Pioneer VSX-919AH Suddenly has no sound help please!!

B

Benjamin Hughes

Enthusiast
Last night my amp suddenly stopped playing sound from all speakers, and sometimes after switching speaker on and off from the front panel it automatically goes into auto mcacc setup for some reason, when i do the mcacc setup there is no clicks or sounds from any speakers which got me worried,

i thought it was a hdmi passthrough problem but analog connections like aux are not working either,

now here is the weird bit, if i do a factory reset (turn amp off then hold enter while turning back on) and i go straight to the mcacc auto setup i can hear the clicks and the noises from the speakers again but it always cuts off before its finished!! i did the same thing again this time trying a bluray movie and i had sound!! but only for around 1 minute before the receiver switched to the mcacc auto setup then there is no sound again,

Is my amp buggered? it is quite old now but it would be nice to get it working if its possible, is this hardware or software problem?

thanks for your help guys
 
crossedover

crossedover

Audioholic Chief
So many possibilities. Power supply, amplifier stage, etc. Did u open it up and see if anything is glaring? Unless it's something simple, cost of repair vs cost of unit isn't going to be fruitful.
 
B

Benjamin Hughes

Enthusiast
I did open it up nothing obvious, no dust build up etc. was going to upgrade this year to a better amp but at the timer i belive my amp was a decent model? really didn't want to upgrade this early on, if i do a factory reset and it works for that minite or so surly its a software problem? or is my assumptions not valid?
 
crossedover

crossedover

Audioholic Chief
I did open it up nothing obvious, no dust build up etc. was going to upgrade this year to a better amp but at the timer i belive my amp was a decent model? really didn't want to upgrade this early on, if i do a factory reset and it works for that minite or so surly its a software problem? or is my assumptions not valid?
could be power supply, put a multi meter to it. Although your thinking software, a board would be more likely than the flash memory. Troubleshooting a modern avr isnt as easy as 123. output stage, input stage, PS, boards, ETC. the AVR is 4-5 years since introduction and while not coming to failure it can happen. As mentioned the cost for someone to diagnose and replace any parts will probably put you at half or more of its final selling price.
 
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Benjamin Hughes

Enthusiast
do you think replacing with a DENON AVR X2000 would be ok? and another thing that bothers me is that it keeps switching to mcacc could the speakers bring it down if one or some are faulty? going to put a multimeter on it now
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Hi, Benjamin. Have you tried disconnecting all of the speakers from it to see what happens? You might have an intermittent short somewhere (such as some copper strands from a speaker wire touching across two terminals). I'd try the following before buying a new receiver:

1. Disconnect the speakers and see if the issue is still present. If so,
2. Disconnect everything from the receiver and see if the the issue is still present. If so,
3. Unplug the receiver for 30-60 minutes, then plug it back in and check.

The one about unplugging the receiver for a while is to help discharge energy from the electronics, and you could try that one first.
 
B

Benjamin Hughes

Enthusiast
Hi adam, i disconnected it overnight and in the morning still doing the same, i disconnected all the speakers but only connected the front L and front R, shall i take all speakers off and connect just the center speaker will that work?, sorry for the silly questions im not a noob but im no expert niether
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Not silly questions at all. :) My recommendation is to disconnect everything and power up the receiver while nothing is connected. The intent is to isolate the receiver, and if it still has the same problems, then you know they aren't being (still) caused by something connected to it. If it works fine with nothing connected, then you know it has something to do with the connections - it might be the connection itself (e.g. a short), it might be what's connected to it, or it still might be that the receiver has a problem with the connection because something is wrong with the receiver. It's just a way of trying to narrow down what's causing the problem.
 
B

Benjamin Hughes

Enthusiast
Well the problem is how do i know the problem is solved when nothing is connected?, my receiver always turns on and video is always processed through hdmi, the problem is no sound, and if i disconnect my speakers how do i isolate it if it is the speakers? sorry im just stressed lol
 
B

Benjamin Hughes

Enthusiast
Right i just disconnected all my speakers then i only plugged in the center speaker and it went strait to mcacc auto setup after a minute, shall i try disconnecting ALL speakers and then see if it does it with no speakers in?
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Audioholic Jedi
Well the problem is how do i know the problem is solved when nothing is connected?, my receiver always turns on and video is always processed through hdmi, the problem is no sound, and if i disconnect my speakers how do i isolate it if it is the speakers? sorry im just stressed lol
Just check all connections carefully. Make very sure there are no whiskers, at either end to any speaker. It is very unlikely to be a speaker problem, unless you recently blasted your rig and have shorted a lot of turn in a voice coil by over heating.

I would say you have an amp output stage drawing too much current and setting off current limiting and therefore massive voltage reduction to the amp board. The other possibility is a failed voltage regulator.

