Upgrade HDMI cables?

[MR.MAGOO]

My AVR is out for repair, so the whole system is disconnected and I'm taking the opportunity to label all wires and cables, and replace some. I've got a 4K blu-ray player, wondering if I should upgrade that cable since the AVR will pass a 4K signal, but my current TV is not 4K (that's the next upgrade). Panasonic DP-UB820P-K blu-ray player to Yamaha RX-A1020 AVR (pass thru), to Sony Bravia 2K LCD 50". I want to be able to use the 120Hz I've seen featured on many new TV's.

 

[Pogre]

If you don't currently have the high speed HDMI cables and plan to eventually update things you might as well while you have the access. No need to go crazy on fancy ones, just make sure they're the right ones.

 

[TLS Guy]

My AVR is out for repair, so the whole system is disconnected and I'm taking the opportunity to label all wires and cables, and replace some. I've got a 4K blu-ray player, wondering if I should upgrade that cable since the AVR will pass a 4K signal, but my current TV is not 4K (that's the next upgrade). Panasonic DP-UB820P-K blu-ray player to Yamaha RX-A1020 AVR (pass thru), to Sony Bravia 2K LCD 50". I want to be able to use the 120Hz I've seen featured on many new TV's.

Who did you find to repair that receiver? It is now 9 years old. Is it a cost effective proposition?

 

[MR.MAGOO]

Who did you find to repair that receiver? It is now 9 years old. Is it a cost effective proposition?

found a place about 8 miles from home, been in business about 40 years, they fix most electronics (home appliances, etc), once they diagnose the problem they'll call me. Think it will be cheaper than buying a new AVR. With the current backlog of cargo ships waiting to hit port it will be sometime before dealers can re-stock.

 

[Mark E. Long]

found a place about 8 miles from home, been in business about 40 years, they fix most electronics (home appliances, etc), once they diagnose the problem they'll call me. Think it will be cheaper than buying a new AVR. With the current backlog of cargo ships waiting to hit port it will be sometime before dealers can re-stock.

I had may RX-A 3020 fixed about 2 years ago too indeed way cheaper than a newer one . If I may ask what went wrong with it as there was a known problem with the earlier RX-A units where the main processor board went bad in some units as mine did . It was my understanding from talks with Yamaha tech’s that the problem run it’s self out by the rx-a 3040 units .

 

[-Jim-]

Gents, IMHO repairing a 9+ year old AVR doesn't make Cents ( )

Although I've had receivers outlast their usefulness, eventually I retired them when I moved on to get newer features. I'm not suggesting you buy new equipment every 2 years, but there is a time when you need to move on. Repairing a 9 year old electronic anything is risky, as the unrepaired portion of the device is aged, and subject to failure at any time. Consumer electronics are just not designed & manufactured to last a decade.

If cost is an issue, perhaps Accessories4Less if you are in the USA or Gibbys if you are in Canada. Or even used via Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook marketplace. At 9+ years old, I'd punt!

 

[Trebdp83]

Come on, break open that piggy bank and get a Yamaha RX-A2A and Sony A80j. Pick the size that will fit in your space and call it good. Don't forget the Ultra Certified HDMI cables. Enjoy.

 

[Mark E. Long]

Gents, IMHO repairing a 9+ year old AVR doesn't make Cents ( )

Although I've had receivers outlast their usefulness, eventually I retired them when I moved on to get newer features. I'm not suggesting you buy new equipment every 2 years, but there is a time when you need to move on. Repairing a 9 year old electronic anything is risky, as the unrepaired portion of the device is aged, and subject to failure at any time. Consumer electronics are just not designed & manufactured to last a decade.

If cost is an issue, perhaps Accessories4Less if you are in the USA or Gibbys if you are in Canada. Or even used via Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook marketplace. At 9+ years old, I'd punt!

