Left Channel Works for Digital Inputs but not Analog?

Yoss15

Active Member
I have a Sony DA5ES receiver that does double duty for 5.1 surround and 2-channel listening.

The other night while listening to my turntable, I noticed that the left channel dropped out. It came back a few minutes later. It doesn’t drop in and out rapidly, it just seems to come and go from time to time. It might play for an hour just fine, then when I put on another record, it might be out again.

I’ve tried other speakers. I’ve eliminated my speaker switchbox from the loop. Still no go.

When the left channel goes out, it’s out for the turntable and for the tuner. However, optical in from my computer works just fine in 2-channel mode. Also, if I have the tuner going and switch the sound mode from 2-channel to one of the digitally enhanced modes, the left channel comes back.

Does this sound like it could be a bad solder joint in the pre-amp switching section? What else might cause something like this?
 
I'm not familiar with your Sony but here are a couple of thoughts:

1) It may be something in the input signal switching circuit(s) as you suggest. I'm sure it doesn't use a rotary switch like older analog receivers but it probably uses either relays (you'll hear them click) or completely electronic switching (no clicks). Maybe something is wrong in that area. The classic remedy of spraying switches with DeOxit probably won't help in this case. Listen for any switching clicks to see if things are getting to the relays.

2) You can poke, tap and wiggle circuit boards, components and connecting cables to see if you can find an intermittent device or solder joint. A better bet might be to hit the PCBs with cold and heat to try to make the problem either go away or fail completely. Either of those will give ou a clue about what and where the problem is. A can of Dust-Off held upside down is a good cold source. A hair dryer or heat gun can toast things up.

3) Check that your unit has the latest software although "latest" will be at least 10 years old. See this old thread for discussions from 14 years ago about updating the same Sony.

These digital AVRs are tough to diagnose and fix. Good luck!
 
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