When I built my current home theater about four years ago, I splurged on 11.2 surround, including a Marantz SR6013 (7.2.4 with final two channels driven by an external amp).
In the fall of 2021, we had a lightning strike that caused about $20,000 of physical and surge damage. The SR6013 was completely inoperable. My insurance company paid to ship the SR6013 to an authorized service center. The repair bill was a little over $1000: New HDMI and Wifi boards, labor, shipping. Unit came back working like new.
About two months ago, we had a surge from a neaby lightning strike. Much less damage this time (the 2021 strike was a direct hit on our garage; blew siding off the garage, broke a foundation wall). This latest-but-lesser hit took out the SR6013's HDMI ports. Also killed my Optoma projector's HDMI port, and some ethernet equipment. Not enough to justify an insurance claim with the deductible.
We almost exclusively watch streaming via Roku these days. I am currently sending the Roku's HDMI to an optical spliiter, the HDMI output to the now repaired Optoma projector, and the optical to the still-audio-capable SR6013, so we can at least get 5 channel surround.
I'm on the fence about what to do here. 9.2 and 11.2 receivers have gotten even more expensive, and forking over $1000 for a repair every year or two doesn't seem like a worthwhile investment. Not sure if I can get the surge problem under control. There are so many potential pathways for surges; I have taken the step of creating some isolation loops in our ethernet network using fiber optic / ethernet spliiters, but that's no guarantee. I've enrolled in Amazon's monthly Asurion program, which is basically like a perpetual, extended warranty for Amazon electronics purchases. They fixed the Optoma project for $100.
Strongly considering going with an inexpensive 7.2 receiver and calling it done for the time being. I can put the audio-only and optical 5.1 capability of the Marantz in another room that has a need for that level of use, until I can come up with a more economical or safer strategy.
Any input appreciated.
In the fall of 2021, we had a lightning strike that caused about $20,000 of physical and surge damage. The SR6013 was completely inoperable. My insurance company paid to ship the SR6013 to an authorized service center. The repair bill was a little over $1000: New HDMI and Wifi boards, labor, shipping. Unit came back working like new.
About two months ago, we had a surge from a neaby lightning strike. Much less damage this time (the 2021 strike was a direct hit on our garage; blew siding off the garage, broke a foundation wall). This latest-but-lesser hit took out the SR6013's HDMI ports. Also killed my Optoma projector's HDMI port, and some ethernet equipment. Not enough to justify an insurance claim with the deductible.
We almost exclusively watch streaming via Roku these days. I am currently sending the Roku's HDMI to an optical spliiter, the HDMI output to the now repaired Optoma projector, and the optical to the still-audio-capable SR6013, so we can at least get 5 channel surround.
I'm on the fence about what to do here. 9.2 and 11.2 receivers have gotten even more expensive, and forking over $1000 for a repair every year or two doesn't seem like a worthwhile investment. Not sure if I can get the surge problem under control. There are so many potential pathways for surges; I have taken the step of creating some isolation loops in our ethernet network using fiber optic / ethernet spliiters, but that's no guarantee. I've enrolled in Amazon's monthly Asurion program, which is basically like a perpetual, extended warranty for Amazon electronics purchases. They fixed the Optoma project for $100.
Strongly considering going with an inexpensive 7.2 receiver and calling it done for the time being. I can put the audio-only and optical 5.1 capability of the Marantz in another room that has a need for that level of use, until I can come up with a more economical or safer strategy.
Any input appreciated.
