Marantz receiver HDMI issues?

[nm2285]

I've had a ton of trouble in the past year with my Marantz receivers. I have an SR7008 in my main system and an SR6009 in my bedroom. I do make them work hard with HDMI - all sources are HDMI and I use both of their independent HDMI zone 2 outputs. However, I've had to send the SR7008 for repair twice and the SR6009 for repair once in the past year for HDMI board issues. The 7008 had the board replaced, behaved for 6 months, and then had the exact same issues started coming back.

I'm convinced it's bad HDMI boards causing the issue especially since the boards have been replaced and the issues fixed (temporarily). Am I missing something? Why are these boards to unreliable? Should I be checking anything else? I've had my TV HDMI board replaced in my main room and tried swapping cables in attempting to pinpoint the problem originally.

Thankfully, these have been warranty repairs, but we all know how frustrating it is to have to disconnect the hub of your system and be without it for a time.

Unfortunately, the Marantz receivers have the unique feature set of outputting digital audio connections to zone 2 and 3 and includling SubEQ HT which is why I used them. Only higher end Denon receivers share that combination of features. If this issue continues, would there be any reason to believe a Denon receiver would be more reliable or about the same since they're the same parent company?

 

[slipperybidness]

It seems to me that we've seen a sharp increase of Marantz issues lately!

 

[nm2285]

It seems to me that we've seen a sharp increase of Marantz issues lately!

Well that doesn't bode well for me! Have you noticed any up-tick in Denon issues? Wonder if it's company-wide or Marantz-specific.

 

[slipperybidness]

Well that doesn't bode well for me! Have you noticed any up-tick in Denon issues? Wonder if it's company-wide or Marantz-specific.

I haven't noticed the same uptick for Denon like I have for Marantz.

Just a few years ago, many of the Onkyo AVRs were having HDMI board issues.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

I used to have SR7008 as well.. HDMI board was replaced twice and then my unit was replaced with SR7010 and the issues were gone after the replace. Importer had the SR7008 running for few weeks without any issues.. I also talked with repair guy who replaced the boards and he was suspecting handshake problems between the avr and player. I'm pretty sure he was correct as the issues didn't go away until I got newer version of avr.

 

[nm2285]

Are handshake issues something that could develop over time or affect all sources? Don't know enough about them.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Are handshake issues something that could develop over time or affect all sources? Don't know enough about them.

Well I don't know too much about them either. But I suppose it can affect all hdmi sources. For me it happened quite randomly: Sometimes it happened daily and sometimes there were nothing for weeks.

 

[lewb]

I've had a ton of trouble in the past year with my Marantz receivers. I have an SR7008 in my main system and an SR6009 in my bedroom. I do make them work hard with HDMI - all sources are HDMI and I use both of their independent HDMI zone 2 outputs. However, I've had to send the SR7008 for repair twice and the SR6009 for repair once in the past year for HDMI board issues. The 7008 had the board replaced, behaved for 6 months, and then had the exact same issues started coming back.

I'm convinced it's bad HDMI boards causing the issue especially since the boards have been replaced and the issues fixed (temporarily). Am I missing something? Why are these boards to unreliable? Should I be checking anything else? I've had my TV HDMI board replaced in my main room and tried swapping cables in attempting to pinpoint the problem originally.

Thankfully, these have been warranty repairs, but we all know how frustrating it is to have to disconnect the hub of your system and be without it for a time.

Unfortunately, the Marantz receivers have the unique feature set of outputting digital audio connections to zone 2 and 3 and includling SubEQ HT which is why I used them. Only higher end Denon receivers share that combination of features. If this issue continues, would there be any reason to believe a Denon receiver would be more reliable or about the same since they're the same parent company?

What are your issues? I have a Denon X2000 that will blink once or twice then go away (blue ray, cable box out put). Most times it just shows up about 10 minutes after I turn on the tv and avr. After the 10 minute period the issues usually goes away. Probably once a week it will show up later on in the day or night. I have changed the video setting from auto to analog, no difference. Unplugging hdmi from tv and plugging back in seems to cure issue for a period of time. Samsung tv, using a mono price 15' 18 gbps hdmi cable.

 

[TLS Guy]

There does seem to be an uptick in HDMI problems form this quarter. D & M holdings are part of Bain capital. D & M holdings have had ongoing financial problems since 2014, when they failed to secure long term refinance. As far as I can tell they are still struggling with short term finance. In addition they lost an expensive law suit with Sonos.

I suspect as is so often the case, financial issues are the driver here, which is a pity.

The curse of this receiver, pre/pro market, is that it remains too small relative to development costs, with too many players for the market driving down prices to unprofitability.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

There does seem to be an uptick in HDMI problems form this quarter. D & M holdings are part of Bain capital. D & M holdings have had ongoing financial problems since 2014, when they failed to secure long term refinance. As far as I can tell they are still struggling with short term finance. In addition they lost an expensive law suit with Sonos.

I suspect as is so often the case, financial issues are the driver here, which is a pity.

The curse of this receiver, pre/pro market, is that it remains too small relative to development costs, with too many players for the market driving down prices to unprofitability.

