JVC RX-515V Receiver - Blown Center Channel

[thekma...@gmail.com]

JVC RX-515V Receiver - Blown Center Channel

I have confirmed that it is the receiver's output that is blown, not the speakee.

Is there anything I can check inside - something hopefully simple as a fuse or thermal breaker?

This is a 20-year old surround sound work horse with plenty inputs for all my analog gear, and replacements are few and far between.


Thanks for any suggestions on how to troubleshoot!

[Trevor Wilson]

**If the RX-515V is anything like all the other JVC surround sound
recievers, then it will be extremely time-consuming. They were never
built to be repaired. Throw it away.

--
Trevor Wilson www.rageaudio.com.au

[Mark Zacharias]

"Trevor Wilson" <tre...@SPAMBLOCKrageaudio.com.au> wrote in message
news:bvvhrq...@mid.individual.net...

The OP is probably out of his league - but I fix this kind of thing all the
time. No problem.

A couple outputs, maybe a resistor or two, sometimes a couple drivers or a
zener diode, etc.

Service info readily available.

Easy.


Mark Z.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

Mark Z:

This you? http://www.electronicwizards.biz/our-team/

[Trevor Wilson]

**Like I said, if that model is like all the other JVC ones I've seen,
it has no removable base plate. Disassembly is not only difficult, but
testing after reassembly is challenging. JVC is far from the only offender.

--
Trevor Wilson www.rageaudio.com.au

[james...@gmail.com]

I agree with the replace suggestion. While it might have plenty of inputs if you really are using it as a surround sound system and it's that old then there are a number of new audio formats it won't decode. I'm very happy with the current yamahas.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

1:38 PMjames...@gmail.com wrote:
- show quoted text -

"I agree with the replace suggestion. While it might have plenty of inputs if you really are using it as a surround sound system and it's that old then there are a number of new audio formats it won't decode. I'm very happy with the current yamahas. "

I most certainly am using it in surround. I also possess a shipload of perfectly operational analog audio & video playback components that would not have a home on most current receivers.


I will unfortunately have to replace it; authorized JVC repair is no longer available for this vintage. I am exploring several options.

[Mark Zacharias]

"Trevor Wilson" <tre...@SPAMBLOCKrageaudio.com.au> wrote in message

news:c04kl9...@mid.individual.net...

Oh, yeah.

Most makes and models have been like this for at least about the last
fifteen years. Just have had to deal with it.

For example, you could check my Youtube videos "Yamaha RX-V661 Repair Brief"
or Denon AVR-2307CI Repair Brief" to see the common kind of stuff I do.

The JVC models of this type got nothin' on the Yamaha RX-V2400's etc... now
THOSE are challenging for blown channels, but still - the amp sections are
fairly standard on most of these.

It's things like intermittent DC offset on a single channel that cause the
most trouble for me.

Mark Z.

[james...@gmail.com]

You might be using it for surround but it doesn't support any of the newer formats because they didn't exist when it was made.

I'm curious what you consider a "shipload" of analog audio/video equipment that you are using?

[thekma...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, June 18, 2014 5:41:56 PM UTC-4, james...@gmail.com wrote:

>
> I'm curious what you consider a "shipload" of analog audio/video equipment that you are using?

____

I'm not going to answer that. Do some research on what folks at home might have been playing music and movies back on 15, 20, 30 years ago.

smh...

[james...@gmail.com]

I was around then so I don't really need to. Just curious how much of it you really needed? Can't you consolidate to fewer formats? Even if you are unwilling to digitize it all, I'm still thinking you can get the count down some. Video is always a choir but it's not so bad to switch to digital for the audio stuff. You can make the case even just based on the fact that analog has a fairly short life expectancy and digital is forever.

Then you could probably support selected pieces of your older gear as well as newer stuff. Another option would be to get an extra analog switch like these http://r.ebay.com/wRs7oZ

[thekma...@gmail.com]

james wrote: " You can make the case even just based on the fact that analog has a fairly short life expectancy and digital is forever. "

Nothing lasts forever James. And I did source an identical unit to the above! So I'm back in biz for now. :)

If need be, I'll keep all my analogs plugged into this JVC, and use the tape outs to the CD in on a modern mostly digital HDMI from JVC or Yamie.

I'm not going to sit by a PC transferring MONTHS worth of vinyl & cassette to digital formats.

[james...@gmail.com]

I don't disagree with the time issue of transferring analog since it generally has to be done at 1x. I've found that many older music releases are available these days on cd new in the $5 to $7 range. I'm always surprised that I can find some pretty obscure material on cd. About 15 years ago I went through the box of vinyl we still had and was able to find everything we didn't have on cd yet. Even the Neil Merryweather and the Space Rangers albums :-) I don't know how many cassettes you have though so that option may still not be good. Vinyl still has a pretty hard core following. I think most of them are using standalone phone pre-amps to connect to the newer gear.

Mostly I was thinking personal video material when I brought up conversion. You were vague about exactly what you had so I thought maybe some vhs or other analog video formats were involved. If you have analog home "movies" I'd suggest it's worth the time or money to transfer them to digital so you don't lose them.

