Have a stereo problem

[Winchester]

And was hoping that somebody might be able to help me.

I have a Harman Kardon AVR 5 receiver (about ten years old) and am running it through two (very, very old....circa mid-70s) Genesis II floor speakers. Lately, the receiver overheats and kicks out, usually mid-way during the first song I'm playing on the CD player (Yamaha CDG 687 5 disc). The receiver is getting very hot, way too hot for one song. And it is the receiver, not the CD player. I tried it this morning with an album (Yamaha turntable, but not sure of the model number; it's also ancient from the same period of the speakers) and the same thing happened.

I've googled about it and people seem to think it could be the speakers (and they are ancient, but they still work beautifully). I've looked at the speaker wires for tooth marks and such (you never know about my gang) and can't find anything. But I'm thinking I could go ahead and re-wire them anyway. That's not a big deal.

I hope I don't need a new receiver (or speakers), but will do what I need to do. To be honest, Rick has been after me for a couple of years to get rid of the Gennies because they are big and they take up room in the living room. He says I can get the same amount of power from newer and smaller speakers. But darn it, I really like my Gennies...they're from my very first stereo system ever (and did I mention they they're ancient?). And one day at work, we were talking about stereo equipment and when I mentioned my Gennies, somebody stopped dead and offered me about $200 for them. On the spot. No. No, thank you.

I can't do much without music. When I'm off work, the first thing I do when I get up in the morning is plop in a CD. And I guess I should also mention....I like my music loud. Shake the house loud. 

Can anybody help me or at least steer me in a good direction? I'm already tired of using the computer (my son gave me a wonderful sound system for my computer one year for Christmas, but it's just not the same).

Thank you.

 

[peaches08]

From what you're describing, it isn't the speakers.  I called a friend  of mine who deals with sound stuff (jukeboxes specifically) and he agreed that it is your receiver.  He also said that you might could get your receiver fixed, but I don't know who to send you to.

He was pretty certain that it is not the speaker, BTW.  An easy test would be to use a different receiver and see what happens.  If it doesn't get hot and everything works, it's your receiver.

 

[Winchester]

It is definitely the receiver kicking out. I don't know where to take it to either and will have to make some phone calls. I don't want to have to new receiver if I can get it fixed. Thanks peaches. 

Oh, I forgot......this happened about a year ago, right after Rick was moving stuff around in the living room. But we don't remember what we did to fix it. 

 And this is really the first time I've really been able to listen to any music since he moved stuff around to steam clean the living room carpet.....I'm smelling a common denominator here. 

 Will make some phone calls and see what happens. Thanks!

 

[peaches08]

You know, you could do worse than calling Harman Kardon for where to take it.  I had a Bose receiver go out in a car once, and I drove it to the repair center and they even fished it out for me!  It was behind the passenger seat (2 seater convertible) up underneath a bunch of stuff.  The repair wasn't bad for Bose, $175 I think and they put it back in for me no charge. 

Because of having worked with this jukebox guy, if you end up shipping it off PLEASE don't go to a place that packs/ships it for you.  Seriously.  They do NOT listen nor read directions and do not give one care in the world about your equipment.  I'll be happy to tell you how to pack it yourself.

 

[Winchester]

HK's customer service leaves a lot to be desired.....already tried that first thing this morning. I had no idea what the man was saying; I simply could not understand him. (I mean no offense, I just couldn't.) I checked the yellow pages (we get two phone books because we live on the border of two counties) for Stereo Equipment and got nothing. That's what happens when you live in a rural area.

Texted with Rick and he told me to hold off as it could be a loose connection (he said that's what it was before and since he did move things around to clean the carpet, it's very possible that that's the problem again. I went through all the wires, but maybe I missed something. The receiver is a little touchy and the slightest thing can trip it.  He'll check it out when he gets home.

But if that doesn't work, I'll probably be buying a new receiver tomorrow....this one is ten years old anyway and I don't want to put a lot of money into it. Thanks, peaches. (The cats are already tired of listening to music in the computer room; this is where they usually go to get away from it)

 

[peaches08]

Hopefully it's just a loose connection!

 

[peaches08]

 
HK's customer service leaves a lot to be desired.....already tried that first thing this morning. I had no idea what the man was saying; I simply could not understand him. (I mean no offense, I just couldn't.) I checked the yellow pages (we get two phone books because we live on the border of two counties) for Stereo Equipment and got nothing. That's what happens when you live in a rural area.

To commiserate with you, I called Comcast again today.  I've been calling for years about the screen freezing.  I get someone from somewhere, and he wants to put in an "escalation call" or something like that.  They do this every time.  I just wanted to read what is on the box to see if it's old equipment and needs to be exchanged.  He would NOT let me give him the make/model number!  I even explained that when my desktop died this March, my internet router thingy died too.  I took it into the store, and they were surprised I still had it (old equipment).  He continued to argue with me that he doubts that my equipment is old.  I ask then why can't I find troubleshooting information specific to that model number, all the model numbers on the website are higher than that?  He says that the website doesn't have all the models on it.  I finally say "thank you" and just hung up.  I'm taking it to the store on Monday.  It's a PITA to go in person to that store, but it beats this nonsense.  Oh, and there is no number for the store.  It redirects you to the 800 number.  Customer service these days...sheesh!

