Hi folks,
I have a receiver, Marantz SR 7005, worked well for about 10 years. The HDMI inputs/outputs are now dead. Just don't have the heart to throw it away.
Before I consider disposing it, I was thinking of using it with a 3.5mm to RCA stereo cable.
- With the HDMI unusable, Can I use receiver with just analog audio Inputs? If it works, is there anything that I need to watch out or be aware of?
- If it works, would it be possible to disconnect the HDMI board from receiving power? Just thinking, maybe it's safe to disconnect. I could feel and smell one hdmi chip, getting super hot & burning.
- Will the optical inputs be usable with power not being disconnected from the HDMI board? The optical being digital, is on the same board as the HDMI.
Any other suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
Cheers
There are a couple of issues here.
First, it is generally not advisable to use electonic gear that is not working properly, especially if heat is involved as in your case.
The next issue is whether the unit will funcion if you disconnect the HDMI board. That you will only find out if you disconnect it.
You might ne able to replace the board, but due to its age it is likely unabavialable.
I have found Marantz units in the last years not very reliable and Marantz have now gone to units with a much higher build quality built in Shirakawa, Japan. I have bought an AV10 and an AV30. I am really impressed with the build quality and and performance of these units. They are dead quiet and their S/N ration beyond reproach. They also sound better, especially the bass. That has really puzzled me as the lower distortion is not the likely reason. I am investigating this, and I think the answer lies in the new digital crossover. The crossovers have been digital for some tiime, but these units use a new board and circuit. Now you can not make a phase coherent analog crossover, unless it is forst order, which for most purposes are not very useful. However, you can make digital crossovers phase coherent or close with care, and I suspect this is the reason. I will be having more on this down the road.
My best advice is to "swallow hard" and recycle that unit.