[jgranto]

For the past few weeks my SR-18EX has started to behave strangely. It will drop audio coming from digital inputs in a strange fashion, regardless of the device sending the audio. Analog inputs are unaffected.


For my HD TiVo, the audio will sometimes drop after I do a 30 second skip. The amps are still powered up (no click from them turning off/on), the audio simply goes away. Sometimes it comes back on its own, and sometimes I have to power cycle the receiver.


For my PS3, the audio will drop out for about 5 seconds when certain audio events occur. During some games, if a certain event occurs the audio drops out, but it always returns after 5-10 seconds (e.g., if someone fails out in Rock Band). When the sound returns, it is obvious the amps were still on (no click of them powering off/on), it is like the receiver does not recognize that digital audio is being sent to it.


Also on the PS3, when watching movies, some events in the movies cause sound to go out for 5-10 seconds. It will vary by movie, but always does it in the same place in the same movie. It may be a lightning crash, or whatever. Again, it is not the amps powering off, and all of this occurs regardless of volume level.


Sound goes out on ALL speakers (5.1). I called Marantz, and they had me reset the receiver using the CLR and DISP buttons. This seemed to make things better for a few days, but that is it. The two devices listed above us different digital inputs, btw. The receiver is behaving as if it does not think a digital audio signal is getting sent to it.


Has anyone heard of this problem before? I will obviously need to take the unit in to be looked at. What should my price-point on repairs be before I consider getting a replacement receiver?


Thanks!

 

[jgranto]

After further testing, I have determined it actually IS my amp that is cutting out when I lose sound. What is odd is that I am using the amp at a reasonable level for movie listening, and have taken it MUCH louder in the past. The amps overload during a loud noise (e.g., explosion) between volume levels -10 to -5. The amp goes up to +15, and I have taken it to +5 in the past.


So, given this... do amps typically go bad like this, and is replacing the amp worth it on the unit, since it is the heart of the receiver?

 

[nasgul]

I had the same exact receiver as you which I got back in Nov. 2000. My problems were a little different, but vaguely familiar, to yours. About 2 years ago, my center channel started cutting out on us intermittently muffling the sound for that speaker during movies. A year later, then the right channel starting going as well. This then started to happen all the time over the last few months. I was told it was the internal amps inside going bad, though I did not have anyone inspect inside for same. Instead, I upgraded to the combo AV8003 and MM8003 instead, which have a thread of their own. I intend on fixing the SR-18EX to be my bedroom receiver, but that may cost some dough so I will wait until the new year. It was a great piece of equipment, but its time had come as my #1 unit.

 

[Southern Spy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by jgranto /forum/post/14338839


So, given this... do amps typically go bad like this, and is replacing the amp worth it on the unit, since it is the heart of the receiver?

If it is the amp portion giving the problem (not the preamp circuitry), I would just add a good quality outboard amp now. Then when you upgrade in the future, just get the prepro of your choice.

 

[Schrutetamer]

For what it is worth, I have an older SR-19 that has started muffling / distorting the center channel signal (regardless of source, with both 5.1 and 2.0 signals, though I have not checked analog vs. digital). It sometimes works fine when I first turn it on, but always manages to go bad within 20-30 minutes of powering up, even listening at low volumes. It sounds like this is a bit of a known problem with this series from Marantz.


I am not much of a DIY'er, so I'll probably put this unit somewhere where I can use it for 2 channel music - it has such a comforting warm sound that I really enjoy using it for music.

 

[dblaugrund]

I'm having the exact same problem with the center channel becoming distorted after about 30 minutes when listening to a digital source. Has anyone gotten any "official" response from Marantz regarding a fix?

 

[jgranto]

My specific problem ended being the wiring to my rear speakers. I have wires that go into the wall plate behind the receiver, up the wall, through the attic to the rear wall, and down to another wall plate. The thumbscrews that hold the wire had, over time, become just slightly loose. Tightening them down solved everything, but not before I took the receiver to the local shop for diagnostics (they found nothing wrong, of course).

 

[joshg3p0]

I Know this is an old thread, but I also have this problem with a sporadic distorted/muffled center channel section. I LOVE this receiver, and considering it's MSRP 10 years ago, it shouldn't be dying now. Did anyone figure out how to fix? Also I lose my memory when powered off at the mains, how easy is it to change the capacitor on this? Any help would be great. I don't want to ditch this receiver!

 

[joshg3p0]

Bump.

 

[Audiodork]

Hello,

I used to own a SR-19EX until this summer and understand why you would want to keep it. They are absolutely beautiful AVR's. In addition, I think the preamp section is excellent as well as the FM/AM Tuner.


Capacitors going out after over 10 years is not that abnormal. The good news is there should be many repair shops out there who can fix it. If it was me, I would replace and upgrade all of the capacitors while having surgery.


Obviously, using an outboard amplifier would be an easy and probably cost effective fix. A perfect replacement would be Marantz's MA-700 which they recommended for SBL and SBR on the EX Series which were still 5 channel amplifiers while decoding 7.1. Even better is they are monoblocks and easily found on Audiogon/Ebay.

AD

 

[joshg3p0]

I thought about monoblocks. It's probably cheaper than sevicing the amps. How much would replacing all the caps cost? I'm worried that I'll pay several hundred to service the amp and then another channel will start to fail.