 

[Winchester]

Aw, geez, peaches, that's terrible. Customer service really leaves a lot to be desired these days. I hope you get it all straightened out. 

I went back through all the wiring for everything while waiting for my sticky bun dough to rise this morning and, I'll be doggoned if I can find any kind of a loose connection. Hopefully dear Richard will find something when he gets home from work tonight.

 

[peaches08]

 
Aw, geez, peaches, that's terrible. Customer service really leaves a lot to be desired these days. I hope you get it all straightened out. 

I went back through all the wiring for everything while waiting for my sticky bun dough to rise this morning and, I'll be doggoned if I can find any kind of a loose connection. Hopefully dear Richard will find something when he gets home from work tonight.

I'm a firm believer that electronics like men better when there is no instruction manual.  If there is an instruction manual and the man won't read it...you get the idea. 

 

[Winchester]

Indeed. Rick came home and he found the problem. I swear I looked throughout the entire system.

There were two wires behind one of the speakers and they were touching. He thinks he did it when he was moving things around. Simple as that. He moved one of the wires and......music began and continued. And Pam is a happy camper again.

But I know. I know I looked there!

(And he said again, "When are you gonna get rid of those speakers????" My response was "When they die! Until then, there's no need.")

 

[stewball]

Yay for Rick.

 

[Winchester]

I know.....the man just rocks sometimes.

 

[peaches08]

Great!  And I feel you about the speakers.  My ex got rid of my Peavy stadium speakers and I almost killed him over it.

 

[Winchester]

I would have killed him! 

I've had the CD changer programmed now since about 8:00 this morning and the receiver is still going strong. 

Music.jpg

• Winchester
• Jul 12, 2014

 

[andrya]

Lucky you to have these for so long 

l had a set of old lnfinity's and l used them with the cover off. Well, one day when we went out the beagle we had at the time decided they looked tasty! He destroyed the woofers (no irony there) and ate some of the foam from inside.

 

[peaches08]

Like automobiles, they knew how to make speakers back then.

 

[cocheezie]

You are so fortunate that the problem was found. I don't know what I'd do if my speakers blew. They are old friends. My old and beloved receiver overheated and blew up a few years ago. It wasn't outside wires touching, it was something inside. It's replacement is too gadgety.

My cassette deck died recently. I'm trying to figure out if I should buy a new one (hard to do where I live and costly), or find one in a charity shop for $10 and hope for the best, or have mine fixed, or transfer the cassettes to my computer (the technology is not the best). There are a few cassettes that are irreplaceable. I'm also contemplating buying a second turntable (with usb capabilities) to transfer some irreplaceable vinyl to the computer, without having to go through the cassette stage, as a back-up. Some albums never made it to CDs or iTunes, and some of the ones that did just don't sound right. Love my vinyl.

 

[Winchester]

Oh Andrya! What did you do? When the cats used to do stuff (esp Pepe when she was a kitten, she was constantly into everything), I used to just say, "I love my Pepe; I love my Pepe" over and over again, while I was cleaning up the mess. 

Cocheezie, I don't know that I'd replace a cassette deck, unless I could find one very cheaply. But I don't listen to cassettes often anymore at all. I still listen to albums, though. We have replaced most of our albums with CDs now; that way we don't have to get the albums out anymore. But we've always loved vinyl, too. I did hear something about vinyl coming back? When I need to replace a stylus for the turntable, I have to go through eBay; I can't find them around here. (We lost a ton of great rock albums when we went through Hurricane Agnes back in 1972....that almost killed Rick. He was very upset.) If you still like your cassettes, then you replace the deck.

We blew our cable converter in the living room a couple years ago. Well, WE didn't do it; Whisper did....when she puked in it. 

. Fortunately, the cable guy came in and replaced the converter....didn't cost us anything. I do worry about that with the cats and the equipment. Whisper, especially, was a heat seeker, so she would look for a source of heat. She used to sit on the cable converter quite a bit, even though it's not that big! 

 

[cocheezie]

I'll check my old turntables in the basement for a Yamaha. There are 3 or 4 down there.. I should have recycled them long ago, but turntables were so hard to find for a couple of years that I was scared to toss them. If there's a Yamaha, you're welcome to the stylus. I know there is a Dual that works great, but can't get needles for it anymore (I tried everywhere online for years).

 

[peaches08]

 
To commiserate with you, I called Comcast again today.  I've been calling for years about the screen freezing.  I get someone from somewhere, and he wants to put in an "escalation call" or something like that.  They do this every time.  I just wanted to read what is on the box to see if it's old equipment and needs to be exchanged.  He would NOT let me give him the make/model number!  I even explained that when my desktop died this March, my internet router thingy died too.  I took it into the store, and they were surprised I still had it (old equipment).  He continued to argue with me that he doubts that my equipment is old.  I ask then why can't I find troubleshooting information specific to that model number, all the model numbers on the website are higher than that?  He says that the website doesn't have all the models on it.  I finally say "thank you" and just hung up.  I'm taking it to the store on Monday.  It's a PITA to go in person to that store, but it beats this nonsense.  Oh, and there is no number for the store.  It redirects you to the 800 number.  Customer service these days...sheesh!

So I walked into Comcast today with my receiver.  Mine was indeed a dinosaur.  Yeah Comcast, good thing those escalation calls don't mean anything.  Else you'd have to listen to me.