We’ll I’ve got to agree to a little of that mine was a year out from the 5 year warranty when it started going wonky and it took on a mind of its own then it would act fine for weeks then it finally died about a year later . Research lead me to understand that there was a problem with the main processor board and the hdmi board as in sometimes no video and sound and then the opposite Or in the middle of a movie one or the other would quite working till finally the display would show no decoder or no source.
I let this unit set for two years the whole system really mainly work and then health issues made it not that important at the time life happens . So after reading of the board problem and talking with Yamaha it was disclosed that indeed there is or was a problem with main board’s. I even had the main tech in California call me and spent about an hour on the phone running me threw service menus and then he hooked up to the unit on the internet and ran a bunch of tests as I watched . The board and processor was void of any firmware or any programming. You could power it on and it looked fine no errors anything .
Now indeed I could have trashed it and bought new but it was cheaper to fix than shell out another 2210 bucks for the newest version . I had to send it to Kentucky to be fixed as the programming can only be done by Yamaha at a certified Yamaha center . Now it doesn’t have atmos or the latest dtsx but I’ve no need for that just yet .
I got an upgraded main processor an upgraded hdmi board and a better version of Yapo and a newer Video processor which I never did use or do now . So for 380.00 bucks I concider it a temporary win till they get the bugs out of all the new avrs . It works just as it should really better than it did . So to me it had the features I wanted and use plus it’s upgraded to better processing. So 380.00 looked better than a comparable unit at 2.100 for new . And a three warranty on the new parts installed it was a no-brainer to me .
Then I got a follow up call from the tech to make sure it was preforming ok . So given the current state of any electronics with lack of quantity and quality in hdmi issues and who knows what else will show up in these units down the road .

 

[MR.MAGOO]

Come on, break open that piggy bank and get a Yamaha RX-A2A and Sony A80j. Pick the size that will fit in your space and call it good. Don't forget the Ultra Certified HDMI cables. Enjoy.

I'm retired and would rather spend $$$ on records than extra bells & whistles I'll NEVER use (Atmos, etc) that the new AVR's cram into them.

 

[TLS Guy]

Gents, IMHO repairing a 9+ year old AVR doesn't make Cents ( )

Although I've had receivers outlast their usefulness, eventually I retired them when I moved on to get newer features. I'm not suggesting you buy new equipment every 2 years, but there is a time when you need to move on. Repairing a 9 year old electronic anything is risky, as the unrepaired portion of the device is aged, and subject to failure at any time. Consumer electronics are just not designed & manufactured to last a decade.

If cost is an issue, perhaps Accessories4Less if you are in the USA or Gibbys if you are in Canada. Or even used via Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook marketplace. At 9+ years old, I'd punt!

It might now, as gear is in such short supply. It really depends on what the long term reliability is. An outfit the also fixes appliances does not inspire confidence though.
Let see how he gets on. If it needs a new board, which is likely, then it will probably be NLA. He will then be out of luck, and have to pay them for their time.

As I keep saying the current state of affairs is a total mess. The right to repair association are having a lot to say about this, and making headway.

There is absolutely no reason other then corporate greed, why even complex units could not be easily repaired, and by their owners at that. It really comes down to elegant design. What we have now is almost all universally, inelegant design!

 

[lovinthehd]

Elegant design and modularity for future needs for maintenance and upgrades certainly would be nice but isn't reality; consumer greed has as much to do with it as the corporate greed that's glad to feed that engine.

 

[Trebdp83]

I'm retired and would rather spend $$$ on records than extra bells & whistles I'll NEVER use (Atmos, etc) that the new AVR's cram into them.

I hear you. Keep in mind, a new 4K TV will support HDR. The A1020 does not do so and enjoying HDR and/or 4K@120 will mean connecting capable devices directly to the TV. The A1020 supports ARC but not eARC so lossless audio will be lost from devices connected directly to the TV unless those devices have a second HDMI port for audio.

I can understand wanting to save money but I would invest in new tech before spending a considerable amount on the old. That Panasonic player hasn't been able to show you what it can do, yet.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Inexpensive, certified, and should work well if you want to go with a 48Gb/s HDMI cable...

Monoprice 8K Certified Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable - HDMI 2.1, 8K@60Hz, 48Gbps, CL2 In-Wall Rated, 30AWG, 6ft, Black - Monoprice.com

The Monoprice™ 8K Certified Ultra High Speed HDMI® Cable is the next generation of HDMI cable. Certified by an HDMI authorized testing center, these cables support up to 8K@60Hz/4K@120Hz res

www.monoprice.com

I would seriously look at their 3' slim 48Gb/s cables for equipment that can handle the shorter lengths. Slim HDMI cables are THE way to go whenever possible.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

It might now, as gear is in such short supply. It really depends on what the long term reliability is. An outfit the also fixes appliances does not inspire confidence though.
Let see how he gets on. If it needs a new board, which is likely, then it will probably be NLA. He will then be out of luck, and have to pay them for their time.

As I keep saying the current state of affairs is a total mess. The right to repair association are having a lot to say about this, and making headway.

There is absolutely no reason other then corporate greed, why even complex units could not be easily repaired, and by their owners at that. It really comes down to elegant design. What we have now is almost all universally, inelegant design!

Looks like I'm screwed. The repair shop can't fix it, no parts available from Yamaha or 3rd party vendors. Will not even consider eBay or Facebook Marketplace as I've been ripped off by those thieves already.

 

[Pogre]

Will not even consider eBay or Facebook Marketplace as I've been ripped off by those thieves already.

Really? Do tell...

Tho I wouldn't recommend buying electronics like this from eBay or fb marketplace anyway. 'Cept speakers. Those can last a lifetime if properly taken care of and it's a lot more obvious if there are any issues. I've had good experiences with both eBay and craigslist for speakers.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

Really? Do tell...

Tho I wouldn't recommend buying electronics like this from eBay or fb marketplace anyway. 'Cept speakers. Those can last a lifetime if properly taken care of and it's a lot more obvious if there are any issues. I've had good experiences with both eBay and craigslist for speakers.

eBay: I ordered and paid for a DVD, seller is in Greece, never received the order and got NO help from eBay.. FakeBook: ordered and paid for a wine bottle opener, never received it. Mark Fuckerberg invented FakeBook to sell advertising but if one actually tries to buy anything from those advertisers, good luck.

 

[Mark E. Long]

We’re they an authorized Yamaha service center if not Yamaha will not sell or send programs or boards to any 2 or 3 party repair shop it has to be done in a certified Yamaha service center .
When mine was fixed the board came to them unprogrammed as the soft ware is down loaded directly from Yamaha in California over a secure connection from the service center from them . I may be wrong but they head tech of theres told me that they have to keep the parts for 10 years to fix these by law . There kind of strict about there software .

 

[TLS Guy]

We’re they an authorized Yamaha service center if not Yamaha will not sell or send programs or boards to any 2 or 3 party repair shop it has to be done in a certified Yamaha service center .
When mine was fixed the board came to them unprogrammed as the soft ware is down loaded directly from Yamaha in California over a secure connection from the service center from them . I may be wrong but they head tech of theres told me that they have to keep the parts for 10 years to fix these by law . There kind of strict about there software .

The law is 7 years, but manufacturers of electronics, have an out. This is because most ICs, only ever have one production run, as each set up costs millions. It is hard to predict the repair needs. ICs have almost universally had too low production runs, and usually run out at the end of the final products production run, and many units as a result can never be repaired once that unit is obsolete. This is another disgrace of modern manufacture.

That is why the law actually needs to be that units above a certain price threshold, be made with at least automotive grade components.

There is way to high a premature failure rate of domestic AV gear. What is required is a five year model replacement cycle at least, and much high quality components used. New models every year of complex equipment is just nuts, and will lead to increasing grief, and there is plenty of that to go around already.

 

[TLS Guy]

Looks like I'm screwed. The repair shop can't fix it, no parts available from Yamaha or 3rd party vendors. Will not even consider eBay or Facebook Marketplace as I've been ripped off by those thieves already.

I feared that would be the outcome.

If you like to keep your equipment for the long haul, then I recommend you go the pre/pro route and stand alone power amplification. The receiver concept is just begging to have trouble.

Peter Walker of Quad was frequently asked if he was going to produce a receiver. His reply was always a curt NO!

 

[Pandaman617]

Don’t listen to these guys! If you don’t spend $3000+ on your HDMI cables you’re missing out on such superior sound quality! . And don’t forget to add $300 cable elevators.