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Surround Sound Issue with Onkyo HT-S590

post #1 of 10
7/7/06 at 6:47pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

(Originally I posted this in another category but thought that this one might be more appropriate.)

I'm on my second Onkyo HT-S590 home theater system, the first one having had a constant buzz in the surround-sound mode. The second unit doesn't have that problem, but the attached sound file illustrates a different problem in the surround-sound mode. (By the way, I'm new to home-theater-style audio systems, so I don't know what problems commonly occur.)

Click below for audio sample of the problem:

onkyo_surround_sound_issue.mp3 - 0.02MB

The problem is intermittant, usually occurring after the program has been running for awhile.

The signal source is a Time Warner Cable TV Digital Video Recorder box, and the connection is coaxial digital. I'm having a similar problem with DVDs, where the connection is via optical digital. The problem goes away when I switch from surround sound to stereo.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what might be causing the problem or how I might troubleshoot it?

Thanks!
Bill
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post #2 of 10
7/7/06 at 11:47pm
Try to reroute your power cables away from any audio cables.

I had a little buzzing and this took care of it.

This system still buzzes when you replace the speaker wire from the speaker wire it came with. Are you still using the tiny wire it came with? If not, that could be why you have a buzz. It seems upgrading the wire is a negative for this system.
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post #3 of 10
7/8/06 at 4:14am
Thread Starter 
The buzzing was in the first receiver I had. That problem was eliminated when the vendor swapped out that receiver with a new one. Are you able to play the audio clip? If so, you can hear that buzzing isn't the issue with the second unit, even though I am using heavier gauge Monster-brand speaker wire.

Does it make sense that the location of the power cables is the cause of the latest issue if the problem is intermittant? For example, last night we were watching a movie, and the problem didn't show up until the very end of the show, so the system went two hours without a hitch, and then started to act up. If the power calbes were the cause, I would assume that the problem would be more constant, no?

If the problem occurred only once in a while, I might be able to live with it except that there's no guarantee it won't get worse with time, and I have a small window of opportunity to swap out units with no questions asked.

Any other suggestions from anyone would be appreciated, but it looks like I'll be taking this unit back for a new one--again!

Bill
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post #4 of 10
7/8/06 at 10:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BSquared18 View Post

The buzzing was in the first receiver I had. That problem was eliminated when the vendor swapped out that receiver with a new one. Are you able to play the audio clip? If so, you can hear that buzzing isn't the issue with the second unit, even though I am using heavier gauge Monster-brand speaker wire.

Does it make sense that the location of the power cables is the cause of the latest issue if the problem is intermittant? For example, last night we were watching a movie, and the problem didn't show up until the very end of the show, so the system went two hours without a hitch, and then started to act up. If the power calbes were the cause, I would assume that the problem would be more constant, no?

If the problem occurred only once in a while, I might be able to live with it except that there's no guarantee it won't get worse with time, and I have a small window of opportunity to swap out units with no questions asked.

Any other suggestions from anyone would be appreciated, but it looks like I'll be taking this unit back for a new one--again!

Bill

I bet the intermittent problem is from the higher gauge wire. Either that, or the power cords. To answer your question, a ground loop can be intermittent and will only surface at certain times. It just depends on a lot of conditions that I'm not able to explain.

From the clip, I can't really tell what the problem is or what you're hearing.
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post #5 of 10
7/8/06 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
The information you've provided is helpful. However, the problem depicted in the audio sample is very different from the buzz or hum that was present with the first receiver, so I'm a bit skeptical that your suggestions will work in this particular case.

However, in the interests of a scientific approach, I will test your hyphothesis by swapping the heavier gauge wire with the supplied wire and making sure that the power cord is as far away from the speaker wires as possible.

Is the thread you mention concerning a fix the one that includes a recommendation to loosen slightly the screws that attach the speaker-wire terminal plate to the rear of the receiver?

Bill
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post #6 of 10
7/8/06 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BSquared18 View Post

The information you've provided is helpful. However, the problem depicted in the audio sample is very different from the buzz or hum that was present with the first receiver, so I'm a bit skeptical that your suggestions will work in this particular case.

However, in the interests of a scientific approach, I will test your hyphothesis by swapping the heavier gauge wire with the supplied wire and making sure that the power cord is as far away from the speaker wires as possible.

Is the thread you mention concerning a fix the one that includes a recommendation to loosen slightly the screws that attach the speaker-wire terminal plate to the rear of the receiver?

Bill

Sort of. The guy actually opened the receiver up and put electrical tape barriers between the wall of the receiver and the speaker terminals.

What exactly is the sound clip trying to make us hear? It just sound weird to me.

If your system sounds like that, I don't know why.
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post #7 of 10
7/8/06 at 1:59pm
Thread Starter 
I haven't seen the tip about insulating with electrical tape. Maybe it accomplishes the same thing as loosening the screws a couple of turns, which did seem to help on the first unit I had, which I turned in for the second one.

What exactly is the sound clip trying to make us hear? It just sounds weird to me.

Yes, that's my point! I was listening to music coming from one of the music channels provided by Time Warner Cable. It was sounding fine, and then the sound that you hear on the audio clip started. I recorded it off of one of the speakders using a small digital voice recorder that I have.

As I've said (and said, and said), it's different than a hum or buzz; it's intermittant; it happens only in surround sound mode, not stereo; and it happens with both the Time Warner Cable signal and the signal from my DVD player, so it isn't specific to just one source.

Maybe it's a bad microchip.

This afternoon, I'm going to change to the speaker wires that came with the unit and see if that makes a difference. I'll be pleasantly surprised if it does, but I wouldn't bet any money on it.

Bill
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post #8 of 10
7/8/06 at 2:11pm
Sorry, I have no idea why it's making that noise.
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post #9 of 10
7/9/06 at 2:58am
Thread Starter 
I changed to the thinner speaker wire that came with the system and confirmed that the problem still occurs. I also noticed a slight reduction in sound quality with the supplied speaker wire as contrasted with the Monster wire. So, it's back to Circuit City again, for the second time, to replace the unit. I still feel that the HT-S590 has a lot of good features for the price; now, if I can just get a receiver that works consistently!

Bill
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post #10 of 10
4/7/07 at 7:12am
BSquared, I must have somehow gotten the receiver you returned since I've had the exact same problem. :-)

I shipped it off to an Onkyo authorized repair shop on March 2nd and still have not gotten it back. What can I say - Onkyo support sucks. There is only 1 authorized repair shop in the whole FL, and that's a "ma & pa" shop and they are backed up for weeks. I was told it would be 3-4 weeks and it has been 5 and they are "still waiting for a part from Onyo". Whatever. If you get a refurb from Shoponkyo.com just pray you don't have to send it for repairs.
(Just venting)
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