RX V1 woes

[Mac Guy]

I've gotten differing opinions from 2 different Yamaha authorized repair techs about my RX V1 rear channels not coming on at start up...I can cycle the test tone around and run the volume control up and the silent channel "bursts" on and remains on for the duration of the evening. This is an intermittent problem but the 2 techs differ as to the cause...one says I need a new MONO board, the other says I need some jacks inside the unit replaced...so, I am considering another receiver but it must have a good TUNER in it. I am one of those types that still listens to radio...

Any recommendations for $2K or less...must be Dolby Digital, etc but with a good tuner. The RX V1 tuner is, in my opinion, excellent.

Many thanks,

Mac Guy

 

[jcPanny]

Temporary fix

You might be able to set a Harmany or Home Threater Master remote to go through a macro at startup to "enable" the problem channels.
If your yamaha a receiver or a pre-pro? The emotiva MPA-1 and MPS-1 seperates might be a quality replacement/upgrade. $3k for the pair or about $1500 for just the pre-pro.

 

[lemonlib]

was in the same boat...i moved up to a rxv2700...has all the rxv-1 options and more..hdmi is great!

 

[dbryant]

The techs are WRONG!!!!

This is a very common issue with the RX-V1. I had one and know the fix. Take an RCA plug and plug it inot the pre-out (do the pre-in as well) jacks for the channel that goes out. The problem lies in these jacks. For some reason they become dirty and this is the result. You can even run a jumper from the pre-in to the out.

This will fix the problem. I regret ever selling mine. Keep it for sure!!

 

[dbryant]

The 2700 is not in the same league as the RX-V1. The RX-V1 does not have DPL II but has one of the best amp sections you can buy in any receiver. This thing weighs 60+ pounds for a reason.

 

[lemonlib]

i still have my rxv1 ..whats dlp or dpl ii...i really dont know...am just happy with my newer yammie..moving my old yammie to the office ..

thanks
Lemon

 

[Yamahaluver]

I would agree with the RX-V1 sound, have sold my Z9 and am back to old Z1 due to the same reason.

 

[Seth=L]

Modification/Improvment on Power Amplifier Inputs
The Problem:
The RX-V1, and other high-end Yamaha recievers (inlcuding the RX-Z1) have a weak spot that can cause problems. Owners report that they "loose channels" over time. Some speaker outputs just stop producing a signal. The cause of this problem lies in switches inside the preamplifier output jacks, which are designed to disconnect the preamplifier from the respective power amplifier when you plug an RCA cable into it. These switches decouple the preamps from the power amps when they aren't supposed to, thus making the sound go away if you are using the inboard power amplifiers. Yuck!

A sure way to deal with this issue is using "jumper" RCA cables to manually connect the preamp outputs their respective power amplifier's direct input jack; problem solved. There's a big catch: ONLY the two Main channels and the Front Center channel have the power amplifier input jacks
The Solution:
I have wired in power amplifier inputs for ALL OF THE REMAINING POWER AMPS. Yes; this RX-V1 has full input access to all of its 8 power amps now! Beyond eliminating the problems with "losing channels", you also have much more flexibility in terms of how you use your power amps. This custom feature has served me well in the past for my bi-amplification setup for my Main speakers. Obviously, I didn't duplicate the power amp inputs for the Mains and the Front Center, so connecting to those is the same as with any RX-V1. You can see from one of the images how my jumper cables are connected from the pre-amp outputs to the power amp inputs (I did not jumper the Mains in this photo).

To make room for these inputs, I have sacrificed the component video inputs to the "CBL/SAT" and "D-TV", leaving the remaining "DVD" input untouched, as well as the component video output to your monitor. I won't write out what goes to what; just look at the photos and see what the jumpers are coupling together. I have documented my changes in the ower's manual.

The modification I have carried out makes this RX-V1 unique and valuable.

Apparently this is a very common problem, but like it reads here there is an easy fix, you don't even have to take anything appart.

 

[MDS]

It must reallly suck to have 'loose' channels; almost as bad as losing channels.

 

[Tom Arrowsmith]

Rx-v1

It must reallly suck to have 'loose' channels; almost as bad as losing channels.

Yes, I have two (2) RX-V1's and both suck..The various channels to the speakers usually do not work, I had a so called factory repair station
look at it and they had no idea why this was happening, don't think they every had one open before, I am ready to junk both units and start from scratch..what a bummer especially the money I have had ot put out.

Tom

 

[Tom Arrowsmith]

Rx-v1

Apparently this is a very common problem, but like it reads here there is an easy fix, you don't even have to take anything appart.

I have two (2) RX-V1 units and both are junk..the money I paid for these units and then have to juggle things around and make modes tells me
Yamaha has a problem, Yamaha has shut everything down except their sales department, apparently thiey could not handle all of the complaints.
I am in the process of using both for an anchor on my boat, one for the front and one for the rear..I am going to Denon??

Tom

 

[truajb]

Seth=L, I have the same problem you guys are describing here and I wonder you can post the picture which you have the preamp jumped? Thanks.

 

[gene]

I installed an RX-V1 for a good friend of mine about 7-8 years ago. He recently had a channel go out and I simply replaced the preamp couplers with new jumpers and it worked fine. I did hear of cases where the preamp / preout jacks get defective over time needing replacement. You may want to call Yamaha customer support for advice.

The DSP-A3090, DSP-A1, RX-V1 and RX-Z1 are gems and are definately worth holding onto if you don't care about HDMI or the new surround formats.

 

[truajb]

The trick really works

I plugged a RCA into the Pre-in of the main channels and the channel dropping problem seems to disappear. I have my V1 hooked up this way for two weeks now and it's been working really well. Thanks for the solution.

 

[MosFetMan]

RX-V1 is worth fixing..here's how

I lived with this problem for a year before I decided to fix it. I will be moving in a month and will post some pics on the repair..I don't want to un-install it right now and pull the cover so I will do it before I re-install it. Here is the background, problem and the fix:

Background: The RX-V1 uses an input board and RCA jacks that basically disables the internal amp when you use the pre-out jacks and try to use the Receiver as a pre-amp/processor Only. Needless to say, RCA jacks were never intended to have switches as part of their design. Yamaha, for reasons that I still don't understand, decided to make such jacks and implement this configuration.

Problem: The input board on the RX-V1 senses a marginal contact at these strange RCA switches for reasons such as loss of tension, corrosion..whatever. When you pump up the volume, the channel "bursts" back to life because the increased signal level suddenly becomes "valid" to the input board because the increase overcomes the marginal connection from the jacks. This is why people are reporting that "playing" with the jacks fixes it...for a while.

Solution: Using basic soldering skills, you simply need to jumper across the signal pins of each of the pre-out and pre-in jacks. I did it directly on the input board using neatly routed shielded wires while keeping the lengths to a minimum. This mod also allows you to use the RX-V1's internal amps while being able to use the pre-out connections for additional amps. In my case, I use a tube amp for my fronts driving fairly efficient speakers (JBL Jubals) while I use the internal amps to drive my front B&W 602s. The combination of the two is so sweet to my ears that I can not describe it beyond saying that the world class Jubals deliver a soundstage when driven by my Jolida while the Solid State amps in the RX-V1 and B&W 602s "fill in the blanks". This configuration requires some sort of attenuation in series with either of the amps in order to get the balance that the fronts need to please your ears and taste. I use the volume control on my Jolida to accomplish this.

Hope this helps...
MosFetMan

 

[Ban-One]

I sold my RXV-1 a month ago because it didn't not have any sound for any channel.

 

[shueardm]

Hello all.

Anybody interested in bringing this thread back to life?
I have 4 of these RX-V1's , 1 for spare parts and 3 in action. However, 2 of them have intermittent channel drop and one of those also has a failed DSP. That doesn't matter to me since I am only using them for 5 CH input. I need 3 of these to power my 11 CH ATMOS Typically it sounds incredible until one day you turn it on and missing the L channel or the C channel and you stop the movie to plug in RCA cables or fiddle fart around with cleaning the jacks once again.
I'd like to point out that simply using an RCA cable to jumper does not fix the issue 100%, I have had the odd occasion where I needed to remove, insert and clean before it worked again.

I'd like to get down the REAL point of issue, these supposed switches.
Now I have just removed the jack board ( CB904?) from my parts unit.
I gotta say, when in my hand, I don't see anything different in the Main L , R and C jacks that show me what switches are talked about. Are these switches not inside the jacks? Since the surround channels do not apparently have the switches, I thought I would see a difference in the jacks.
I'm eager to clean or replace the jacks if i have to to solve these intermittent problems.
@MosFetMan are you still around?

 

[Factruthear]

I've gotten differing opinions from 2 different Yamaha authorized repair techs about my RX V1 rear channels not coming on at start up...I can cycle the test tone around and run the volume control up and the silent channel "bursts" on and remains on for the duration of the evening. This is an intermittent problem but the 2 techs differ as to the cause...one says I need a new MONO board, the other says I need some jacks inside the unit replaced...so, I am considering another receiver but it must have a good TUNER in it. I am one of those types that still listens to radio...

Any recommendations for $2K or less...must be Dolby Digital, etc but with a good tuner. The RX V1 tuner is, in my opinion, excellent.

Many thanks,

Mac Guy

For folk who may still have This problem,

This works

 

[psb]

Apparently this is a very common problem, but like it reads here there is an easy fix, you don't even have to take anything appart.

Seth - I know this is an old thread but do you have a picture of this?

 

[Bobbyrock]

Apparently this is a very common problem, but like it reads here there is an easy fix, you don't even have to take anything appart.

Thanks AO! I run my Rx-V1 as 2.1 system. One of the main channels dropped out, so I opened it up, blew it out with compressed air and used contact cleaner on all the jacks. Got it working again. Also, one channel of the phono section had dropped out, and it came back to life as well. Also, I found many comments in this blog very helpful.