Having a lot of trouble with receivers...any advice? (1 Viewer)

[AlexGoodman]

Hi, I have gone through a number of receivers over the past few years, and was hoping you might be able to give me some advice. No receiver cost more than $500. I had an HK not reproduce bass and also emit a loud buzzing, even when turned off, a Pioneer have a channel go out, and a Yamaha stop working after a several weeks (I can turn it on, but it doesn't play anything). Could it be because they were powering 2 4-ohm speakers (Ascend Acoustics CBM-170s)? Is there a particularly reliable brand out there I should consider? Should I get 8-ohm speakers? Thanks.

 

[LanceJ]

1) I've seen MANY posts here about H/K receivers having problems and have seen several myself at Circuit City act weird over the years (turn themselves off while simply idling, volume controls operate erratically, etc). As one of the very few American manufacturers of receivers, I really wish H/K would either cut back on the numerous features and substitute more quality or raise the price & include better quality that way.

2) For some reason companies like Pioneer, Yamaha, Onkyo, Kenwood, Sony etc for years have been building lower-priced receivers that don't particularly like driving 4 ohm speakers. And 99.9% of those same companies' loudspeakers are rated at 8 ohms. OTOH companies like H/K, B&K, McIntosh, NAD, Arcam, etc don't seem to include bold-print warnings about driving such loads and speakers from companies like Infinity, old-skool AR models, older Advent, Polk Audio, NHT and many other similar manufacturers commonly have 6 or 4 ohm (or lower!) impedances. Hmm.

 

[JohnRice]

If you are driving the speakers hard, you just may have to get 8 ohm models or an external amp for them which can handle the load. The number of problems you have had seems to indicate that is the way to go.

 

[Jacob C]

I drive my 170s with a panasonic xr-57 and I rarely turn it up loud but when I do I do not hear any signs of stress. It is cheap as well. I didnt think the 170s were 4 ohm though. Either way, the combo is working for me.

 

[DorianBryant]

I n two years I have owned 8 different HK receivers-never any problems. I have owned the AVR-230,235,430,435,630, and 635. A few older models as well.

 

[Chu Gai]

I think you've just had a run of very bad luck assuming of course that you haven't been buying used, refurbished, open box, and demo units. Sometimes, it's just like Dangerfield once said, " It's been a rough day. I got up this morning, put on a shirt and a button fell off. I picked up my briefcase, and the handle came off. I'm afraid to go to the bathroom."

 

[LanceJ]

Not to nitpick, but that works out to only an average of 3 months of usage for each receiver, not a lot of time for certain potential build-quality problems to surface.

My own Technics SA-DA8 receiver bought in 2001 took 2 years to develop an intemittant short/loose connection that significantly lowers the right front channel level in direct analog mode until I give the front panel a tap & 3 years to develop a scratchy treble control (which I hardly ever use - Panasonic doesn't make'em like they used to :frowning.

 

[Norris]

FWIW, I've had an HK 430 for 5 years, and 2 weeks ago one of the coax input died. So I switched to the optical input.

 

[DorianBryant]

"Not to nitpick, but that works out to only an average of 3 months of usage for each receiver, not a lot of time for certain potential build-quality problems to surface."








At the same time these were all purchased as used or open box. They were also all sold on this forum or Audiogon. No problems for any of them by this user or any user after me...