Where would you take a stereo receiver for repair?

[MotionMan]

My stereo receiver that I use in my entertainment center will not turn on anymore, but I do not know where to take it to get looked at (I know nothing about the innards of stereos).

It is a fairly old (approx. 10 years) Onkyo, but it has 5.1 and is all I need, so I rather repair it than buy a new one (if it makes financial sense).

I remember a long, long time ago taking it to a Circuit City repair center for some warranty work, but, otherwise, I am at a loss of where to take the stereo.

I am in Southern California.

Any thoughts?

MotionMan

 

[KLin]

A component probably overheated. I'd say it's not worth repairing. You can get a better unit for good prices these days.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I would either take it to the stereo repair shop next door to our apartment or I'd say fvck it and get a reciever with DD / DTS and assume I got my money's worth out of the first one

 

[Baked]

If you do decide to get a new receiver, steer away from those Bose all in one HT systems. My bro, w/o consulting me went and bought a fricking Bose all in one HT system from BestBuy. Bose and BestBuy... gg. He called me up and asked me there the F is the volume control on the unit. I told him, it's a POS, maybe they didn't put one in.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: KLin
A component probably overheated. I'd say it's not worth repairing. You can get a better unit for good prices these days.

All the same, it is worth it for me to have a repair guy tell me that the unit is fried.

I really do not want to have to replace this unit if I can avoid it.

MotionMan

 

[Squisher]

Call a upscale stereo retailer and ask them to recommend someone. I've had to do this more than once because a couple of places went out of business.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: Squisher
Call a upscale stereo retailer and ask them to recommend someone. I've had to do this more than once because a couple of places went out of business.

That is a great idea. I know of two such retailers near my house.

Thanks.

MotionMan

 

[amdhunter]

Contact Onkyo, they have authorized service repair centers all over the place. I had an old Onkyo receiver that kept blowing fuses over and over, and I took it to a place in the bronx, and it only cost me 45 bucks + 5 dollars tip.

I am sure their website has contact information.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: amdhunter
Contact Onkyo, they have authorized service repair centers all over the place. I had an old Onkyo receiver that kept blowing fuses over and over, and I took it to a place in the bronx, and it only cost me 45 bucks + 5 dollars tip.

I am sure their website has contact information.

Another excellent idea. Thanks.

MotionMan

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

When you're getting quotes for repair, keep in mind that you can get a decent new receiver for ~$150.

If you don't have DD / DTS on your receiver and you watch a decent amount of DVDs, that would be a big advantage of going to a new one.

 

[BoomerD]

http://www.onkyousa.com/locator.cfm

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

I would just grab a new receiver... we were using our 10 year old receiver on a 5.1 system that we put together back then and it recently began having a problem with certain outputs.

We got rid of that (gave it to my brother for whom it works fine for his purpose) and grabbed another HK AVR, it was $400, AVR-340 incase you care, and it's works great. Receivers and amplifiers have come down in price since then... at least for HT use

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
I would just grab a new receiver... we were using our 10 year old receiver on a 5.1 system that we put together back then and it recently began having a problem with certain outputs.

We got rid of that (gave it to my brother for whom it works fine for his purpose) and grabbed another HK AVR, it was $400, AVR-340 incase you care, and it's works great.

Don't forget to mention how you managed to kill two subs with the broken receiver too

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
When you're getting quotes for repair, keep in mind that you can get a decent new receiver for ~$150.

If you don't have DD / DTS on your receiver and you watch a decent amount of DVDs, that would be a big advantage of going to a new one.

That is sort of the problem. If I am going to get a new receiver, I know I would want all kinds of bells and whistles (that, honestly, I do not need right now). By repairing this one, I will probably save myself hundreds of dollars.



(Another big factor in this is that we are about to start looking for a new house and I have no idea what kind of entertainment system I will want/need in the new house (depends on things like room size, placement, cost of house, etc.). So, I just want to get this unit working, at least for the next few months.)

MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

There is an Onkyo "Authorized Service Center" 1.5 miles from my house. I will give them a call.

MotionMan

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Fair enough. I'm just hesitant to recommend putting a money into an old receiver unless it's really something special. I could see restoring a vintage stereo unit or something, but an old 5.1 onkyo that's probably on prologic is really behind in terms of connectivity and features compared to even entry level stuff now. Unless it was a high end unit of the time and has some redeeming qualities in that way, I would just make sure you're not going above maybe the half way point of getting a new receiver with newer features.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Fair enough. I'm just hesitant to recommend putting a money into an old receiver unless it's really something special. I could see restoring a vintage stereo unit or something, but an old 5.1 onkyo that's probably on prologic is really behind in terms of connectivity and features compared to even entry level stuff now. Unless it was a high end unit of the time and has some redeeming qualities in that way, I would just make sure you're not going above maybe the half way point of getting a new receiver with newer features.

Yeah, I figure if it is going to cost more than about $100, I might as well bite the bullet on a new unit. We shall see.

BTW, it was a pretty solid unit at the time I got it, with some very nice features.

MotionMan

 

[Captante]

Fixing a receiver that old only makes sense if its somthing really high-end... make sure the fee to have it looked at is really cheap before you bother & remember that not only can you get a pretty nice replacement unit for +/- $150, you can get a not so nice one that'll work for a bit less then $100 if you find the right deal on last years model.

 

[MotionMan]

I found a good deal on another Onkyo receiver at Circuit City today. I may call around to see what it would cost to look at my old one, just to know.

Thanks for the ideas.

MotionMan

 

[secretanchitman]

well, i'd say if the cost of repairing is too high, you might as well go ahead with a new one.

 

[d3n]

'Id like a good multi zone receiver to do 5.1 for the TV and a zone two out on the patio.

 

[MotionMan]

Do you think it is worth $35 to find out what is wrong with the unit and get an estimate?

The $35 would be put towards the repair if I choose to repair it.

MotionMan

 

[SoulAssassin]

Before you pay anyone open it up and see if there's a blown fuse in it. Could be a 99 cent repair.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Take it apart yourself and see if there's a fuse in there somewhere that's burned out. Sometimes they build them into the power circuit. If it's as old as you say it is, it may have gotten zapped after powering up so many times.

To answer your question, I would probably either fix it myself or take it to my dad. I just fixed my Kenwood receiver after buying a new 7.1 Pioneer from Best Buy...

All I had to do was reseat the ribbon cables that connect the front panel to the main board....fixed.

 

[MotionMan]

I have opened it up, checked the fuses and reseated everything that looks reseatable. I think it is the power supply, but that is only based on my knowledge of computers, not stereos.

MotionMan