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Sputter/crackle in right channel of old Sony receiver

66.178.138.36
Posted on September 18, 2009 at 20:08:52
caspian@peak.org
Audiophile

Posts: 386
Location: Oregon
Joined: January 12, 2008
 Model STR-AV500. Got it at thrift shop a couple of years ago for about $20, so it won't break my heart if it can't be fixed. Used it in outdoor system all summer of '08, it worked fine. Brought it indoors all winter, unplugged in the closet. Fired it up in May this year and there was immediately a loud, sporadic sputter and crackle in the right channel. Present with both A & B speaker outputs, and with headphones, with any source selected, whether or not there was a source component hooked up to those inputs. Signal comes through in that channel just fine, with no attenuation or distortion, but the sputter is there whether signal is present or not. The noise is not in any of the pots or switches, which have all been cleaned with Caig De-Oxit, but completely independent of them.

Could this be (A) a power supply cap going bad, (B) an output device going bad, or (C) something else going bad? Any suggestions where to start looking?

RE: Sputter/crackle in right channel of old Sony receiver, posted on September 19, 2009 at 06:37:34
clifff
Audiophile

Posts: 1675
Location: English Riviera
Joined: May 22, 2003
 "The noise is not in any of the pots or switches, which have all been cleaned with Caig De-Oxit, but completely independent of them."

How can you be sure, just because you cleaned it?

"Could this be (A) a power supply cap going bad, (B) an output device going bad, or (C) something else going bad? Any suggestions where to start looking?"

A & B unlikey. Most likely IS a dirty switch or pot, OR a bad solder joint. Best found by gently tapping all joints/components (from volume control forwards to speaker outputs) with an insulated stick. A big knitting needle is ideal, if you remember what they are :-)

Edit: since you accurately isolate the fault to one channel, post gain control, only the output amp for that channel is suspect.

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