Hi all, I've lurked on and off for the past 6 months or so, but never had anything to add since my HT setup is pretty weak. (my tv doesn't even have s-video inputs!).
Anyway, I got home last night, turned on my receiver and tv, and realized that sound was only coming out of the front-right channel, and that it sounded terrible (very low volume, even when the receiver volume is maxed, and it sounded echoey). I played around with it a bit, and found that nothing seemed to come out of the center channel or the front left channel, and that all the speakers had the low volume, crappy sound when plugged into the front-right. (in case it matters, I have a JBL ESC200 receiver that I bought over three years ago...). When plugging the speaker wire into the center channel or the front-left channel, it usually sparks at me too, which I don't recall it doing before. I didn't get any sparking from the front-right channel though. Seeing as I don't play with the speakers much, is sparking normal? Or is that further proof of the receiver being broken?
I just moved this system into my new home Saturday. It worked fine until yesterday (Tuesday). One thing that came to mind is that when I moved to the new place, I didn't plug the rear-surround speakers in (no way to get the wires to the back of the room yet). I didn't think that would be a problem though. Can you damage a receiver by not filling all of the inputs?
On to the new receiver question. My wife doesn't seem to mind listening to the internal TV speakers, but they're driving me nuts so I need a new one. Unfortunately, having just moved into a new place I don't exactly have a lot of money. I do, however, have a Sony credit card that gives me 1% back towards Sony stuff, and I've amassed around $200-$300 on the card. So I was thinking about getting a Sony receiver, but wanted some opinions. Crutchfield has the Sony STR-DE485 for $199 and the STR-DE685 for $299. Are these receivers worth it? I was planning on using my Sony points to get a digital camera, but I might be willing to go with these if they're any good. Thoughts?
I'd appreciate comments on my old broken receiver (did I break it? Did it just wear out? Is there something I can do to fix it cheap?). I'd also like opinions on whether I should get a low-end Sony one, or if I should get an even cheaper low-end one or what. Thanks!
CW
Anyway, I got home last night, turned on my receiver and tv, and realized that sound was only coming out of the front-right channel, and that it sounded terrible (very low volume, even when the receiver volume is maxed, and it sounded echoey). I played around with it a bit, and found that nothing seemed to come out of the center channel or the front left channel, and that all the speakers had the low volume, crappy sound when plugged into the front-right. (in case it matters, I have a JBL ESC200 receiver that I bought over three years ago...). When plugging the speaker wire into the center channel or the front-left channel, it usually sparks at me too, which I don't recall it doing before. I didn't get any sparking from the front-right channel though. Seeing as I don't play with the speakers much, is sparking normal? Or is that further proof of the receiver being broken?
I just moved this system into my new home Saturday. It worked fine until yesterday (Tuesday). One thing that came to mind is that when I moved to the new place, I didn't plug the rear-surround speakers in (no way to get the wires to the back of the room yet). I didn't think that would be a problem though. Can you damage a receiver by not filling all of the inputs?
On to the new receiver question. My wife doesn't seem to mind listening to the internal TV speakers, but they're driving me nuts so I need a new one. Unfortunately, having just moved into a new place I don't exactly have a lot of money. I do, however, have a Sony credit card that gives me 1% back towards Sony stuff, and I've amassed around $200-$300 on the card. So I was thinking about getting a Sony receiver, but wanted some opinions. Crutchfield has the Sony STR-DE485 for $199 and the STR-DE685 for $299. Are these receivers worth it? I was planning on using my Sony points to get a digital camera, but I might be willing to go with these if they're any good. Thoughts?
I'd appreciate comments on my old broken receiver (did I break it? Did it just wear out? Is there something I can do to fix it cheap?). I'd also like opinions on whether I should get a low-end Sony one, or if I should get an even cheaper low-end one or what. Thanks!
CW