Denon receiver died...

[Masque]

AVR S500-BT, it turned off. It's not hot, it wasn't even in use, and I never play it loud anyway. Have two Polk desktop speakers and a Polk sub, no center or rear speakers.

When I got out of the shower today, it was off and the switch inside was clicking on/off/on/off. I unplugged it because it might be the overheat circuit protection. Left it off for twenty minutes. This happened before when the house power went out, twice in two years. Plugged it back in and unlike the other two times, it didn't work.

No lights on the unit are blinking or on. It just clicks that switch inside clickclick. clickclick.

I checked the reviews on Amazon, and a lot of people say that this is frequent with this product.

So my question:

I looked up Denon repair on Google, found a place in my state, probably 40 or 50 miles away. I would have to pay shipping for a 20 lb. receiver. Both ways. And for the repair labor and parts.

A new Sony equivalent (I'm not buying Denon after reading all the fail reports) would cost about $240. And it would be new. And it would be here within a week.

Which should I do -- send for diagnosis and repair, or junk it and buy the Sony?

Fixing it myself is out of the question, since I know nothing about electronics repair or diagnostics.

[Masque]

Shipping would be about $35 each way.

No idea what parts and labor would cost. Or how much time I'd be without a receiver, especially right now with this COVID thing -- don't even know if the repair place is open for business until I call them tomorrow.

[Talby]

I would just forget about the repair and get a new AVR, not a big fan of Sony's low end models - I much prefer Onkyo... This one looks decent for about the same price

Onkyo TX-SR494[www.amazon.com]

Also if you have power issues with your mains (lacking AC power stability) which possibly killed your Denon, I highly recommend the same protection as a PC - at least a 1000J surge strip ($15~$20) along with an AVR like this APC LE1200 Line-R 1200VA[www.amazon.com]

[Masque]

I'm also thinking about going with 2.1, if I can find a good one. I don't use 5.1 anyway. Or the bluetooth functionality. Or the USB jack.

Any recommendations for 2.1 receivers?

Also, yes, I just switched out my old POS power strip for one with surge protection I had in a closet gathering dust.

I think the Denon has its own surge protection circuit inside it, too, though.

[_I_]

a buddy just tried to repair a dennon with similar problems (click on/off when powered)
he found the protection disable circuit and bypassed it to force it to turn on
but could not find any 'bad' components or anything wrong with the power, input, regulation, amplifying, and output areas
he ended up tossing it, too much work into it and unsafe to use with all protections disabled

its like sony, way over complicated, any small thing fails and is impossible to track it down

id look for a new receiver, used or new, your choice

[Masque]

Got it working again. For now. We'll see for how long.

I think I had the sub plugged in wrong -- for three years.

On the Denon, there's a section in back labelled Subwoofer. Two RCA cables. One is labelled SUB and one labelled PRE. For some reason, probably because my Polk sub has two (L+R) RCA female plugins, I thought those on the Denon were left and right. Did some research -- now I only have one RCA going from SUB to the R channel input on the sub.

Also learned a lot more about how to set LFE (to LFE+Main) and front and sub crossovers in the process. Sounds nicer than it did.

But I wonder if having the subwoofer trying to draw signal from both Pre and Sub had something to do with my problem? They've been plugged in that way since I got the receiver, because I'm a moron.

[Jamebonds1]

It is been known to have an issue. If you need a new receiver, I would suggest a vintage receiver since it is easier to repair and sound better.

[Masque]

Thanks. That's what the reviews said on Amazon too. I didn't know this when I bought it on sale (floor model) at Best Buy, but it apparently has a high fail rate.

[Jamebonds1]

Originally posted by Boofalo Soja:

Thanks. That's what the reviews said on Amazon too. I didn't know this when I bought it on sale (floor model) at Best Buy, but it apparently has a high fail rate.

I have 1973 Marantz 2220 stereo and 1976 Marantz 6300 turntable. They have been restore and service. It is a lot of work, but they sound really good.

[upcoast]

Originally posted by Boofalo Soja:

I'm also thinking about going with 2.1, if I can find a good one. I don't use 5.1 anyway. Or the bluetooth functionality. Or the USB jack.

Any recommendations for 2.1 receivers?

Also, yes, I just switched out my old POS power strip for one with surge protection I had in a closet gathering dust.

I think the Denon has its own surge protection circuit inside it, too, though.

Yamaha is my preference vs Denon for cost and quality.

[DevaVictrix]

I've foolishly bought Denon stuff for over 20 years. I've had 3 amps die (all PMA350 - power supply), two minidisc players (DMD-1000 - laser fails) and the CD player and volume knob fail on an M5 packed up.

I'm never buying Denon again!

As above... Yamaha!

[Masque]

Welp, it's still doing it. Worked for a bit last night, back to clicky-clicky.

Guess it's off to Amazon I go.

[Jamebonds1]

Originally posted by Boofalo Soja:

Welp, it's still doing it. Worked for a bit last night, back to clicky-clicky.

Guess it's off to Amazon I go.

It is no good. I hope you find a good receiver. I will be glad to give you my feedback in the future.

[Masque]

Ordered Yamaha RX-V385, plus 3-year protection/replacement plan, $303.00.

Won't get here until May 7. I'll have to make do with headphones until then.

Thanks for the tips.

What do I do with the Denon? I guess I could see if the Denon repair place wants to buy it for me for cheap.

[Jamebonds1]

This looks good AVR.

I have Onkyo 7.1 2010, it is loud and nice. It has 11 speakers connectors. I paid for only $150.