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Denon AVR3300 - 3 bad units?

430 Views 8 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Rod, Jul 11, 2000

Rod

Discussion Starter · Jul 1, 2000

Hello everyone-

I set up a new home theater with NHT speakers (vs2.a's in front and center, HDP 2's in back and 2 subs) all the way around and a Denon AVR-3300.

The first Denon I had would power down into stand-by mode after 2-3 hours of operation. Then after 1 week my installer replaced it. The new one after 4 hours caused my right front speaker to "crackel" loudly. The installer came back out and determined that the receiver had a "bad channel". He brougt out a third unit. It played for about 8 hours with no probs and then powered down into stand-by mode. When I tried to turn it back on, the unit would scroll through the menu and then imediately power down into stand-by mode.

My installer said that it has to be a problem with my electrical. I had my neighbor, an electronics engineer, come over and test the outlets and the surger protector for polarity and voltage. No problems. My installer says that until I get the electrical professionally inspected that the dealer he is buying from will not give us any more units.

Also, there is plenty of room around the unit (8" on each side and 5" on top, no back to the cabinet) for it to "breathe".

Any thoughts?

Thanks, Rod

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Tom Rosback

· #2 · Jul 2, 2000

I'm on #2 DENON 3300. The first was DOA with a loud pop in the center channel when moving through -30 on the main volume control. (Sure glad I didn't buy it grey market over the Internet.) Returned it the next day. #2 is fine so far. So DENON has sub-par initial quality screening, IMHO. You'll find other people with the same experiences on Audioreview.com equipment reviews. Print those out and give 'em to your installer. Are you having any difficulty with other equipment in your system? Unless you are in a rural area, power is not a likely problem source. Some power companies will lend you a power monitor, which measures voltage and checks for transients, over time. You might see if your power company provides this service. A one time check is not sufficient to uncover problems.

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Tom Rosback

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Rod

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 2, 2000

Tom -

Thanks for your insight. I live in Castle Rock, CO which is probably now considered outlying metro area (a couple years ago it was almost considered rural).

I do have my electrician bringing a power log monitor like you mentioned. I will also be calling my electric company to see if they know of anything funky going on in the area. However, I do have a dvd hooked up and no probs w/it. My VCR is also hooked up but I don't have my projector yet (Sony 10HT), so I can't comment on other component problems. I do have a computer in my house that is on 24/7 with no probs and an Onkyo rack system that I run for several hours at a time on weekends with no prob.

Rod

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Rod

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 2, 2000

Tom -

I did check out Audioreview.com (thanks for the tip). I found several complaints about the fans but very few that were right on point with the unit going into stand-by mode and not being able to be turned back on.

Rod

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Rod

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 3, 2000

I just had my electrical wiring checked out and the voltage continues to be right where it should be.

Seems unusual that I could actually get 3 bad units in a row from Denon.

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Tom Rosback

· #6 · Jul 6, 2000

Hi Rod,

Well you've certainly done your fair share of 'due dilligence'. And I think you've received some other excellent troubleshooting advice on the hometheater.com boards as well.

Now its time for Denon to pony up with a new unit. I'd recommend that you ask that they burn it in for you for several days to make sure all the early problems are worked out. I agree that 3 in a row is unusual, but weird things can happen in a high volume production environment. Since labor cost is a huge issue, problems can get through undetected. In the case of my receiver, I'm sure the defect was there when the unit was manufactured. The automated production test procedure just didn't find it.

In your case, there could have been a bad lot of some internal component, that manifested itself after the unit was run for a while. These are really hard to find in final test.

So, stick to your guns. I really like the DENON, great bang for the buck. You have to spend a bunch more (3-10X) on separates to get audibly better performance. I'm sure the other brands of receivers at this price point are also good performers.

Regards,

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Tom Rosback

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stephenC

· #7 · Jul 6, 2000

Whenever I hear of a string of bad units (audio, PC, etc.) I always take a look at the serial numbers for each. If they are close in production it could point to a bad batch of some components used in construction.

If all three Denon units came from the same supplier they are all probably very close in production. Keep in mind that manufactureres such as Denon get thousands of resistors, capacitors, etc at one time. Of course, this sounds like it may be power supply related but that's as far as I would care to diagnosis the problem. So maybe a bad batch of power supplies for the 3300 were installed and you've just been getting units with the same bad components.

Keep trying....

Good luck

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Stephen Couch

2000 FLHRI

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Tom Rosback

· #8 · Jul 8, 2000

Het Rod,

Have you tried the microprocessor reset procedure on p55 of the manual? Maybe your unit encountered a spike or power anamoly and got confused.

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Tom Rosback

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Rod

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 11, 2000

Hi Guys -

Thanks for all your help. My installer has determined that the problem most likely lies with the OHMs in the speakers. They are putting out about 5-6 (even though they are 8OHM speakers except the dipoles which are 6 OHMs).

His suggestion is to either replace the receiver or the speakers. If I replace the receiver, he is recommending an ONKYO 777. To the best of my recollection, the reason, I went with the Denon is because of the component switching. Is the ONKYO a good alternative? Is component switching necessary? [By the way, I will be watching DVD from a progressive scan DVD, Cable (maybe digital) and satelite on a Sony VPL VW10HT]

Rod

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