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.
Amy, you have followed instructions well.
Previously you were just using the main amps. The only thing I don't understand is how you could possibly have got any sound out of the speakers previously with the receiver turned off. That is impossible. You must have been listening to the TV speakers when the receiver was off. On your last TV you were connected to the receiver power amps and not the preamp first. I assume the line out signal of your previous TV was adjustable by the TV volume control, unlike your current TV
Now if you connect straight to the amp (main) none of the control functions will work. The pre amp outputs from the pre out. Then the jumpers or your RCA cable feed the signal from the preamp, which handles all the control functions, to the power amps, which is the main input.
Now you said you have never had those jumper links. I suspect, and here I'm taking a guess, that the preamp of that receiver stopped working a long time ago, and the previous owner just used it as as a power amp with no control functions.
Now since neither channels of the preamp work, I suspect the fault lies in the part of the power supply that provides the voltage to the preamp board.
The preamp section will run at much lower voltage than the power amp. Often there is a separate tap on the power transformer for the preamp and other lower voltage circuits. This would the have its own rectifier capacitors and regulators. Quite likely there is a failure of the rectifier or more likely a voltage regulator.
Now that receiver is worth about $100 on eBay give or take a little, so you will have to be careful how much money you put into it.
Your options are to see if a service tech can fix it in the ball park of $100. I would try and see if you can get a tech to conform that the pre amp section of that receiver is non functional.
See if you can get a similar vintage receiver on eBay. They come up often.
Purchase a new integrated amp or two channel audio receiver. The NAD is good value for money.
Invest in a receiver that can become part of an up to date home theater system.
