Can't control audio receiver volume, tried everything

[AmyBelle]

I think we're almost there! I connected the pre to the main with a short rca chord, and I can hear the audio coming out of the speakers in a soft/static-y way. I tried a few different RCA cables and wiggled them around in the inputs to see if that would fix it, but didn't. It sounds like the sound in the speakers is fighting to get out, but the volume still isn't affecting it.

I have the rca's going from the audio out's in the tv, the one's specified in the catalog, into the video input (i tried cd too) and then the pre going to the main. Did I do something wrong?

 

[TLS Guy]

I think we're almost there! I connected the pre to the main with a short rca chord, and I can hear the audio coming out of the speakers in a soft/static-y way. I tried a few different RCA cables and wiggled them around in the inputs to see if that would fix it, but didn't. It sounds like the sound in the speakers is fighting to get out, but the volume still isn't affecting it.

I have the rca's going from the audio out's in the tv, the one's specified in the catalog, into the video input (i tried cd too) and then the pre going to the main. Did I do something wrong?

Have you ever used the preamp section of that receiver? Can you play the radio? Can you hear a CD player connected to the CD input? If the answers are no then the preamp section of the receiver is defective.

Now you have the pre to mains jumped, the radio should play and you should be able to use your inputs. Check that the tape monitor loop is off. This is vital. That will be selected by having a button depressed that says tape monitor or something like that. It needs to be in the out position. This receiver definitely has a tape monitor loop, make sure it is not on.

 

[MDS]

I'm betting big money on the tape monitor being on.

I've seen it too many times. About once every 3 months I get a call from my sister wondering why the Onkyo receiver no longer outputs sound and it is always the tape monitor loop.

Anyway hoping it's that simple!

 

[AmyBelle]

I'm betting big money on the tape monitor being on.

I've seen it too many times. About once every 3 months I get a call from my sister wondering why the Onkyo receiver no longer outputs sound and it is always the tape monitor loop.

Anyway hoping it's that simple!

There are two buttons on the front that say Tape 1 and Tape 2 and they are both off, I've looked all over the front and back and those are the only buttons that say anything about tape.

I don't have an antenna hooked up to the stereo, so it's not finding any channels. The sound really sounds like it's fighting to get out, and there's a thump when i press the "low level" on and off.

Here's a pic:

 

[AmyBelle]

This is the 7100 but it's pretty much the same (closer shot)

 

[AmyBelle]

Have you ever used the preamp section of that receiver?

No I've never used it before.. before it was my old tv's audio outs going into the "main" inputs and sound came out of the speakers without the receiver even being turned on, and the volume corresponded with the tv volume

 

[TLS Guy]

No I've never used it before.. before it was my old tv's audio outs going into the "main" inputs and sound came out of the speakers without the receiver even being turned on, and the volume corresponded with the tv volume

So we have no idea if that unit works. The tape monitor loop is the copy switch. That needs to be off. The mid position.

In any event if you use the tape inputs it will bypass the tape monitor. If you get nothing on tape one or two, you will need to go shopping.

 

[AmyBelle]

Now there's no sound, thumping or anything, guess we'll call this a failure

 

[mtrycrafts]

I don't have an aux input, is that the same as phono?

NO!!! If that is what you connected the TV audio to, wow.
That is a very low level signal input and may explain the very loud volume.

Another point you mentioned is that with the old TV your speakers worked even with the NAD being off. Which speakers, the TV or the ones connected to the NAD? If the latter, I don't see how that can be with no power on.

Something is amiss here for sure but with further explanations it may be resolved

 

[AmyBelle]

NO!!! If that is what you connected the TV audio to, wow.
That is a very low level signal input and may explain the very loud volume.

Another point you mentioned is that with the old TV your speakers worked even with the NAD being off. Which speakers, the TV or the ones connected to the NAD? If the latter, I don't see how that can be with no power on.

Something is amiss here for sure but with further explanations it may be resolved

Thanks for piping in mrtycrafts. No I just had the audio outs from the tv going into the inputs that say "main" on the back of the receiver.

With the last tv, the sound came out of the NAD receiver speakers. I realize that's weird, but that's how it was. I literally just removed rca from the old tv and put it in the back of the new tv, with the connection on the NAD receiver remaining the same, and it didn't work at all. It's really frustrating.

 

[MDS]

Just realized this is a NEW TV. Some TVs won't send the audio to the audio outs unless the TV internal speakers are disabled. Check if there is a menu option on the TV to disable the internal speakers.

 

[AmyBelle]

Hmm, I don't see the option to disable the internal speakers anywhere.. I don't think that's it because the sound definitely comes out full force when i plug it right into the "main" jack, i just can't turn the volume down

 

[highfihoney]

I'm betting big money on the tape monitor being on.

I've seen it too many times. About once every 3 months I get a call from my sister wondering why the Onkyo receiver no longer outputs sound and it is always the tape monitor loop.

Anyway hoping it's that simple!

Oh god,this brings back terrible horrible memories for me,my late uncle had me set him up a 2.0 system connected to his tv about 10 years ago,same stuff went on there,he would mash every button in sight & flip every switch & lever trying to get sound,then he started in on the wiring,plug this in here & unplug that there

After his weekly destructive rampage i'd have to go over on the weekend & fix everything,i ended up taking away his remote to the receiver then entering the code for the receiver into his tv remote,then i super glued the "enter" button so he couldnt push it,none of this helped one bit.

It took me about 10 trips to his house to figure out that it always started with the tape monitor switch,i ended up super gluing the tape monitor switch,problem solved,he could never understand how come the largest switch on the reciever was not the power button so he kept on flipping tape monitor.

My money is on tape monitor.

 

[markw]

Hey! That looks just like my NAD 1600 Tuner/preamp

Dollars to donuts it's the same thing only with a built in power amplifier. As far as that goes, this is what you need to do,

1) connect inerterconnects between the pre-outs and the main-ins.

2) Connect the TV's audio outs to a high level input. I suggest the "video" input.

3) Check your TV's manual to see when and how it's audio outputs are activated and do what's indicated. As mentioned earlier, not all TV's operate the same.

3.5) If you want to test the "video" input of the NAD, plug in a known working CD player to that input and follow the rest of the instructions. It should work. If not, the NAD's front end is dead.

4) Turn the volume down on the NAD and select "video"

5) Press the "low level" button on the NAD so the corrosponding yellow light goes off. This attenuates the volume by 20 db or so when it's first turned on. You must push this every time you turn it on.

6) Increase the volume on the NAD. If it's working and the TV audio is on you should be good to go.

I hope the NAD works. If it is, in fact, the same as my 1600 tuner/preamp, you'e got a nice piece of stereo gear there. Just give it a decent FM antenna.

 

[AmyBelle]

My money is on tape monitor.

Yeah we already figured out it's not. Pay up!

 

[highfihoney]

Hmm, I don't see the option to disable the internal speakers anywhere.. I don't think that's it because the sound definitely comes out full force when i plug it right into the "main" jack, i just can't turn the volume down

Hi,this has went too far,what you need to do is forget everything you've tried up to this point,tear everything apart & start from scratch,i know nobody likes to start all over but this is going nowhere & will continue this course.

1. Look at the back of your receiver,remember the picture you posted from ebay where you said you did not have "the short cords" going from the pre out to the main,these are called "JUMPERS" & you must have them in place,their function is to connect the AMPLIFIER section inside your receiver to the PREAMPLIFIER section inside the receiver,without these nothing will happen,as has been suggested if you dont have the factory jumpers you can use rca's (patch cables),try not to use any of the "FREE" flimsy black & red cables that you get for free with a $20 dvd player as they might add to the problems.

2, Forget the tv for now,take a cd player & connect it to the back of your receiver where it says "VIDEO SOUND",on the back of the cd player if there are more than one set of outputs (plugs) they will be labled as "FIXED" & "VARIABLE" DO NOT USE THE VARIABLE OUTPUTS FOR ANY REASON,when you use the variable outputs you now enter another volume control into the mix,any cd player that has variable outputs will have a built in volume control,this will only add more problems,use fixed output only & connect to the receiver in "video sound".

3, Now play a cd through the receiver cd player combo & see what you get,if you get no sound than leave the volume at a medium low level & start flipping tape monitor buttons,if the receiver if 100% functional you will get sound & have the ability to fully control the sound with the receivers master volume control.

4, Considering that the receiver worked with the old tv were going to assume its in 100% working order,you need to understand something before connecting anything to the tv,any device you now connect to the receiver that has its own volume control can & will cause problems,the built in volume control on your tv is a preamplifier in itself,couple this with the preamplifier within your receiver now you have 2 volume controls that will feed off each other ,set the volume control on the receiver to about 75% of its maximum volume.

5, Take another pair of rca cables & connect them to "video sound on the receiver,again not using any freebie cables that came free with any equipment you've bought,also do not use other cables like video cables & just leave the 3rd wire dangeling & not connected,use only standard 2 channel L & R audio cables,now connect the other end to the inputs below the HDMI PORT as TLSGUY said,now turn the tv on,turn the receiver on making sure the receiver selector switch is set to video sound,you should now be able to control the sound via your tv remote,with the tv remore turned all the way down there should be no sound & should not increase drasticly,if it does increase too fast when using the tv remote as the total volume control simply turn down the master volume control on the receiver in small incriments until it matches what level of control you prefer.

6,I f at this point you have no sound at all then you need to look on the back of the tv for a small switch that turns off the internal speakers inside the tv & then sends the signal to the recievers speakers,if you do not have an actual switch on the rear of the tv then enter your tv's set up menu,when in the menu look in the sound adjustment catagory,this should be where you can increase bass & trebble,then look for the option of "external speakers",this option should be set to the ON position.

Im not trying to be rude but i know how most people are,they want everything the fast way,you cant rush this being that you have very little understanding of this equipment,you need to take apart everything & start from scratch,this will include setting your tv back to it's default setting if you have got in the tv's menu allready & messed with stuff,if you start from scratch folliwing the information in my post & the other posts you will have no trouble getting your system to work properly within 2 or 3 hours.

 

[AmyBelle]

Im not trying to be rude but i know how most people are,they want everything the fast way,you cant rush this being that you have very little understanding of this equipment,you need to take apart everything & start from scratch,this will include setting your tv back to it's default setting if you have got in the tv's menu allready & messed with stuff,if you start from scratch folliwing the information in my post & the other posts you will have no trouble getting your system to work properly within 2 or 3 hours.

Thanks for trying, but I've tried all of this. And ideally yes, I would like a quick fix, but in reality, I've been sitting on the floor on all sides of my tv since I picked it up on Friday evening. I'm talking all day here. I reset everything to default, I looked at the audio options to try to allow external speakers and disable internal speakers, there is none. There is also no switch on the back to allow this. I just went out from the audio outs in the back of the tv again and right into the main, and that still works, but i'm unable to turn the volume down.

I tried plugging my iPod into the video, cd, tape 1, and tape 2 inputs of the back and no sound came out either. Now, if i plug my iPod into the "main" inputs on the back of the receiver, I can lower the volume on the iPod and that does affect the volume coming out of the speakers. So it's something about the way the receiver is getting the audio signal from the tv.

 

[highfihoney]

Nothing should be going to your main except for the jumpers that connect main to the preamplifier section.

Since you are connected via main you have now turned your receiver into a power amplifier,doing this has shut down every control on the receiver including bass/trebble & most important of all the volume control has been disconnected.

When you said you've done everything does this mean you have taken everything apart,removed the link to the tv,re-connected the main & preamp sections using a seperate pair of rca cables,then connected a cd player to the receiver using the inputs marked video sound or cd,you need to explain in vivid detail exactly how you tried this step by step,then tell us what happened.

The big part of your problem right now is forgetting about using MAIN for any reason,put the rca cables in place between main & preamp & dont take them back out for any reason,we can help you through the process of elemination but you must leave the main alone & connected, then try the suggestions above one at a time & report back in vivid detail what happened.

 

[AmyBelle]

When you said you've done everything does this mean you have taken everything apart,removed the link to the tv,re-connected the main & preamp sections using a seperate pair of rca cables,then connected a cd player to the receiver using the inputs marked video sound or cd,you need to explain in vivid detail exactly how you tried this step by step,then tell us what happened.

Yes I did all of this, I have 5 pairs of rca cables laying on my floor. As I said in my last post, I attached my iPod to all of the channels and it just barely came through, sounding like it was going through two blown speakers. The reason I plugged it directly to the main again was to make sure that the speakers were not blown. Right now the speakers are going out from the audio out on the tv, into the cd inputs on the receiver, and then the pre is plugged into the main. The best I can get is a low sound that I cannot control the volume of, and it sounds muffled and full of static.

 

[MDS]

I'm sure this has been asked above but I don't recall seeing the answer.

How are the audio outs on the TV labeled - fixed or variable? If there is no label is there a menu option on the TV to switch between fixed and variable? If the TV audio outs are variable and the TV volume is set very low you will be sending a very low level signal that is not much to amplify and that will give the impression that the volume is very low and cannot be controlled by the receiver.

You want to use the fixed outputs to avoid double volume controls.