Pioneer HT - worth fixing?

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I was testing a driver a month or so ago and think vibration caused wiring to short to driver.

Next thing I know receiver is blinking and I'm getting no power. Have disconnected, reconnected as well as trying other drivers. Nothing ... still just blinking.

It's a VSX D608. 10 years old now, Best Buy wants $25 just to look at it.

Anybody got any idea what I did to it and what it's gona run to fix it?

I paid near to $400 as DTS was a brand new technology back then. They closed them out at $140 as they're nothing by today's standards and new Onkyo's at Accesories for less better than this Pio sell for $150.

What to do ... If I could get it fixed for $75 it would be a good computer room unit.

Bluto
 
Hello Bluto, I would think the only reason to fix this is if you did the repairs yourself you could learn from it. Otherwise it's probably going to cost more to repair (based on current service rates) than it's worth. You would be better served to either buy another receiver in the same price range as this one was when new. Or, you could gut this out, and build your own amp inside of it, reusing the power transformer and some other parts.

Peace,

Dave
 
Hi Dave,

Likely correct.

I had wondered as something had gone wrong with it 3 years ago and it had already been a discontinued model but despite such Best Buy chose to fix it rather than replace it as it was under extended warranty. That really surprised me.

I called Best Buy this morning. Of course 'now' it's the 'Geek Squad' rather than the service department. They actually were going to ship this unit to Chicago just to troubleshoot it ! None of these guys take sides jobs, Best Buy makes then sign a contract and they'll lose their jobs if caught working on equipment !

He asked if unit was over 3 years old..... I'm laughing. A $30 3 year extended warranty made it worth fixing the last time but without such it's for the garbage can. America has it's throwaway policy backwards.

I have 5 other receivers here in need of repair. No wonder I can find no one to work on Vintage stuff let alone equipment in the 5-10 year old range.

Buy cheap and buy often.

I'd like to build my own amp some day but no one teaching such, no electronics background at all to fix this. Nothing 1000 years in a landfill won't solve.

Bluto
 
Hello Bluto, I know what you mean about throwaway society. It both amazes and disturbs me the way we throw things out.
In regards to your other receivers, depending on the age, some are more likely to be worth repairing than others. There seems to be a general consensus that most of the japanese stuff started going down hill in the early 80's. There are exceptions, but that seems to be the general belief. I think a lot of it has to do with the change from discrete transistors to IC's and potted pack power amps. The early potted amps were inferior sonically to discrete transistors. This has narrowed a lot recently, but it doesn't change older stuff. If any of your stuff is from the 70's and still has all discrete transistors in the amplification stages, it may be worth fixing, or possibly upgrading with newer parts.
One possibility for building your own amp is to use one of the National Semiconductor power amp packs. These are the new devices that are competitive with discrete. They include the LM3886 and LM4780 among others. The chipamp section is dedicated to them. There are multiple websites selling kits to build amps from these. If you have more questions, drop me an email, I will help where possible.

Peace,

Dave
 
Hi Dave -

Unemployed and deciding to 'make' a job years back I started a hauling service. What people toss will near to make you cry. For awhile I rented storage but it simply got to be too much. Though dirty, a fun little biz.

From my reading and age experience I can agree with your take on 'era' receivers. I have a combo of both 70's to 90's units that I got ripped off on Ebay looking for something to power computer speakers.

Wrote a post awhile back called 'electrocution not an option' regards those. Had a few guys tell me they were interested in fixing a unit for trade on rest but no one ever came through. I will tear it all apart one of these days, have several hundred invested in all of it. Hope to get some of it back.

I'm a far cry from learned enough yet to even take on one of these kits despite reading much on them and at this point impractical in my list of all other priorities I have in DIY. Have just now finalized planning on speaker needs after near a year of study.

Definitely gona save your post and take a rain check. I do like them little chip amps and have plans down the line for a small tube amp kit as well I saw that appears within my skills range.

My speakers will be efficient enough that either would drive them.

Thanks Dave, Sincerely appreciated -

Bluto
 
Hello Bluto, I understand completely about priorities. I have too many things on my plate myself. Doesn't stop me from dreaming:D
You're welcome to get back in touch when you get the time. If you like, you can drop a quick email now, and I will respond, that way you will have my email address for future use. I don't claim to be the smartest in electronics on this forum. There are many here who are geniuses in the subject, especially compared to me, but I'm willing to help where possible.
Tube amps are pretty easy to build, relative to the circuit complexity, but you have to remember that they use some relatively high voltages, thus they come with their own set of precautions. If you don't follow those precautions, we won't have you as a member anymore, because you will be worm food:dead: :RIP: :sad:

Peace,

Dave
 
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