Yamaha DSP A1 Problem

[Thira]

My Yamaha DSP A1 shuts off when the volume is slightly more than 1/4 max. Does anyone know why it does this?
I am new to home theater and recently built a media room, 22'x20'. The room was pre wired during construction. Along the front wall is a Panasonic 50' plasma TV. The components include:
Yamaha DSP A1
Sony Turntable
Samsung TS160 HDTV Tuner
Adcom ACE-315 Surge Supressor
Adcom GFA-555 Power Amp (for 4 speakers around pool- two Bose mounted under a Lanai & two rock speakers in the Garden, two other rooms each with two speakers)
CSI Speaker selector for the speakers running off the Adcom GFA-555
Harman/Kardon TU930 AM/FM Tuner with a Terk FM50 antenna in the attic (wish I had a solution for an AM antenna for reception of far away college football games)
Pioneer 563A-S DVD Player( I plan to replace with a Denon 5900)
The Yamaha DSP A1 drives the following:
MonitorAudio Silver SLR center channel speaker
MonitorAudio Silver S10 x2
MonitorAudio Silver S1 x2
MonitorAudio SFX Surrounds x2
Velodyne HSG 18
I had never had this problem previously when the Yamaha was connected in another room with a much lower end 6 speakers (2 fronts, center, two rears and subwoofer).
Secondly if I were to replace the yamaha, what would one recommend to complement the components in my system? I am trying to better my knowledge of Home Theater and would like a quality system without getting totally out of control on the cost.
Thank you for the anticipated reply.

[Burke Strickland]

Welcome to the HT Guide Forum, Thira. For someone who says they are new to home theater, you've listed quite an impressive system. (Actually, that would be an impressive list from someone who's been at it a while, too.) :>)

My Yamaha DSP A1 shuts off when the volume is slightly more than 1/4 max. Does anyone know why it does this?

To be able to help, I have a feeling even our Yamaha "gurus" are going to need a bit more information. Here are a few questions:

• Sounds like you are running the Monitor speakers directly from the Yamaha's back panel connections (in other words, using the internal amps in the Yamaha). Assuming that is the case, then:

o Have you checked the connections to make sure there are no stray wires touching the receiver's cabinet at any of the connections for the speaker wires?

o How is the Adcom amp connected to the Yamaha?

• Are two of the speakers for "front effects" or are you trying to run two sets of back surrounds from one set of rear surround outputs?

• How loud is it at 1/4 max? Is the sound clear/"normal", or rasping and/or staccato (perhaps with clicking sounds or other odd noises) at that point?

• Could you describe what you mean by "shuts off" in more detail?

o Does the sound stop and the power shuts off, but you are then able to turn it back on with the volume control at less than 1/4?
o Or does it blow a fuse?
o Does any kind of message come up on the front panel display when it "shuts off"?

With answers to the above questions and perhaps a few more others might chime in with, I hope we'll be able to figure out what's going on and get you "back in business".

Burke

[Thira]

Hi Burke. Thanks for the interest. I can answer your questions.
"• Sounds like you are running the Monitor speakers directly from the Yamaha's back panel connections (in other words, using the internal amps in the Yamaha). Assuming that is the case, then:"
You are correct here. All of the Monitor speakers and the Velodyne subwoofer run from the Yamaha.

"o Have you checked the connections to make sure there are no stray wires touching the receiver's cabinet at any of the connections for the speaker wires?"
Wiring is fine

"o How is the Adcom amp connected to the Yamaha?"
The Adcom is wired to "Tape Deck 2" or #4 if you look at the manual on Yamaha's site. I had this wired professionally. There is a External Decoder Input on the back of the Yamaha, as well a coupler, both with a series of terminals. Neither the External Decoder Input or the Coupler are being used.

"• Are two of the speakers for "front effects" or are you trying to run two sets of back surrounds from one set of rear surround outputs?"
The Monitor S10's are connected directly to the Main speaker terminals, the Monitor SFX's connect to the Front terminals, and the Monitor S1s connect to the rear terminals. The Monitor center and the Velodyne subwoofer are connected to the respective center and subwoofer terminals.'

"• How loud is it at 1/4 max? Is the sound clear/"normal", or rasping and/or staccato (perhaps with clicking sounds or other odd noises) at that point?"
The volume control knob is approx 1/4 on or in the 9:00 position

"o Does the sound stop and the power shuts off, but you are then able to turn it back on with the volume control at less than 1/4?"
This is exactly what happens.