I assume the speakers you are using are the ones you have used all along, if not that could be an issue.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
...shall i try disconnecting ALL speakers and then see if it does it with no speakers in?
Yes - all speakers and everything else should be disconnected from it. This is only to try and help isolate what is causing the problem.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
It is very unlikely to be a speaker problem...
Agreed, given the troubleshooting that the OP has already done. This does happen, though, with a short being caused at the terminals due to someone moving a speaker a little bit or wires just migrating over time due to vibration. I figured that it was an easy thing to check and worth the small amount of time that it takes.
 
B

Benjamin Hughes

Enthusiast
arrrgh so frustrated been trying all day with no luck, i can't even get the audio back now, btw i noticed that the front left speaker kept going off and was fuzzy about a week ago just before it died could that be a sign?
 
B

Benjamin Hughes

Enthusiast
and yes i used the same speakers i brought with the amp, their pioneer make as well, brought them as a package, TLS guy is there anything i could try to see if i can trouble shoot or is it not worth my time and money?, and im guessing its a problem when the amp automatically switches the mcacc setup without my input?
 
crossedover

crossedover

Audioholic Chief
time for a new avr, unfortunatley . if the obvious isnt there cost effective repairs it is not. what did your multimeter read on the input and output stages and PS? If you had certain speaker issues before failure (helps to mention) it leans towards those output stages imho.
 
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Benjamin Hughes

Enthusiast
yeah sorry crossedover! only just thought about it tbh, i just thought it was a connection problem but obviously its not, my old man is bringing his expensive multimeter tommorow, can you advise me how to read the input and output?
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Audioholic Jedi
yeah sorry crossedover! only just thought about it tbh, i just thought it was a connection problem but obviously its not, my old man is bringing his expensive multimeter tommorow, can you advise me how to read the input and output?
It sounds from what you say now, you almost certainly have shorted output transistors on the channel that went"fuzzy".

I'm going to advise you not to muck about inside that unit. You obviously have no experience in service work.

I have a real problem on a forum like this advising people such as yourself to probe around where there are high voltages. I think that is frankly irresponsible.

In any event you won't learn much as you will read low voltages anyway, whether the the power supply is OK or not. The reason is that if an output stage has failed transistors, the current limiters come into play and as a consequence the voltage drops drastically to help prevent cascading damage.

So you have to start isolating parts of the unit before checking the power supply. In view of what you said that amp needs checking and isolating before any power supply checks are done. It takes experience to tell the "chicken form the egg," in these circumstances.

Your options are to have a qualified service tech look at it or send it to the recycling center.

People always say get an estimate, but this is unfair, as the longest part of these jobs by far is isolating the problem. A receiver is complex and that can take many hours. The easiest part is always the actual repair. Unfortunately because of the hours involved it is usually more cost effective to recycle and replace.
 
B

Benjamin Hughes

Enthusiast
Thanks for your honest opinion TLS Guy, i think it's time to replace, but my receiver is now 5 years old and i have no clue to its 2013-2014 equivalent? because i haven't got much to spend atm im in the £350 - £500 price bracket, is pioneer still one of the best av's? or have denon and yamaha taken over? one of my friends has a new Sony and swears by it, my question is what would be a good replacement? all my old pioneer speakers are 8 impedance and 100w max each speaker,
 
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TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Audioholic Jedi
Thanks for your honest opinion TLS Guy, i think it's time to replace, but my receiver is now 5 years old and i have no clue to its 2013-2014 equivalent? because i haven't got much to spend atm im in the £350 - £500 price bracket, is pioneer still one of the best av's? or have denon and yahoo taken over? one of my friends has a new Sony and swears by it, my question is what would be a good replacement? all my old pioneer speakers are 8 impedance and 100w max each speaker,
I have just noticed you love on Corwall! I'm probably not the best guy to ask about receivers. I use separates as my system is complex. Do you need a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver? I generally advise purchase of the mid price of the range. I note a lot of trouble at the low end of the range. Receivers are now so complex, the cheap ones just don't cut it in my view.

Who are you going to purchase it from? Amazon, Watt Hi-Fi, Seven Oaks Hi-Fi, a local dealer? Your choices are a bit more restricted in the UK than the US.

The most recommended brand seem to be Yamaha, Denon and Marantz, although you want to avoid the low end Denons.

Stay out of trouble this weekend, I note more gales, rain and high tides on the way. My brother is leader of the Kent County Council, and he tells me that he has never seen flooding like he has encountered recently in Kent in his life time, although I probably have. He is my younger brother and was born after the 1953 tidal floods which I remember well. Although I understand that the height of the water at the Harbor Inn at Southwold (my favorite pub) was about as high as the 1953 event and from the pictures it looked about as bad. I went to school in Somerset, and I see the Quango known as the Environment agency has neglected to keep the waterways and sluices in good order. The Somerset flats, 40 square miles, I note have been underwater since Christmas.
 
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