circuit board failure?

[Demon]

I have a JVC rx-6042 reciever i use for music and movies in my apartment and a week ago while watching a movie in dts a loud distortion sound came through all 5 speakers and it than there was no sound at all. I tried several differnt things to try and fix the problem not beliving it was an internal issue, I unplugged all the componets to try and isolate the problem and at best i could get stereo sound which would cut in and out alot, If i tried swtiching to dsp or pro logic 2 the sound would cut off and not work. So i took it in to get an estimate and the guy phoned me back today and said it was a circuit borad failure. So i was wondering how could this happen seeing how its only 3 years old, its well ventilated, and its only been used moderately at best. If the circuit board did fail would it still turn on and have sound in stereo? and is there any way to prevent this in the future?

[pixelthis]

Yes there is a way to "prrevent" this in the future...and listen closely.
DONT BUY ANYTHING JVC
Everything they make is total and utter garbage, probably left over crap from ICBM'S.
When the guy said it was a "circuit board" he was probably talking about the digital board.
THEY dont replace discrete parts, they just replace the whole thing.
The entire receiver is probably not worth that much.

[Demon]

well i only went with jvc because befor this receiver i had an older jvc receiver which i was happy with. What receiver brand do you reccomend for when i upgrade? i was thinking harmon kardon

[audio amateur]

It could just be your unit. JVC have made good stuff in the past.

Customers have reported issues with Harmon/Kardon units in the past, but they're probably sorted now. Your best bet is Yamaha Denon Onkyo or even Cambridge Audio. They are all good perfomance for the buck and are probably equally reliable. An A/V receiver should last more than 3 years...

[blackraven]

JVC made better stuff a few years ago when they tried to enter the high end market and failed. Since then they make cheaper amps. I have a high current JVC AVR that is out dated but is solidly built. It held up to the abuse of driving my Magnepans and it is still used to drive my MMG's in my work out room.

[pixelthis]

The point is why buy JVC when there is so much better out there?
My Onkyo has been going for 4 and a half years.
The only decent thing JVC ever built was VCR's, and that is past.

[audio amateur]

My Technics has been going for 8+

[Woochifer]

Circuit boards can and will fail. And receivers from all makes will have a certain number of them go down at some point, since the components and circuits are typically shared by several different receiver models and makes. Checking review sites like this one will allow you to take a look at which models have had more problems than others (e.g., Sony has had an especially mixed history, with some models faring okay, and others like their first generation digital drive receivers plagued with major problems).

With your receiver, it sounds like only a straight two-channel signal will get passed directly to the amp section, while everything else gets digitized first. Digital circuit boards that do the DSP functions will often aggregate all of the signal processing functions onto a single board. If one component on that board konks out, and then you gotta replace the whole thing. That's the price of progress when so many features and functions get crammed onto a single circuit board. It's not like the analog era when circuits were more discrete and repairs could be done by replacing individual components.

[Kevio]

Yes, a failure on a circuit board can cause the symptoms you're experiencing. The remedy is usually to replace the circuit board. Most responsible technicians will not attempt to repair circuit boards.

Be careful when having electronics repaired. There are at least two hazards:

1/ You pay more for repair than replacement cost of the unit. (Don't make repair/replace decisions based on what you paid for the unit.)

2/ You've got a lemon and once you've fixed one thing the next thing breaks.

[pixelthis]

Yes, a failure on a circuit board can cause the symptoms you're experiencing. The remedy is usually to replace the circuit board. Most responsible technicians will not attempt to repair circuit boards.

Be careful when having electronics repaired. There are at least two hazards:

1/ You pay more for repair than replacement cost of the unit. (Don't make repair/replace decisions based on what you paid for the unit.)

2/ You've got a lemon and once you've fixed one thing the next thing breaks.

Which will happen more often than not.
Funny thing, but changing out a part (or board) tends to put new stresses on remaining parts, fixing anything increases the likelihood that it will fail in the future.
I have seen this too much, so when something breaks, unless its minor, I just get rid of it.
Its usually out of date anyway.
Probably why the industry has gone to long lasting cheaper stuff that is just easier to toss when it breaks.
SOMETHING HAS TO BE VERY EXPENSIVE for me to bother fixing it, because its usually not worth the fuss

[Boatman1]

get a separate straight decoder then you can change or upgrade your amps when ever you want

[markw]

get a separate straight decoder then you can change or upgrade your amps when ever you want

From the problem described, the processor is exactly what went belly up in his unit.

[winston]

Demon..... you need a new receiver and that's all there is to it when a (processor) goes out on you and you have NO WARRANTY AND YOU CANT FIX IT YOURSELF that's a door stop. one poster gave you a some choices I'll add PIONEER to that list, i don't know your budget ? so lets keep simple for $300 bucks or less you can be back in the 5.1 league soon..hope that helps also. Good Luck

[Demon]

Well i got the receiver back monday my friend was actually able to fix it for me for about 1/4 the repair place i got the estimate would have charged. Pixelthis is probably right tho, Something else probably will fail within the next few months so im going to start putting money away now and when the time comes i think im going to go with a basic pioneer 5.1 receiver. Thx for the advice everyone

[hydroman]

...and buy using American Express. It doubles the mfgr warranty. They payed full purchase price for my Denon when it failed after three years. That funded the H/K...

sweeeeet.