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That is a good troubleshooting step obviously, but you should also try connecting the cheapest speaker you have to the center channel and see if you get the crackling, don't do that with you more expensive speakers.
It is also possible that you have a bad/loose banana connector, or as you mentioned, something wrong at the connection for the center channel inside the receiver.
You need to complete your troubleshooting steps to determine the cause first, before talking about fixing it.
As mentioned before, those low output Rotel amps is not going to help much, if you want to get the best out of those very nice Sonus Faber speakers, do them a favor, get an amp rated at least 250 W rated into 4 ohms, such as those class D amps recommended before.
Also, the center channel usually demand as much or more than the front left/right channels do for many movie tracks. So you may want to consider a 3 channel amp or a 2 channel one plus a monblock for the center.
The Marantz Cinema 50 is a fine AVR, same as the AVR-X3800H, almost identical except for the aesthetic so if price is right, go for it.
There are usually 2 options, a) if you connect the subwoofer to the LFE (subout) of the AVR, you would use one connector, not sure if it should be the red or white, probably the red if you are getting sound there, or b) if you connect the subwoofer to the pre out of the Yamaha, such as the front left/right then you would use the other connector. If the JBL manual does not say that clearly then you will to just try different ways to find out what it is. Again, it is likely that the red terminal would be the one to use for connection to the sub out of the AVR.
All of those factors you mentioned are the possible cause(s), the entry level AVR is definitely only suitable for use with those Sonus speakers if you don't listen loud, sitting close to them such as less than 10 feet (even 6-8 ft better). And again the Rotel amp you pick won't help much, but a little for sure.
Hello Peng,
Thank you for your response.
The concern with Class D Power Amp is that if it’s above 200 watts then chances are that it might overpower my other speakers - JBL 630/625C & S.F. Aster which are of 150 & 125 Watts. Even Sonetto II G2 is of 200 watts.
So in this case, the only option I have is Rotel Power Amps mentioned above as they offer pure 120 watts but yes, my Sonetto II G2 being of 200 watts, it will fall short of 80 watts which means it will not be driven to it’s fullest.
The banana plugs used for the Center Channel are of ProfiGold that’s of very good quality & fits perfectly inside the Center Channel connector behind this A/V receiver.
I saw you had previously suggested either Anthem AVM90 or the Marantz AV10 but they are way beyond expensive. I better buy a nice car for that price.
So, please suggest me a good Power Amp which offers atleast 140 to 150 Watts & is 5 channels driven b’coz I would like to drive all except the Surrounds via an external Power Amp & leave the Surrounds JBL 630 to the new A/V receiver to drive completely.
Just a question here, can my Dolby Atmos speaker - Sonus Faber Aster on the Ceiling be driven by Power Amp or just Front & Surrounds speakers be driven by a Power Amp?
The reason I want to drive the Aster with Power Amp is b’coz I am unable to feel the Dolby Atmos effect & that’s possibly b’coz my Yamaha RX-V685 A/V receiver is of an entry level & unable to meet power demand from all 7 speakers.
So, driving the overhead Aster Atmos speaker via a Power amp will definitely get me a pure Atmos feeling experience, what’s your suggestion on this?
The back of my Yamaha A/V receiver has Sub 1 & Sub 2 under Pre-out & I think previously, I used to connect the Nedis audio cable into the white connector behind this JBL 660P but now since it doesn’t function, I have to use the Red one which isn’t giving out that deep impactful bass even at lower volumes like I used to get before when the Nedis audio cable was plugged into the white connector I guess of the JBL 660P.
Also this Yamaha A/V receiver that I had handed over to their authorised service center last Saturday to have them check the Center Channel connector issue due to those sudden frightening crackling sound from JBL 625C, just checked with the service center team yesterday & they couldn’t find any such fault.
When I was at their service center, I noticed they use some simple low priced kind of Bookshelf type speaker for testing purpose & it hasn’t created any crackling sound till now. So according to them, the A/V receiver seems to be fine but I have asked them to please continue to test for another 3 to 4 days & see if the issue occurs.
How can both JBL 625C Center channel & JBL 660P develop such faults at the same time, really can’t understand it. Could this newly added power hungry Sonetto II G2 4 Ohms speaker be the reason for it?
Anyway’z, I have informed the JBL representative about these issues & they will have it checked. I have requested them to kindly bring in their own A/V receiver, even a simpler one will do. This is just to check whether the Center channel again creates the sudden crackling sound when connected into their A/V receiver? Let’s wait & see.
In discussion, they also suggested me to consider:
Arcam PA720 which is Class G amplification but what I fail to understand is that it mentions 140 watts per channel under the description but down their on next page, it mentions - 7 x 100W Class G amplification. It’s quite strange.
Overall, I am totally clueless with my purchase decision b’coz many audio dealer also asked why I bought a 4 Ohms speakers in a 6 Ohms environment b’coz rest all are 6 Ohms in my living room & I now feel I shouldn’t have purchased this Sonetto II G2. I feel adding an external Power Amp & whether upgrading or to stay with the present A/V receiver - RX-V685 should give me best output but again, the Power Amp which will now drive these power hungry Sonetto II G2 speakers, it’s sound will be such large (over power all other speakers in this living room) that all other speakers will get pressed under it.
It has all become so much of a confusion now & this Class A/B, Class D or now this new from Arcam - Class G - I feel as if I am back to school days where teacher teaches - A for Apple, B for Ball, C for Cat & so on…as if I am learning A,B,C,D,…
What’s all of these different Class, really clueless about it.
Overall, I am just so worried that these power hungry Sonetto II G2 doesn’t damage my other speakers or itself or this present or new A/V receiver that I look forward to buy.
My dream of setting up a very good Home Theatre experience has turned into nightmare & miserable.
I feel I was better off listening to sound from my TV, a very simple life with none of these complications involved. This is an ocean of troubles & needs wherein one has to keep spending more & more money but, the trouble never ends for sure.
Maybe due to such extreme complications & lack of exact & true knowledge about the Home Theatre systems, so many household across globe still consider enjoying sound from their regular TV instead of opting for a home theatre setup l, while it’s cost of setting up being another important factor to be considered & it’s maintenance thereafter…(-:
It’s all too very much of technical & not a normal buyer’s cup of tea for sure. Things are way too complicated in this home theatre world & no one has time to sit & learn it in this day to day hectic & busy stressful life. (-:
