AVR repair

I've taken in a broken Sony AV receiver (DA30ES) from a friend. It powers up and then flashes "Protector". Does it make sense to even bother to take this thing in for repair or would it be better to just have a replacement shipped to my friend? There is nothing special about the receiver or the application. Mostly he just listens to the radio through two sets of in-wall speakers. It is part of an AV system so sometimes he'll use the system for TV sound or VHS playback (there's no DVD!?).

If the unit is still under warranty definitely give Sony a call. This is an ES series receiver, so is more robust. They even provide specs for four ohm loads, which is rare in midfi receivers, especially AV receivers.

I have a Sony STR-D5300ES. My original unit had a firmware issue. I called Sony and within two days I had a new receiver at my door. They also provided a pre-paid shipping label to return the defective unit. This was after having the unit for several months. I can't complain about their service.

I would agree and would call Sony if this unit is under warranty. If it is not then I might get a service person to look at it if it wouldn't cost very much for the estimate but in most cases especially with newer receivers with the chip sets and control IC's the chances of the unit being an "easy fix" or cheep to fix is slim and if the repair is going to cost a bit of money then it comes into play what a used unit would cost to replace it with equal power and quality with the same features. I would guess you could find a used unit with the same features and sound quality for the same price on audiogon or ebay for the charge for a major repair on this unit. back in the 70's and 80's when these units were simpler they could be repaired with a lot less time and effort because they were simpler but now that they are practically sound amplifying computers they are a lot harder to diagnose and repair and they do not have a good resale value used compared to the new price that people in the market for used audio can find good deals.