" o Or does it blow a fuse?"
No, it does not

"o Does any kind of message come up on the front panel display when it "shuts off"?"
None

One new question.The back of the Yamaha has an Impedence selector switch. If the switch is in the left position:
Rear: impedence of each speaker must be 4 ohms or higher
Center: impedence of each speaker must be 4 ohms or higher
Main: impedence of each speaker must be 4 ohms or higher
Front Effect: impedence of each speaker must be 6 ohms or higher

Right Position
Rear: impedence of each speaker must be 8 ohms or higher
Center: impedence of each speaker must be 8 ohms or higher
Main: impedence of each speaker must be 8 ohms or higher
Front Effect: impedence of each speaker must be 8 ohms or higher

Monitor nominal impedence:
S10 6 Ohms
S1 8 Ohms
SFX 8 Ohms
S-SCR 6 Ohms
The switch should be correctly to the right or left?
I wonder if this may be an issue.
Thanks

[Lex]

Thira, a couple of things. Ok, 3. Welcome to the forum! That's one.

Second, try disconnecting everything except the front left and right speakers, and 1 input. See if it performs correctly.

Then gradually attach more, testing after each connection. Maybe you will isolate the problem this way, unless it still has the problem even with only 2 speakers and 1 source. If it does, and wiring is correct, I'd say you've got a hardware problem.

Third, with a nice big media room like you have now, have you considered going front projection for movies? Use the plasma for normal TV viewing and such. That's the first big upgrade I'd do if I were you. It's amazing what you can get for your money today. You don't have to spend a lot for great 480P DVD performance in FP.

[shameless plug on]Ok, a PS, you may want to consider some cable upgrades down the line, if so, see my sponsor companies below. [/shameless plug off]

Lex

[David Meek]

Hi Thira,

Welcome to The Guide!

For safety's sake, since your speakers show a 6-ohm load, which probably dips to 4 at points, I'd set the switch to the 4-ohm position. No sense straining the amps unnecessarily.

You, Burke and Lex have definitely done a good bit of trouble-shooting. The DSP-A1 didn't have any of the idiosyncratic problems that the RX-V1 (which I have) produced, so I'm thinking you have a problem with the volume control, an amp (or amps) or some connection between the two. If disconnecting all the speaker connections causes the problem to disappear, we can pretty safely assume it's not the volume control. If not, and disconnecting all but one of the amps DOESN'T resolve it, it may well be the volume control. Since you aren't seeing any diagnostic codes on the display I'd recommend having a reputable service tech look at the unit.

However, from the strange-but-true file, try this. Turn the DSP-A1 off, take any old interconnect terminated with an RCA jack and insert it into each of the Pre-in/Main-out connectors. Once inserted, rotate it around a few times and then pull it out. Do this a couple of times for each connection. Put the interconnect away and power up the unit. The reason? The RX-V1 would have various channel's volume drop off when dust would accumulate in the pre-in/main-out inputs. The RX-V1 would think this indicated an external amp was plugged in and cut the internal amp out of the loop. Clearing the dust (or whatever) out of the input would restore the volume back to normal. Go figure.
:banghead:

Like I said, this probably won't work on yours, but it's an easy thing to try. Let us know how things go with the next round of testing, okay?




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Thira]

Thanks David & Lex. Looks like I have a lot of things to do from your suggestions. Unfortunately the real job has been keeping me real busy lately. It will take me a couple of days to do the suggestions above. But I'll get back to you.
BTW, I got this site from Hometheater forum. I like what you guys are doing and look forward to spending time here.
Thanks

[David Meek]

That's great Ron. I'm glad you like what you've seen. Lex 'n Mats have put together a pretty nice place here - we like it.

I understand about the "real" job. I'm typing this from the office. Yuck. :




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Clive]

Hi Thira!

When you do get around to it, don't just check the wires at the point of termination (Speaker or Amp) but also check your runs. Do a visual inspection inch by inch. Also note that the amp maybe going into protection because a speak could be faulty. You may (1) want to check each speaker on its channel one at a time. Drop all wires and speakers for the test OR (2) Use a meter to check the speaker cable to the speaker. If your meter shows all 0s to +/-001, it means it's shorting out. Also check all your cable connections (toslink, coaxial, composites etc), from each source. If everything shows okay, it maybe that your Audio IC needs to be changed.

Good Luck.




CLIVE




HEY!! Why buy movie tickets when you can own a Theater?

[Thira]

Uncle Clive, with the exception of the main speakers, middle chalnnel, and subwoofer, the speaker wires to the fronts and surrounds are in the wall.
What kind of meter do I use to check the speakers?/
Where do I purchase the meter?
Thanks

[Clive]

Just a regular multi meter from say Radio Shack, Home depot or (The Piggly Wiggly :LOL: ) will do. They usually come with instructions to test different sources. You may even want to use a 9 volt battery instead to test those speakers on those in-wall wiring. Hold one end of the speaker cable on one terminal of the battery then scratch the other terminal of the battery with the other end. Make sure the scrathy sound is loud and not deminishing. If you have no sound or a kinda fading muffled sound/scratch......... then, there could be your problem. One step at a time. Keep us posted.




CLIVE




HEY!! Why buy movie tickets when you can own a Theater?

[Thira]

Today I found more information. When I turn the "Effect" off, I can turn the volume up as much as I like (or stand). If I understand correctly the Effect is the Digital Sound Processor(DSP). When the Effect is on, the unit powers off if I turn it up as initially described.
Does this point me to look in a certain direction to start problem shooting?
Thanks

[Burke Strickland]

Thira -

If you just want to listen in two channel stereo, problem solved. :>) If you want full use of your center and surrounds, you have some more trouble shooting ahead.

13 EFFECT Button

Switches on and off the output from the center, rear and front effect speakers. When switched to off, the sound becomes normal 2-channels.

Since setting the "Effects" button "on" limits the use of the volume knob to 1/4 turn (and although you never really answered my question of how loud it gets at that position, I'm assuming from your last post that it does not yield a very high volume level since having the "Effects" turned "off" lets you go as loud as you can stand) then it is probably one or more of the following:

1) at least one of the speakers for the center and front effects and rear surround is connected improperly, causing protection circuitry to kick in when the volume knob hits the 1/4 position when the "Effects" button is "on", (thus engaging the center front effects and surround channels -- since they are "disconnected" with the "effects" button "off", an improperly connected speaker wouldn't have the same effect when it is "off").

Note that "visual inspection" of the speaker connections as they are currently in place is insufficient. You need to disconnect the leads for each speaker one by one and inspect the wires and then reconnect them securely. If the problem "goes away" when you have one of the speakers disconnected, then the wire or the connection for that speaker is the cause of the problem,

or

2) something like the dirt build-up problem David described in a previous post is occurring in one or more of the center, front effects or surround channels. It is certainly worth pursuing the simple procedure he outlined to eliminate this as a possibility,

or if it isn't either of those,

3) something may be defective in the control circuits, since you should have full range of volume (and control of it) in both two channel and surround modes.

If you can eliminate 1) and 2) as the culprit(s) then it is time to send the unit to Yamaha for warranty repair.

Good luck,

Burke
Spelling and grammar checked in MS Word. If you detect an error, please notify Bill Gates.

[Thira]

Sorry It took so long, but today I made progress.
I disconnected the center channel, fronts and rear rt & lt speakers. The rt & lt main and subwoofer were all that were hooked up. No problem. I could turn the volume to as high as I cound tolerate.
Next I connected the center channel. Again no problem.
Next the front rt & lt speakers. The Yamaha DSP-A1 shut down.
Next I disconnected the Rt & Lt fronts, and connected the rear rt & lt speakers. No problems.
So it looks like I have isolated the problem to the frront speakers.
The connections from the Yamaha DSP A1 into the wall check out ok visually. It is difficult to check the connections at the front speakers .
Is it ok to connect at the DSP A1 the rt + & - and then reverse the + & - of the lt rear speakers? If this doesn't correct the problem, then do just the opposite? Will I harm the A/V unit if I do this?
My thinking is that I may have missed something the electrician did that may now hidden behind sheetrock.
Thanks

[Thira]

Gentlemen:
My system is fixed. Thank you for all the help. I reversed the + & - connections on the lt channel of the front set of speakers. I suspect the klondike electrician must of spliced wires together which is now covered by sheetrock. It doesn't surprise me as the same electrician mounted an antenna in my attic, but didn't connect any wiring to the antenna.
Anyway the good news for me is that my system rocks.
Thanks for the

[Clive]

Thought so................check everything else while you're at it.

Now you're good to go :T




CLIVE




HEY!! Why buy movie tickets when you can own a Theater?

[David Meek]

Ron, glad to hear it was something simple, and that you are up and running. :T




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker