Receiver question

[BinFrog]

Hey

Every once in a while my Denon AVR-1804 starts crackling a bit. It almost sounds like something you'd hear in a recording that has clipping issues. It seems to happen if I have been playing music fairly loud or if it's just been on for a while. I am pretty sure it's not the speakers because it will happen to all of them at once, not just one or two. My gut feeling is that my receiver is fried. Ugh.

Any ideas?

[likeitloud]

Around 7 weeks ago. while cutting down my HT choices your denon made the final 4.

Pretty cool unit. I would check all interconnects and speaker wire(very closely).
When I did my set-up, I failed to push in a cable, and had noise. I re-checked everything
and fixed the problem. That unit is a decendent of the mighty denon AVR 5803, one of
the best sounding rcvrs of all time(my opinion) Your unit is only 90wper channel if I
remember correctly. As I've learned in this forum, that is probably 50-60w
being used in real time, so watch you high volume runs(movies). Also see how hot it's
getting after say 30-60mins of play time. I installed a small desk fan behind my gear,
and have had no heat issues. Good luck.

Pioneer VSX1015TX
JBL Northridge E150 Powered Sub
JBL 4410A Studio Monitors(Front)
JBL Northridge E30(Surrounds)
JBL Cinema Vison CVCEN50 Center
JBL Northridge Satellites(Back Channel)
Pioneer Elite DV45A DVDA/SACD
Panasonic DVD F86K
Sony RCD W500C CD PLAYER/REC
AR Interconnects
Cobalt 14G Wire
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XBOX 360 (Just Added)

As Long As My Brain And Fingers Work I'm Cool...Edward Van Halen:5:

[kexodusc]

Even if you're playing your speakers really loud, I doubt your maxing out the power on that unit - it's not really big amp, but it'll play pretty loud. How loud are we talking?

Crackles can often be caused by cable issues...I'm sure you have already, but check every single speaker cable for loose strands, secure and proper connections at both the speaker and receiver.

I had a similar problem to what you described (the same symptoms actually) in an old NAD amp, it was just capacitor somewhere inside, charging and discharging irregularly.

I have no way of knowing for sure if that's your problem as well.
If it's only happening at extremely loud volumes, maybe that's a good indication you're overtaxing the systems power supply and it's clipping.
If it happens at moderate SPL's ( 80 - 90 dB or below) then I think you should consider getting it looked at. I'm a bit worried when you say it happens "if it's just been on for a while". Still have warranty? If so, problem solved!
Good luck.

[BinFrog]

Good stuff guys.

I'll check the connections again tonight. That would seem to be pretty odd though because all of the speakers have the crackling issue at the same time, not just one.

As far as the volume goes, when I say loud I mean I crank it up so I can hear it on the deck outside as well as upstairs. I don't know the actual output from the receiver.

I called Tweeter tech support yesterday and the guy said it could be a problem with the 5-6ch stereo mode. he suggested testing out other options when the crackling occurs to see if that is the case (external in, Dolby PLII, etc). I'm going to try a few things and then check my warranty to see if it is still covered (which I doubt).

Wish me luck.

[markw]

I'll check the connections again tonight. That would seem to be pretty odd though because all of the speakers have the crackling issue at the same time, not just one.

As far as the volume goes, when I say loud I mean I crank it up so I can hear it on the deck outside as well as upstairs. I don't know the actual output from the receiver. I don't think it's the connections. Odds are against all connections going at the same time are astronomical and, in any case, I doubt a connection problem would manifest itself in this manner.

Since it only happens at high volumes I would tend to think it's a clipping issue with the amp or possible the speakers bottoming out, although the second is a bit remote since the problem occurs in all at the same time..


I called Tweeter tech support yesterday and the guy said it could be a problem with the 5-6ch stereo mode. he suggested testing out other options when the crackling occurs to see if that is the case (external in, Dolby PLII, etc).If the problem is with the processor, it would manifest itself at all volumes levels, not just when cranked.

To put it simply, my money is on the amp running out of steam. ...and, depending on your expectations, it may not be a problem with the unit, it may be being pushed beyond it's design limit..

[BinFrog]

If the problem is with the processor, it would manifest itself at all volumes levels, not just when cranked.

To put it simply, my money is on the amp running out of steam. ...and, depending on your expectations, it may not be a problem with the unit, it may be being pushed beyond it's design limit..


That's the problem, and maybe I didn't articulate it well enough in my original post. The crackling does happen at all volumes, but only after the volume has been up for a while or the amp has been on for a couple of hours.

[TrickerZ]

My guess is a heat issue. Dust it out, check the heat sinks and make sure all the regulators and such are well connected to the sinks. Unless you start seeing some sort of problem when you just turn it on or when it's cool, the only thing that really accumulates over time is heat. This is not to say that a component isn't bad though as some components get worn and are more susceptible to heat (most notibly regulators). If it still continues, I would also recommend a small CPU fan or something to blow over the sinks. Beyond that, something would have to be seriously wrong with the unit.

[EdwardGein]

You can eliminate if its a problem with your speakers by having your headphones handy and playing seeing if it extends to the sound on the headphones. If it does, its not a speaker problem. If you still hear this on your headphones. you can then disconnect all the speaker wires & see if there's a problem. If it goes away, its the speaker wires.