HELP! My Onkyo 606 keeps shorting out! (2 Viewers)

[Jersey314]

I just hooked my new Onkyo 606 to my 5.1 speakers (polk audio speakers and klipsch sub). I previously had a Denon 1802 hooked up to these same speakers and never had a single problem with the receiver through out the 6 and a half years that I owned my Denon and speakers.

Now EVERYTIME I play a blu-ray in my PS3 my Onkyo shorts out (it shuts off and I get a blinking red light) . This happens when I don't even have the volume turned up very high (e.g. on Pirates of the Carribbean I had the volume set to 39).

I am SO distraught and after only having the receiver hooked up for a few hours, I am contemplating whether I should return this receiver and if so, how I should do this (I purchased it from a third party seller on Amazon). Any suggestions for how I can rectify this problem? I had heard that Denon produces a better product, but I had also heard good things about the 606 before I purchased this.

 

[Jersey314]

BTW, it only happens when I watch blu-rays in my PS3. I can watch cable TV as loud as I want and it never shuts down.

 

[Leo Kerr]

how does the PS3 connect? HDMI or optical or coax? And, if it has more than one input for however you connect, have you tried moving the PS3 connection to a different port?

 

[marcIs]

my onkyo 876 did the same. so i went to the bck of the receiver and found two loose threads of spk cable touching the bck plate so I took a knife at made shure that no threads were touching and this fixed my problem. the cables caused me to short out the receiver.

 

[Jersey314]

Hey Guys. I redid the wiring on the 27th (some wiring was indeed exposed) and the receiver appeared to be operating properly (I left it on for a couple of hours and it didn't shut off).

I then went away on vacation for a week and a half. When I got back yesterday, it started shorting out again. It only shuts off on specific sounds. For example, I was just watching Jumper on HBO. Everytime Hayden Christensen telports, my receiver shuts off.

I thought perhaps the bass on my subwoofer was overpowering the receiver. However, I shut off the receiver and rewound to the same part of Jumper where he teleports and got the same result. I'm very distraught because I bought the receiver through a third party seller (Vanns) on Amazon and the seller only gave me until the end of December to return the receiver.

Do you guys think that I have a defective receiver or is there anything else I can do??? (I don't see any remaining exposed wire, although I supposed it's possible there is a strand hanging out. However, I had an old Denon 1802 for six years and was never careful about stray wire, but NEVER had this problem.) Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I read about this happining on this model , I'm hoping I did'nt get a bum one too, It just arrived on Monday, but I won't have time to set it up till the weekend, got a good deal on it so I hope It'll last over the long haul.

 

[David Willow]

Are your mains set to full band? Which Polks do you have? Are they 8 ohm?

 

[Brent_S]

I'm think I'm thinking the same thing David is...it sounds like you're pushing the 606 into protect mode. How many speakers are you driving?

Try turning off DynamicEQ. From measurements of my 805 and statements Chris K of Audyssey has made, it looks like MultEQ can dial in up to +9dB of boost at a given frequency. Then if DEQ comes along and tries to boost that even more, a relatively low volume setting could suddenly be asking for nearly 20dB (maybe more) of bass boost from the 606 if you're running full range. I've played with DEQ on a 506 I was testing for my parents...it can dial in a LOT of bass boost at low volumes if you do something that confuses its room measurements...I turned if off b/c it made everything sound like a bass demo scene.

-Brent

 

[Jersey314]

Brent S, what i Dynamic EQ and how do you shut it off? I'm very new to all of this.

 

[Rakie]

yeoch, thats a lot of possible boost !

Keep in mind, a +6dB boost is double the volume.

 

[Jersey314]

sorry, I meant to ask: what is Dynamic EQ?

I'm not sure what Polks I have, I bought them years ago, is there anyway to verify?

 

[Jersey314]

I found the model number on my front speakers (RTi38), here's a link: RTi38 Product Page : High Performance Bookshelf Loudspeaker : Polk Audio. The pdf file on this website says "compatible with 8 Ohm Outputs."

My center is the "csi30". Here's a link: CSi30 Product Page : Center Channel Loudspeaker : Polk Audio. It's also apparently compatible with 8 Ohm Outputs.