I agree that competition is really hard on the market. These HDMI issues might actually be software issue and not hardware issue. But if you don't have money to fix the software that is a big problem.

 

[bikdav]

Well that doesn't bode well for me! Have you noticed any up-tick in Denon issues? Wonder if it's company-wide or Marantz-specific.

I've been casually watching this over the years. I think that it is the HDMI scheme in general that is in trouble - not the receivers themselves. HDMI still has lots of "bugs" in it. It keeps changing and is still highly unreliable from my stand point. I've seen sources connected directly to TVs act up on quite a few occasions.

 

[M Code]

This needs clarification..
The primary reason Marantz and Denon products have issues with HDMI/HDCP compatibility is that their products are not certified. Instead they do their own self-certification in-house which falls short, especially for interoperation compatibility with other brands/modesl HDMI products. The only primary brand that has HDMI/HDCP certified AVRs is Yamaha, note that the cost of HDMI/HDCP is expensive ($35K/platform) and delays 1st shipments by 4-5 weeks.

Just my $0.02...

 

[KEW]

I'm convinced it's bad HDMI boards causing the issue especially since the boards have been replaced and the issues fixed (temporarily). Am I missing something? Why are these boards to unreliable?

Approaching it from an "it can't hurt" philosophy, just make sure there is plenty of space around your AVR for good cooling and maybe add a fan to assist it. I don't know if heat has anything to do with this issue, but I'd guess since they do work for a period that there must be at least one component failing and heat is usually the biggest concern!
AC Infinity makes some pretty good cooling systems which also closely match the Marantz profile on their coolers that stack (see photo below)
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=AC+infinity+AV&rh=i:aps,k:AC+infinity+AV

 

[bruin62]

Can you use lap top cooling fans on a receiver?

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Can you use lap top cooling fans on a receiver?

I guess you could. I personally use 2x 200mm computer case fans that have low dBA powered with similar power supply as this: https://www.amazon.com/Coolerguys-100-240v-Molex-Power-Adapter/dp/B000MGG6SC

 

[tyhjaarpa]

Approaching it from an "it can't hurt" philosophy, just make sure there is plenty of space around your AVR for good cooling and maybe add a fan to assist it. I don't know if heat has anything to do with this issue, but I'd guess since they do work for a period that there must be at least one component failing and heat is usually the biggest concern!
AC Infinity makes some pretty good cooling systems which also closely match the Marantz profile on their coolers that stack (see photo below)
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=AC+infinity+AV&rh=i:aps,k:AC+infinity+AV

Damn! If that thing was available when I was getting cooling for my AVR I would of bought one of those things! It looks to match really well with Marantz avr indeed!

 

[nm2285]

Approaching it from an "it can't hurt" philosophy, just make sure there is plenty of space around your AVR for good cooling and maybe add a fan to assist it. I don't know if heat has anything to do with this issue, but I'd guess since they do work for a period that there must be at least one component failing and heat is usually the biggest concern!
AC Infinity makes some pretty good cooling systems which also closely match the Marantz profile on their coolers that stack (see photo below)
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=AC+infinity+AV&rh=i:aps,k:AC+infinity+AV

Someone else had suggested heat being an issue to me. One is on a rack in a closet. It has at least 2" of breathing space on all sides with an open front and back and the closet is quite large (about 3'x8') so I would think that SHOULD create enough air flow. The other, however, is in a large walk-in closet (door usually stays open) on a wire rack with no shelving or blocks around it. If heat is an issue there, then there's a design flaw. Fan can't hurt in the smaller closet to prevent issues, but I'd be surprised if it was really necessary.

 

[slipperybidness]

Someone else had suggested heat being an issue to me. One is on a rack in a closet. It has at least 2" of breathing space on all sides with an open front and back and the closet is quite large (about 3'x8') so I would think that SHOULD create enough air flow. The other, however, is in a large walk-in closet (door usually stays open) on a wire rack with no shelving or blocks around it. If heat is an issue there, then there's a design flaw. Fan can't hurt in the smaller closet to prevent issues, but I'd be surprised if it was really necessary.

That closet would be a candidate to get some actual data on the internal temp.

 

[M Code]

Someone else had suggested heat being an issue to me. One is on a rack in a closet. It has at least 2" of breathing space on all sides with an open front and back and the closet is quite large (about 3'x8') so I would think that SHOULD create enough air flow. The other, however, is in a large walk-in closet (door usually stays open) on a wire rack with no shelving or blocks around it. If heat is an issue there, then there's a design flaw. Fan can't hurt in the smaller closet to prevent issues, but I'd be surprised if it was really necessary.

Are U aware that Denon/Marantz/Yamaha/Onkyo/Pioneer recommends at least 4-5" for free-air clearance for the L/R sides and top cover. How hot the power supply and amplifier output stage gets depends upon:

• Room size
• Loudspeaker model/brand
• Impedance, Sensitivity specs
• Source material, compressed, uncompressed
• Average listening level

Just my $0.02...

 

[bruin62]

I just ordered one of these Aircom T8 cooling units and if it works well I will get another one for my power amp. It was 30 bucks more on Amazon.ca