graham_myhre Posted September 16, 2004 Share Posted September 16, 2004 I have had a pioneer VSX-811S reciever hooked up to a pair of rf-5s amd RC-#II center and a pair of SB-2s for sorrounds. Last year i only had the SB2s hooed up to it and it never overloaded (probably because it was just in stereo mode). Now that I have a larger set up it seems to be overlaoding way to much. Its not even turned up that load. It is overloading at what i would consider a very reasonable level for watching movies. (Like when the volume is at like -35db) My questionis why is it doing this. I really dont think i am pushing it that hard. Could it be overheating? It is on almost all day. I am in college and between my three roomates and I someone is always using the system for xbox or movies or whatever. I have my dvd player set on top of it and i think i am going to move it. Any suggestions as to how I could fix this. I don't really want to buy something at this point. I probably could if i had to. And if i had to buy something when a stereo amplifier for the rf5s help fix it. Or is a whole new reciever pretty much the only way to go. Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted September 16, 2004 Share Posted September 16, 2004 ---------------- On 9/16/2004 11:02:25 PM graham_myhre wrote: I have my dvd player set on top of it and i think i am going to move it. Any suggestions as to how I could fix this. ---------------- That, right there could be a major part of the problem. It is best to that you do not stack anything on top of the reciever. Those things need room to breath (I could friggan practically heat the room with both my Denon AVR3802 and my B&K Ref 200.7 amp). If the DVD player is blocking the vents on top of the Pioneer reciever, then it may not have enough airlfow to allow the heat to vent away, thus cause heat to build up inside the unit, which could explain the overloading problems. I had that happen to my Denon reciever (before getting the B&K amp), where it shut itself down due to overheating. I had to adjust the shelf above it to allow more room for air to get in there. Move your DVD player off of it, and do not stack anything else on it. Tell your roomates to not put anything on top of the reciever also. Also, check your speaker connections to make sure you don't have any frayed wire strands that may be touching the reciever chassis or one of the other wires, thus causing a short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMcGoo Posted September 16, 2004 Share Posted September 16, 2004 graham, Your receiver needs room to breath. It needs to have several inches of free space above the receiver so that it does not overheat. If the shutdowns continue, you either have an underpowered receiver and/or an impedance problem with your speakers. The less expensive Pioneer receivers are known to have weak power supplies. The Pioneer Elites have much better power supplies. The way to determine which speaker(s) have problems with your gear is to disconnect all but one speaker and run up the volume. Add another speaker and so on. Eventually, you will know which speaker(s) cause the problem. Speakers have impedance (resistance) that varies with frequency. Also, bass frequencies use the most electrical current. Use these facts to your advantage. IF you have a subwoofer, set all of your speakers to "small" to redirect the bass to the subwoofer. Set the crossover frequency as high as possible without the subwoofer drawing attention to itself. It will take part of the load off of your receiver. You will get a higher volume before you have a shudown. Let us know how you are doing. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 I've burned out an Integra stereo by stacking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham_myhre Posted September 17, 2004 Author Share Posted September 17, 2004 So I moved the DVD player and checked all the wiring. I think i am going to play some music on it for a bit to warm it up and than see how loud itll go before it overloads. Its not actually hurting it whne it is overloading right? The whole point is that it is turning itself off before it overloads. I hope im correct on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 I'm not sure on the process that happens, but I can say a house circuit breaker will weaken over time when thrown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham_myhre Posted September 17, 2004 Author Share Posted September 17, 2004 Alright its fixed. So i moved the dvd player last night let everything cool down and turned it on again today. Overloaded right away at about -35db. I still though this was all raelly wierd cause i could turn up my mains all the way in stereo mode. So I decide I was going to try what someone suggested above, which was to unplug all the speakers and plug them in one by one untill the reciever begins to overload again. So I got the mains and the centers plugged in and everything was working fine. I could crank them up as much as i wanted without a problem. Than i plugged in the R sorround which is an SB2 turn it on and it overloads right away around 33 or so db. The WTF meter went up very quickly. So in my attempt to see what the hell ws wrong i looked behind the speaker to look at the terminals and low and behold the wires are completely lose and might as well have been soldered right together. So i cranked them down again and turned everything on cranked it up and what do you know? It didnt overlaod. Who would have thought. lol. At least i got out of that without breaking anything. Thanks for the help guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMcGoo Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 graham, Thanks for letting us know about the solution. Enjoy your system. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted September 17, 2004 Share Posted September 17, 2004 ---------------- On 9/17/2004 3:42:40 PM graham_myhre wrote: So in my attempt to see what the hell ws wrong i looked behind the speaker to look at the terminals and low and behold the wires are completely lose and might as well have been soldered right together. ---------------- So, it was the speaker end were a pair of wires were touching! Yep, that'll do it. When the reciever tried to send a signal to that particular speaker, it was basically getting a short, thus causing a pretty large load on the reciever's amp section. As a result, you got the overloading problems, i.e., the amp clipping, or just shutting down. Once you seperated the wires and tighted down the binding posts, that speaker presented a load to the amp the way it was supposed to. Also to add, although the DVD player sitting on the receiver did not appear to be the immediate cause of the problem, it is still highly recommended that you do not stack anything on the reciever. Those things do need room to allow the heat to vent away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted September 21, 2004 Share Posted September 21, 2004 Speaker wires touching each other are a no-no for receiver or amp longevity. I am surprised that it still works quite fine. Must be a pretty well put together unit! My brother had a problem with his Sony receiver overheating and shutting down. I went over, and immediately noticed that the tweeters in his main speakers (paradigm) were not operating. After replacing the tweeters under warranty, the receiver never exhibited any more overheatind or shut down periods. Problem solved! I leave 2.5" clearance above my receiver, and run an outboard amplifier for my main speakers. The receiver runs only the center and surrounds, and stays cool to the touch when playing movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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