Digital is forever not because the physical media lasts forever but because a copy of digital media is indistinguishable from the original. So the 100th copy of a cd will be a exact match of the first. A 1 terabyte drive will hold over 3,000 cds in a lossless format. I keep my entire 1,200 cd music collection on a hard drive and stream it to the sound systems. I find we use our personal music collection a lot more with it so readily available. Browse electronically and play with no more effort than turning on the tv and looking for something to watch.

Most new units have several analog inputs. My yamahas all have 2 stereo analog inputs. If what you have is a turntable and a cassette player then you're covered. It's not uncommon to also have a 5.1 analog input of which you can just use the first 2 as yet another analog stereo input. Any blu-ray player will play anything on cd/dvd/blu-ray you have and it can be connected hdmi.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

Thanks for the suggs james!

I also forgot to mention: All the analog gear still WORKS! So I'm in no rush to go out and buy all new stuff thank you very much.

I don't do every ios upgrade Apple issues, i don't get a new phone everytime I'm eligible. I still have a (rather) large tube TV in my living room. I don't use it to browse the web or order take-out on - I have my i-Devices and land line and cell phones for those tasks.

You could say I'm pretty satisfied. My stuff does what I need it to. Ain't in no rush. ;)

[james...@gmail.com]

Sounds like you may be using itunes for at least some of your music. The new yamaha receivers do airplay very well when network connected. They show up in itunes with minimal effort. Pick your music and play.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

______

Keep trying, keep trying!

Your strongest breath will not make the Empire State Bldg sway. LOL


"Pick my music and play"? I do that with my iPod and my Sony 1993 CD changer every day. ;)

[james...@gmail.com]

Had a changer once. After you get past 5-600 cds changers just aren't the answer anymore.

The thing about using itunes and a larger drive is you can rip your cd's in a lossless format. So you've still got 100% of the original material from the cd. And you can set it up so they are converted to mp3s when they are copied to your ipod so you still get the maximum number of songs on the ipod.

I can control playback from the unit remotes, the computer, the netbook, or my phone.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

james wrote: "I can control playback from the unit remotes, the computer, the netbook, or my phone."

Wow! Good for you.

[james...@gmail.com]

On Friday, June 27, 2014 5:41:30 PM UTC-4, thekma...@gmail.com wrote:
> james wrote: "I can control playback from the unit remotes, the computer, the netbook, or my phone."
>
>
>
> Wow! Good for you.

Yea, I figure just cause I am getting old is not a reason to act old.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

james wrote: "Yea, I figure just cause I am getting old is not a reason to act old. "


Just who are you sayin is "acting old"?

Just so you know, I happen to have a rather strong case of IFIDAINTBROKENDON'TFUCKWITHITITUS. Take that to the bank.

[james...@gmail.com]

It was broke.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

james surmised: "- show quoted text -
It was broke. "

My JVC receiver? Yes it was, and I have since bought another JVC RX-515 and set it up in my system. Back to what works for me jim - but nice try!

[james...@gmail.com]

You probably had an 8-track player somewhere back in the past, why aren't you still using that? Point is your main receiver broke. It was pretty old. That was the point where you might have looked around at the state of things. Then you could have gotten something that handles the new surround sound formats, is compatible with other more modern devices, has hdmi, etc. Instead you went and found another old receiver. And even after others pointed out that those jvc's were not all that well engineered you got another jvc. I'm guessing for a lot of your life that's not the reaction you would have had or we'd be talking about some old two channel system.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

james wrote: "probably had an 8-track player somewhere back in the past, why aren't you still using that? Point is your main receiver broke. It was pretty old. That was the point where you might have looked around at the state of things. Then you could have gotten something that handles the new surround sound formats, is compatible with other more modern devices, has hdmi, etc. Instead you went and found another old receiver. And even after others pointed out that those jvc's were not all that well engineered you got another jvc. I'm guessing for a lot of your life that's not the reaction you would have had or we'd be talking about some old two channel system. "

For your information I blew out the center on my original 515. Either I drove it too hard or disconnected something before turning down the receiver volume.

As far as modern surround, formats goes, got plenty of time to catch up on that.

Pro-Logic suffices for now, and BTW, I do still have a working eight-track deck and at least 72 hours worth of tapes. ;)

[james...@gmail.com]

Perhaps you are waiting to see if blu-ray really is here to stay? Because many blu-ray disks use the newer high definition surround formats that are not compatible with what you have. And there are not often discussed issues with many blu-ray players downmixing to the original surround formats. Forcing you to use pcm.

"I do still have a working eight-track deck" that really says it all. At the time of their introduction there really wasn't any other good way to take music to your car. But as far as audio quality goes the only thing worse was a wire recorder. They died a well deserved death almost immediately upon the introduction of cassettes.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

james you don't get it:

My setup does everything we need it to. The aforementioned 8-track is not the core listening platform in my system. It's just one more option.