My surround speakers are "fx130." Unfortunately I can't find these anywhere online, so I can't say if they are 8 Ohm, but I would imagine they would be if the others are.

 

[gene c]

DynamicEQ is part of the Audyssey automatic setup function. I don't have any experience using it but I believe it equilizes the volumes and re-adjusts the equilizer during low volume playback. Looks like you can turn off just the DEQ part of the Audyssey automatic setup procedure.

 

[Brent_S]

This might be a good time to ask if you've read the 606's manual.

DEQ is Audyssey's attempt to equalize playback volume to compensate for the ear's decreased sensitivity to some frequencies at lower volume. The theory being that the room EQ (MultEQ) is calculated based on Reference Level playback. DEQ adds additional boosts to the low frequencies, high frequencies, and surround levels as you lower the volume below Audyssey's calculated Reference Level for your room. In my experience, I think DEQ is too aggressive with the bass boost, or at least too aggressive for my taste.

DynamicEQ is under the Audio settings (p.70 of the manual)...you can turn it on/off idependent of MultEQ.

You still haven't said if the mains are full range or crossed over to the sub? From experience, I know Audyssey will set the RTi38 to full range by default.

BTW, those surrounds sound like FXi30, not 130.

How big is your room? What are the listening distances to the speakers? Do you have an SPL meter to measure how loud you're listening when the 606 goes into protection? What are the channel level settings for each speaker...menu 2-4 (level calibration)?

My personal theory is some combination of the dynamic range and loud deep bass on some soundtracks, and DynamicEQ is asking the 606 for more power than it can comfortably deliver and sending it into protect mode. This could be triggered by asking for too much power at once or by steady heat build up over time as the amps are running hard for the length of an action sequence. MultEQ is probably applying maximum boost below the 40hz range since it sounds like you're likely running them full range, in an attempt to get 20hz response from your speakers. The RTi38s offer good bass for a bookshelf, but not that good (I run 38s for L/C/R/SL/SR in my theater room). When a bass heavy soundtrack somes along, it's too much in the power hungry low frequencies range for the 606 to deliver.

You don't see this with typical TV due to less dynamic range in the soundtracks and possibly some intentionally rolled off low frequencies.

To put +9dB of MultEQ in terms of power required. To increase SPL by +3dB, you need to double the power so +9dB requires 8x the power.

One RTi38 would need 16 watts to produce 88dB @ 12' at say 500hz (a frequency not likely to require any EQ boost) with no room reinforcement. Now, if MultEQ tried to EQ the 38 to the same playback level at 30Hz by applying 9dB of boost...the 606 will need to deliever 8*16=128 watts when that 30Hz frequency comes along. DynamicEQ seems to apply even more boost on top of what MultEQ has already dialed in...you can see where this could get out of hand quick.

I stress this is only a theory at this point, but a likely scenario given what is being decribed. Measurements such as I've asked for would go a long way towards determining the reality.

-Brent

 

[David Willow]

My guess at this point is a bad speaker. I had a bad tweeter in my new Axiom M60 that caused my 705 to go into protect mode. A replacement fixed it right up. Can't believe it can't drive those speakers. Remember, the bass has it's own amp.....

 

[Jersey314]

Brent S, thanks so much for taking all of this time to help me!

I just measured the distance from each speaker to where I'm sitting, here are the measurements:
Center 9’11”
Front Right 11’3”
Front Left 11’5”
Surround Right 4’3”
Surround Left 17’3”

Unfortunately, because of the layout of my room, the Surround Left speaker has to sit pretty far away.

 

[Jersey314]

David Willow, I can't imagine it's a speaker. I had these same speakers hooked up to my Denon for 6 years and they were working fine (I never had this problem) up until I hooked up my Onkyo 606.

 

[Jersey314]

and by the way, Brent S, you were right, the surrounds are FXi30s

 

[Jersey314]

Brent S, I'm also not quite sure if I understand full range vs. crossed over (I'm sorry, my questions are endless)

 

[Brent_S]

Sorry, I'm a "teach a man to fish" kinda guy. One hint to make it easer...download the PDF of the 606 manual and you can use search to find the terms I asked about...you already found the speaker distances.

-Brent