Them Old Audio Dropout Blues - power supply suspected (1 Viewer)

[GlennH]

I am experiencing occassional digital audio (DD or DTS) dropouts. Sometimes I watch an entire DVD with no dropouts. But other times there are a half dozen. It's very annoying to lose a second or two of dialogue several times in a movie.
Previously I had a Toshiba 2108, which did have the firmware upgrade to fix the problem that player had with dropouts. I still suspected the Toshiba as the problem. But now I have a new Panasonic RP91 and it still happens. The receiver is a Sony 333ES, with coax digital connection. All equipment is plugged into a Monster brand home theater surge protector.
Recently on a hot day I noticed an audio dropout each time the A/C compressor kicked on. Then my daughter turned on the exhaust fan in the nearby powder room and it happened again at that instant. So now I'm suspecting that the dropouts are happening as a result of electrical surges in the house wiring, even though the A/C has its own dedicated circuit separate from the home theater. I'm thinking that other dropouts may be occurring when (for example) the refrigerator compressor kicks on.
Assuming my theory is correct, what's the solution?
Should I just plug the receiver directly into the outlet, bypassing the surge protector? (Could the surge protector be causing this, even though power is maintained to the equipment?) I haven't tried this yet. I'd hate to lose protection to the receiver though.
Do I need a power conditioner? I hate to spend hundreds on this but if its the only solution...
Is this receiver maybe a little too sensitive to fluctuations in the power supply voltage? Has anyone else noted this behavior?
Other thoughts?

 

[Steve_D]

Are you sure the HT is on its own dedicated circuit?
Is the master circuit breaker able to handle your home loads?
Have you had an electrician out to assess this?
Could it be the receiver?
You could try buying (or scavenging from the computer for testing) a UPS, see if that solves your problems. Just make sure it has sufficient capacity for your receiver I would think at least 500 watts. Plug the receiver and DVD player into the UPS, and have someone trigger an event which has caused you dropouts...like the fan you mentioned. If the UPS protects you...its either buy an appropriate UPS and/or voltage regulator or have an electrician come out.
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[Craig F]

Very interesting observation. I too have had a lot of trouble with audio drop outs. I suspected my 2108 (without the upgrade)as the problem. I only have trouble with DD 5.1, 2 channel does not have a problem. I haven't tried any dts disks yet. I live in central Florida which is power hell central, I just put in an online UPS yesterday. Since the problem is so intermittent, it will take time to report back if this solves the problem.
BTW, the only problem so far with the UPS is the fan noise. But at this power level, it's necessary. It is white noise, no rattling or anything (so far). I have noticed much improved sound with it in place.