[james...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, July 2, 2014 3:43:46 PM UTC-4, thekma...@gmail.com wrote:
> james you don't get it:
>
>
>
> My setup does everything we need it to. The aforementioned 8-track is not the core listening platform in my system. It's just one more option.

8 tracks are garbage. But you're right about one thing, no point in wasting time explaining the current state of the art.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!


This morning I turned on my replacement RX-515V, and it sounded
suspiciously low. I pressed "Test" for the surround sound pink
noise, and sure enough, center channel dead. >:(


It seems these receivers have a history of blowing center
channel outputs. And no, I'm not over-driving it. Even JVC
themselves no longer service 20 year old receivers. They
can't even look up this model number!

[Randy Yates]

Is it possible you have some problem in your load (speaker) that's
causing it?
--
Randy Yates
Digital Signal Labs
http://www.digitalsignallabs.com

[Randy Yates]

Randy Yates <ya...@digitalsignallabs.com> writes:

> thekma...@gmail.com writes:
>
>> IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!
>>
>>
>> This morning I turned on my replacement RX-515V, and it sounded
>> suspiciously low. I pressed "Test" for the surround sound pink
>> noise, and sure enough, center channel dead. >:(
>>
>>
>> It seems these receivers have a history of blowing center
>> channel outputs. And no, I'm not over-driving it. Even JVC
>> themselves no longer service 20 year old receivers. They
>> can't even look up this model number!
>
> Is it possible you have some problem in your load (speaker) that's
> causing it?

I realized after I posted this that you are probably saying that the
channel was blown before you bought it. However, it is possible that a
problem in your load (short or near-short?) could blow it shortly after
first turn-on.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

Randy Yates:

Apologies for any vaguery in my latest
post.

#1. I EBayed the replacement RX-515V
one year ago, and it has been satisfactory
almost up to today(when I discovered no
sound from my center speaker).


#2. All speakers are 8ohm. This Receiver
specifies 8~16ohm load. My original
515 went for 19 years in this configuration
before losing its center channel audio
last June.

[Randy Yates]

Well, they're SUPPOSED to be 8 ohm. Are you sure the voice coil didn't
become partially shorted, or the speaker wires, or ...

Move the center speaker and see if the problem follows it.

Perhaps I insult your intelligence and you've already done these things.
Forgive me if so.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

Randy Yates:

I connected the center speaker to one of the LR mains on
this receiver and it produces glorious sound. And I'm not
rough with my gear and my wire terminations are neatly
stripped and no stray strands.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

The latest:



I've discovered that I can get center channel - for a while -
by moving the speaker wire around in the center ch
connector on the receiver. Last night I stripped off an
extra long length of wire, so as to bend it over to double
the thickness.


That worked - last night. This morning I turned it back on,
and got center for about ten minutes before it cut out again.
I fiddled with it some more, and discovered that by having the
speaker wire(16AWG by the way) *barely in* the connecting
terminal, with the locking tab left up, I get center pretty
consistently. If I pushed the positive in all the way - NO
center. If I jiggled it - intermittent center. So we'll
see how long it produces center with the positive barely hanging
in there. Different times of day, the center works, other times,
not.


My original RX-515, which is still in my cellar, is definitely blown
center, at the component level. No amount of jiggling or
doubling over the copper strands is gonna pass sound through
the center speaker with that thing.


And the sad part of all this is JVC is OUT of the home audio
business! Here they had a great mid-price surround-sound
receiver for mid-1990s, ample power, connections for TWO
tape loops(great because I have an EQ on one and my
tape deck on another), and a phono input.


I couldn't give two shits about HDMI inputs, bluetooth, and X.1
digital surround if I can't hook all of my analog gear up to it!!


So I'm going to buy every remaining RX-515V out
there, at least just for parts interchangeability.

[thekma...@gmail.com]

Update - Overdue:

Early December, took one of my 515s to
a stereo repair place near where I work.
Basically every solder point on the
'mother' board needed redoing, and the
tech also adjusted the output bias.

Thing sounds like new, better than
new, again! Tight, focused sound.

[MIAD...@cox.net]

On Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 7:07:12 PM UTC-7, thekma...@gmail.com wrote:
> JVC RX-515V Receiver - Blown Center Channel
>
> I have confirmed that it is the receiver's output that is blown, not the speakee.
>
> Is there anything I can check inside - something hopefully simple as a fuse or thermal breaker?
>
> This is a 20-year old surround sound work horse with plenty inputs for all my analog gear, and replacements are few and far between.
>
>
> Thanks for any suggestions on how to troubleshoot!

I've had this RX for a long time and I use to use it mainly for listening to LP records. The sound went out 10 years back and I replaced the Power amplifiers inside the receiver. I recall 4 of them 2 per channel, I think, these were the old oval alu encapsulated amplifier chips, same used in similar receivers, mixers and instruments of the time. The sound went out again about a year ago and I am sure it is the power amps again. So the receiver is fixable if it is the power amps whcih typically is, if sound goes out. The same thing happened to a sound mixer of the 80's I still have, I replaced the power amps and it is still working to this day.