[Demon1084]

Hey, I have a pioneer AV receiver VSX-524 I got used from a coworker, about 2 days after setting it up and getting surround sound ARC working through my TV it started buzzing slowly getting loud out of all speakers. Shortly after, I lost sound in my front left channel then after swapping with the same model speaker (6ohms) still nothing and after switching back my center channel was dead too.

I tried reseting it, reseting the error codes, unhooked from literally everything then hooked back up basic left right and the left channel was still dead and buzzing remained in both speakers even with no inputs and nothing else close to it or in the same outlet.

The buzzing gets quieter when I dim my display brightness on the receiver (no clue why)

Any and all advice is very much appreciated as I am new to receivers, although I have done some soldering and wiring before for high power nerf mods so not scared to attempt a fix.

Ps: sorry if I'm in the wrong spot or anything, just a dumb 21 year old trying to get back 4k surround sound and couldn't find much help in the form of videos or web pages.

 

[gewiz44]

Hello Demon1084, When you got this from your coworker, did you try it out to be sure it was working properly? If you have tried all the different inputs and still don't get sound from the dead channels, my guess is that it is either the logic board or preamp or output transistors that have gone bad. It would probably cost more to fix it than to just find another used receiver to replace it. Unless you have to do 4K switching, process Dolby Atmos, (usually 5.1 won't do that) then there are a lot of inexpensive used receivers that will work for you. Be careful NOT to short the speaker terminals, either at the receiver or at the speaker, and try to be careful with polarity too. Make sure you know the impedance of your speakers and that your receiver will handle that. If you run more than one speaker per channel, remember 2 - 8ohm speakers in parallel is 4 ohms and in series 16 ohms. Hope this helps.

 

[gewiz44]

One other thing I forgot to mention. I run all my electronics through a line conditioner and surge protector. Lightning strikes and "dirty" power can destroy your TV and receiver.

 

[Demon1084]

Thanks for the response, I'm was using 5 small Panasonic speakers with 6 ohm impedance, no sub. I use the receiver for my laptop and xbox so 4k and dolby is preferable, although my TV does have ARC so not all that needed. It worked fine once I set it up, and died about a day and a half later. Only errors I could find where a few temp errors. I don't know what I'm looking for when it comes to testing but I did rip it apart and look for blown capacitors. My room has air conditioning so I don't think the heat was from me just old errors.

 

[Demon1084]

Oh also no rain the weekend it died and everything on a strip in its own socket

 

[gewiz44]

Sometimes receivers die for no good reason. Some component fails because the on/off switch has been flipped once too often. If you have pulled the cover and not found any obviously fried components or blown capacitors, the next step is, unless you know a electronics technician, to take it in for repair but that is most likely to cost you more than the receiver is worth. I, like you, want to know what went wrong but sometimes it's just not worth the money to chase down the problem. If your just using a surge/power strip, I would recommend something a little more substantial maybe like Monster power, Furman, or Panamax. I use a Monster Power HTS 3500 mkII, there's one on eBay for $60 plus shipping right now it does help protect your equipment a lot more. Anyway, have you tried switching up the speakers to make sure they didn't die? It's not probable but is possible. Do you have headphones? If so, you might try to see if you get left and right channels with the headphones. If you do, chances are that the preamp could be good but the amp is bad. From my point of view, I would start shopping for another good used receiver. Good luck.

 

[Demon1084]

Yeah, I switched the speakers when only the left one was dead with no luck, I could try headphones out but I'm thinking it's a RIP.

 

[gewiz44]

Yes, I think your right, RIP. Headphones would only rule out pre amp. Good luck finding a different one. Might try Craigslist or Offer up, sometimes you can find good deals there.