Help upgrading a dying Yamaha TSR-7810

[What.Who.Me]

Just a year ago I began my foray into higher quality listening with a Yamaha TSR-7810 receiver and a pair of Polk Audio RTi A3 bookshelves and loved it. After about six months, I managed to burn out the crossover in one of the Polk speakers. Thank God! Not to talk down on Polk, but I chose to give Klipsch a try next with a pair of RB-61 II’s and was in a whole new league of sound quality. After another six months I decided to elevate another level and just got my first floorstanders, the Klipsch RP-280F and all I can say is wow!

Herein lies the problem, my receiver is going out, there is an obvious short in the front panel wreaking havoc sporadically and I don’t want to repair it if there are better options out there, so I’d just like to open the floor to more experienced audiophiles and ask for any and all recommendations for a better listening experience. Thank you ahead of time for anything I can learn to improve the quality of my music!

 

[What.Who.Me]

 

[3db]

What is it you are looking for? Home Theater or strictly 2 channel.? What are your future plans for this system? If you are planning for only two channel look for an older model TOTL AVR from Yamaha. They have all the clean power you need to drive your current speakers to ear bleeding levels. Models to look at are RX-V1800/3800/1900/3900, RX-A10X0/20X0/30X0 where the X can be substituted from 0 - 8.ie 1020/2020/3020 etc.

Did your current amp become flakey after you ruined one of your Polks? If so, blowing your speaker caused damage to your amp. In the future, you will need to exercise some restraint on the volume control. Just because it can go to 10 doesnt mean its ok to turn it there. I never exceed 2/3 of max volume on any of my AVRs worst case and rarely go up past 50%. That rule applies to all amplifiers whether it be AVRs, integrated amps or power amps.

The other aspect you need to consider is ventilation. Heat is the enemy of all electronics so make sure the amp has plenty of free air around it. Absolutely never block the ventilation holes of the chassis or restrict flow by placing another component on top of the amp.

 

[Pogre]

Herein lies the problem, my receiver is going out, there is an obvious short in the front panel wreaking havoc sporadically

I have no clue what this means. I will say that amplification while obviously necessary, isn't going to have a huge impact on sound quality. What I mean by that is, it's a very mature technology and most competent manufacturers have it down to the point that they all make good, neutral amps and will sound more alike than different. Improvements will almost always be found with better speakers and/or subwoofage.

So don't break the bank on amps. Always put the bulk of your budget into speakers and subs. Once you have sufficient power you're pretty much set for amplification. What do you have for a sub(s)?

 

[TLS Guy]

Just a year ago I began my foray into higher quality listening with a Yamaha TSR-7810 receiver and a pair of Polk Audio RTi A3 bookshelves and loved it. After about six months, I managed to burn out the crossover in one of the Polk speakers. Thank God! Not to talk down on Polk, but I chose to give Klipsch a try next with a pair of RB-61 II’s and was in a whole new league of sound quality. After another six months I decided to elevate another level and just got my first floorstanders, the Klipsch RP-280F and all I can say is wow!

Herein lies the problem, my receiver is going out, there is an obvious short in the front panel wreaking havoc sporadically and I don’t want to repair it if there are better options out there, so I’d just like to open the floor to more experienced audiophiles and ask for any and all recommendations for a better listening experience. Thank you ahead of time for anything I can learn to improve the quality of my music!

What do you mean by a short in the front panel and how do you know that? What is actually wrong with that almost new receiver? Your post makes no sense. It seems you asking us for a unit for you to destroy next, without further clarification.

 

[What.Who.Me]

What do you mean by a short in the front panel and how do you know that? What is actually wrong with that almost new receiver? Your post makes no sense. It seems you asking us for a unit for you to destroy next, without further clarification.

To elaborate on the problem, the buttons on the front display panel randomly “push themselves” and start changing the input or settings, or it thinks the YPAO mic has been plugged in. I know it’s only a problem with the front panel itself because when I turn it on and put it into pure direct mode, it functions just fine.

 

[What.Who.Me]

What is it you are looking for? Home Theater or strictly 2 channel.? What are your future plans for this system? If you are planning for only two channel look for an older model TOTL AVR from Yamaha. They have all the clean power you need to drive your current speakers to ear bleeding levels. Models to look at are RX-V1800/3800/1900/3900, RX-A10X0/20X0/30X0 where the X can be substituted from 0 - 8.ie 1020/2020/3020 etc.

Did your current amp become flakey after you ruined one of your Polks? If so, blowing your speaker caused damage to your amp. In the future, you will need to exercise some restraint on the volume control. Just because it can go to 10 doesnt mean its ok to turn it there. I never exceed 2/3 of max volume on any of my AVRs worst case and rarely go up past 50%. That rule applies to all amplifiers whether it be AVRs, integrated amps or power amps.

The other aspect you need to consider is ventilation. Heat is the enemy of all electronics so make sure the amp has plenty of free air around it. Absolutely never block the ventilation holes of the chassis or restrict flow by placing another component on top of the amp.

I’m looking for the best sound quality, at very high sound levels, surround sound is an afterthought, so a two channel would be ideal. The amp just started having this problem a few days ago, while I blew the Polk audio about six months or so, and I am obsessive about maintaining free space around the amp and having nothing on top of it, to ensure proper air circulation. To be honest, I routinely will play at around 80-85%, but not at full volume. That is one of the reasons I’m looking to upgrade, so I can push the volume I enjoy without so much strain. I do not currently have a sub, but I will be making that purchase soon, I’m debating between the SVS PC -2000 pro, or the SVS 3000 micro, but have yet to decide.
As for the future, ideally someday I will have worked my way up to the latest Klipschorns.

 

[Pogre]

I’m looking for the best sound quality, at very high sound levels, surround sound is an afterthought, so a two channel would be ideal. The amp just started having this problem a few days ago, while I blew the Polk audio about six months or so, and I am obsessive about maintaining free space around the amp and having nothing on top of it, to ensure proper air circulation. To be honest, I routinely will play at around 80-85%, but not at full volume. That is one of the reasons I’m looking to upgrade, so I can push the volume I enjoy without so much strain. I do not currently have a sub, but I will be making that purchase soon, I’m debating between the SVS PC -2000 pro, or the SVS 3000 micro, but have yet to decide.
As for the future, ideally someday I will have worked my way up to the latest Klipschorns.

Okay, wow. The subs you mention are completely different animals. If you have the room and truly want good bass go with the PC2000 Pro, FOR SURE.

Have you tried a factory reset? I don't know if I would conclude a short necessarily from your description. A reset might just clear it all up. Hopefully that will work.

Now back to subwoofage, once you get your amp sorted I think that would be my next step. You get a lot more out of a good sub than just more bass. It has a way of cleaning things up from top to bottom, takes some pressure off your amps and since your speakers aren't dealing with deep bass they can play louder with less distortion. Recently @Mark E. Long finally upgraded his old subs and he was pretty much just blown away. Check out his thread, it's a fun read and mirrors my experience when I finally took the plunge myself.

New SVS subs PB-1000 Pros !

Last week after months of debate with myself about upgrading my subs I Finley did . After researching all kinds of brands and sizes of new subs I pulled the trigger on these . Had many conversations with them about my room it size my whole setup I decided on the SVS pb-1000 pros . I read lots of...

forums.audioholics.com

 

[Mark E. Long]

Okay, wow. The subs you mention are completely different animals. If you have the room and truly want good bass go with the PC2000 Pro, FOR SURE.

Have you tried a factory reset? I don't know if I would conclude a short necessarily from your description. A reset might just clear it all up. Hopefully that will work.

Now back to subwoofage, once you get your amp sorted I think that would be my next step. You get a lot more out of a good sub than just more bass. It has a way of cleaning things up from top to bottom, takes some pressure off your amps and since your speakers aren't dealing with deep bass they can play louder with less distortion. Recently @Mark E. Long finally upgraded his old subs and he was pretty much just blown away. Check out his thread, it's a fun read and mirrors my experience when I finally took the plunge myself.

New SVS subs PB-1000 Pros !

Last week after months of debate with myself about upgrading my subs I Finley did . After researching all kinds of brands and sizes of new subs I pulled the trigger on these . Had many conversations with them about my room it size my whole setup I decided on the SVS pb-1000 pros . I read lots of...

forums.audioholics.com

I absolutely recommend the 1000 pros for the money going with two of these are a game changer. You will not believe what you’ve been missing.

I’ve got a pretty decent system already and these completely changed the game night and day difference in my rig for what SVS charges for a set of duel 1000 pros it’s incredible the quality you get in these .

The app is a cool feature with these to experiment with you can change anything you want from the listener seat and it you don’t like it hit a button and reset it right back . These is no substitute for a good sub setup .

 

[TLS Guy]

To elaborate on the problem, the buttons on the front display panel randomly “push themselves” and start changing the input or settings, or it thinks the YPAO mic has been plugged in. I know it’s only a problem with the front panel itself because when I turn it on and put it into pure direct mode, it functions just fine.

The fault is probably not in the front panel. It is almost certainly in the mother board in the logic part of the board. The buttons on the front panel are momentary switches. They just destabilize flip flop circuits in the logic ICs on the mother board.

This very likely is due to heat from driving the unit too hard. I would do a reset, as they may solve it. If not I suggest that you go with separates or at lest an external power amp. And by the way also put in an order for your hearing aids, which you will soon need to complement your power amp.

 

[Pogre]

I absolutely recommend the 1000 pros for the money going with two of these are a game changer. You will not believe what you’ve been missing.

I’ve got a pretty decent system already and these completely changed the game night and day difference in my rig for what SVS charges for a set of duel 1000 pros it’s incredible the quality you get in these .

The app is a cool feature with these to experiment with you can change anything you want from the listener seat and it you don’t like it hit a button and reset it right back . These is no substitute for a good sub setup .

Dual PB1000 Pros do a great job up to a medium-large size room. OP is between the new micro and the PC2000 Pro.

Between those 2 the PC2000 is by far the better choice. That little micro is impressive for what it is, but what it is, is a very small design and has inherent limitations that just can't be overcome unless we overturn the laws of physics. It's not even a true subwoofer in that it has almost no output by the time you get down to 20 hz. It's more of a mid bass unit to add a little punch in the lower midrange and upper bass.

To the original topic, this looks like how to do a reset for that unit, per the owner's manual.

Hold down MAIN ZONE + power on/off on the front panel for more than 10 seconds to initialize and
reboot the unit. (If the problem persists, disconnect the power cable from the AC wall
outlet and plug it again.)

Try that and let us know if it worked.

 

[Mark E. Long]

Dual PB1000 Pros do a great job up to a medium-large size room. OP is between the new micro and the PC2000 Pro.

Between those 2 the PC2000 is by far the better choice. That little micro is impressive for what it is, but what it is, is a very small design and has inherent limitations that just can't be overcome unless we overturn the laws of physics. It's not even a true subwoofer in that it has almost no output by the time you get down to 20 hz. It's more of a mid bass unit to add a little punch in the lower midrange and upper bass.

To the original topic, this looks like how to do a reset for that unit, per the owner's manual.

Hold down MAIN ZONE + power on/off on the front panel for more than 10 seconds to initialize and
reboot the unit. (If the problem persists, disconnect the power cable from the AC wall
outlet and plug it again.)

Try that and let us know if it worked.

I’d never go with the micro unless I had a very small room my room is large these do an incredible job in a 3800 square ft room and I haven’t even dialed them in yet much playing to do yet as Iam waiting for a new center to come and intergrate that into my rig .

I’d definitely go with the Pb 2000 if just getting one or the duel 1000’s if his room is setup good . I haven’t read the whole thread yet .

 

[Mark E. Long]

The fault is probably not in the front panel. It is almost certainly in the mother board in the logic part of the board. The buttons on the front panel are momentary switches. They just destabilize flip flop circuits in the logic ICs on the mother board.

This very likely is due to heat from driving the unit too hard. I would do a reset, as they may solve it. If not I suggest that you go with separates or at lest an external power amp. And by the way also put in an order for your hearing aids, which you will soon need to complement your power amp.

My RX-A 3020 did the same thing it took a new motherboard too and an hdmi board and it wasn’t abused at high levels. It seems some models of Yamaha’s have a bad batch of main processor boards I was told by the repair tech .
He most definitely needs to reset the processor and go from there and I’d advise to not do a firmware update as the old could be crupted and will damage the processor further .
I’d do a full reset .

 

[TLS Guy]

My RX-A 3020 did the same thing it took a new motherboard too and an hdmi board and it wasn’t abused at high levels. It seems some models of Yamaha’s have a bad batch of main processor boards I was told by the repair tech .
He most definitely needs to reset the processor and go from there and I’d advise to not do a firmware update as the old could be crupted and will damage the processor further .
I’d do a full reset .

Interesting. His problem has to be on the mother board. If a reset does not work, and the unit is out of warranty, it will have to be replaced. There is far too much of this sort of thing from all receiver manufacturers. I think a big part of the problem is too fast an update cycle. New models every five years, would be much more appropriate.
That way they have time to get the design right before market.

 

[Mark E. Long]

Interesting. His problem has to be on the mother board. If a reset does not work, and the unit is out of warranty, it will have to be replaced. There is far too much of this sort of thing from all receiver manufacturers. I think a big part of the problem is too fast an update cycle. New models every five years, would be much more appropriate.
That way they have time to get the design right before market.

100% agree I bought this unit in 2013 brand new 6 months after the warranty ran out ( it was 5 years then ) it started acting up but then quite acting up about in its 8 th year I’d be watching a movie and at any given time it would just stop producing sound on any program or input then it would act fine for months . I done every reset you could do myself Finley had a upper level tech guy call and we hooked it up over the internet to his computer or test equipment online . He pretty much took over the unit as I watched on screen what he was doing put it threw it’s paces and come to the conclusion that the firmware was wiped out in the processor completely gone . He told me that it was a known problem with a batch of boards they’re been sourced with in the early RX-A flagship models some are good some are bad luck of the draw I guess .
So anyhow he give me a close repair place authorizing to have this fixed with updated main processor board and reprogrammed while there they found the hdmi board was bad and replaced it too .

It cost me 385.00 to fix which was better than paying for a new unit it works like a champ they had it a month they tested everything and sent the spec sheets with it . I have noticed that with the new processor it always says my front left speaker is out of phase which it’s not but I called the same tech and he said if the wires are correct to ignore that . It’s not had a glitch in two years . The guy was super knowledgeable and really helpful to talk to and told me unless I wanted atmos or the dts-x he’d never upgrade to newer for awhile cause this should hold up for a good while.

 

[lovinthehd]

Your change in speakers to the floorstanders with higher sensitivity and spl capability probably solved the problem trying to use the smaller bookshelf speakers. I'd also try the reset to see if that resolves problems with the avr. If it doesn't and you do change avr, I'd suggest the avr plus power amp route if you want to thrash the ears more Your current avr does have a full set of pre-outs to accommodate external power amps in any case....

 

[3db]

Interesting. His problem has to be on the mother board. If a reset does not work, and the unit is out of warranty, it will have to be replaced. There is far too much of this sort of thing from all receiver manufacturers. I think a big part of the problem is too fast an update cycle. New models every five years, would be much more appropriate.
That way they have time to get the design right before market.

Its not a common problem with Yamaha. All my Yammies were bought used and I've never encountered any issues with mine. I do agree that releasing a new model every year definately increases the risk of breakdowns occuring more frequently as there was most likely insufficient testing going on to find potential problems and short falls in the design. When Yamaha released the RX-A series, the first two iterations were mostly the same with minor upgrades most likely done in firmware, not hardware. I imagine that hardware upgrades (along with firmware upgrades) were at play when the x020 series was released due to its ability to handle 4K video. That would be a 2 year time span. After that, I believe it was mostly firmware upgrades after that from there on in with hardly any hardware upgrades in play up until the new series was released. It may appear that new models were released every year but if you dig deep enough, the actual core of the AVR changed very little.