speakers were powered with the receiver and worked flawlessly for about 10 months. Then all of a sudden one day three months ago I turned the system on and half the rooms were out.

I just removed one of the non-working speakers this afternoon and installed a new one in its place but there's still no sound. I plugged it into my TV's surround sound and the speaker worked when attached to that system.

So thats why I was wondering if one goes bad does the pair stop working. Also, could the receiver have gone bad?

The problem is that we have no idea how this was wired. I suspect this is a wiring problem. You are going to have to study this with a DC volt/ohm/continuity meter. You need to see if you get clicks from those speakers that do not work by connecting and disconnecting a battery to the wiring that the receiver connects to. Disconnect the speakers form the receiver first.

If you here clicks from the speakers that do not work now, then you have a receiver problem. If there are no clicks as I suspect, then you have a wiring problem, like a mouse chewing through a cable which they love to do when cables are not in conduit.

So if you have no clicks then you have to isolate where the break is. This is next to impossible for us at long range. If you have no clue about even elementary circuits which these are, then you need professional help, or a savvy friend.

This would probably take me just a few minutes to sort out in your home. I find most acquaintances do not know how to proceed with this sort of thing.

 

[practicetee]

The problem is that we have no idea how this was wired. I suspect this is a wiring problem. You are going to have to study this with a DC volt/ohm/continuity meter. You need to see if you get clicks from those speakers that do not work by connecting and disconnecting a battery to the wiring that the receiver connects to. Disconnect the speakers form the receiver first.

If you here clicks from the speakers that do not work now, then you have a receiver problem. If there are no clicks as I suspect, then you have a wiring problem, like a mouse chewing through a cable which they love to do when cables are not in conduit.

So if you have no clicks then you have to isolate where the break is. This is next to impossible for us at long range. If you have no clue about even elementary circuits which these are, then you need professional help, or a savvy friend.

This would probably take me just a few minutes to sort out in your home. I find most acquaintances do not know how to proceed with this sort of thing.

Thanks for the response!

So I took one of the non-working speakers and it works when its plugged straight into a different audio source although it was quieter than the regular speaker who's wires I used for the test.

Also, I took a battery and checked each line that goes from my receiver into the wall plugs and only the two rooms make static sound when the wires were touched to the battery.

Would my next step be to do the battery test again at the wall controller in each room that isn't working?

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks for the response!

So I took one of the non-working speakers and it works when its plugged straight into a different audio source although it was quieter than the regular speaker who's wires I used for the test.

Also, I took a battery and checked each line that goes from my receiver into the wall plugs and only the two rooms make static sound when the wires were touched to the battery.

Would my next step be to do the battery test again at the wall controller in each room that isn't working?

So as I suspected you have a wiring problem.

Your next step is to put a DC voltage at the speakers wires are the back of the receiver an then gor round each controller and speaker and see between which point the circuit is broken..

 

[slipperybidness]

So as I suspected you have a wiring problem.

Your next step is to put a DC voltage at the speakers wires are the back of the receiver an then gor round each controller and speaker and see between which point the circuit is broken..

I'm with you, likely a mouse chewed up some wiring. Also, it could be possibly be a nail or screw that has compromised the wiring.

In my opinion, when purchasing a home, if it has already been pre-wired for Whole Home Audio or for HT, I consider that a liability and NOT an asset! Don't try to make that a selling point for me! There is no telling if the person doing the wiring had any clue as to what they were doing, more often than not this becomes a hassle, and possibly a safety concern too.