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Troubling issue with my "vintage" AVR (1 Viewer)

setzer808

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Feb 8, 2016
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Shaun
Good day all, its been a long time since I've posted (so long I can't remember my old account and had to make a new one no less as my "reset password" emails aren't showing up).

Anyways (and I do apologize if this is wordy). I have a Yamaha RX-V496 that has served me well for a decade and a half now that is finally starting to have an issue. Now when I turn it on it can take anywhere from 2-10 minutes for any audio to come from the right channel. I tried multiple sources and different cables to rule out anything other than the receiver.

The problem is that while preparing for the superbowl last night it took 2 hours and 15 minutes before the right channel woke up. Once its working, it never drops out. When its "waking up" there may be 5-15 seconds of sporadic sound, but after that no issues.

This leads me to wonder what I should do. One option is to purchase a new receiver, but this isn't as straightforward as I would like it to be after some research. What I've found is that even though this was something of a "entry level" unit at the time for Yamaha it isn't easy to find a unit that can do all the things I want. My 496 gives me solid sound, with a nice phono stage, and multi-channel inputs for my SA-CD player.

What I'm finding is that I really have to go far up the lineup of most companies to find units that still offer phono or multi-in....if they still offer such a unit at all. I route all my HDMI sources directly to the TV and connect them to the receiver with Coax or Optical, so there's not even a large advantage to be gained from the HDMI switching that seems to be all that current entry receivers seem to offer.

Phono is the real elusive beast and I suppose I could add an external phono preamp, but would prefer to keep things as simple and direct as I can. I'm even wondering if it would be worth my time to take a chance on a used unit from the era where phono and multichannel inputs were more common. I've seen several examples on eBay for $70-120 shipped (a V496 included).

The other option is to see about having the unit repaired. I don't know if this is a viable option and I know this isn't a flagship unit that in the past would be repaired vs replaced...but it is certainly something I'm considering.

I welcome any thoughts or suggestions, sorry again for the wall of text.

-S
 

schan1269

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Sam
If you are using the TV as the hub, you aren't getting 5.1 native sound.

Do you have to have "new"?

HDMI 1.3 debuted over a decade ago and an AVR from then will cost $150-$300. Even if you want 1.4, deals at A4L all day long under $500 with MCH and phono.
 

setzer808

Auditioning
Joined
Feb 8, 2016
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2
Real Name
Shaun
I'm running the audio from all sources (coaxial digital, optical, and phono from the turntable) directly to the receiver. The video from the devices that have video are all sending it via HDMI to the TV.

After some more testing the right channel is only taking 2-5 minutes to begin playing, maybe the other night taking over two hours was a fluke. I will say that the room was 10 degrees cooler that night as the patio door was open. Maybe its just not as fond of the cold as it was in its youth.

Either way I'm ok with <5 minutes of warmup time for now.
 

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