• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Death of 2 receivers

M

Mikepd723

New Member
Hey all, brand new to this forum. Hoping for some help. I recently got into buying and selling vintage stereo equipment, trying to learn as I go. On 2 different occasions I have plugged a turntable into a receiver, each time resulting in receiver dying. First time I plugged a Garrard sp25-mkv turntable into a Pioneer sx-450, speakers make loud static, then Pioneer stopped doing anything except for powering on. Second I plugged a Fisher mt-6225 turntable into a Yamaha rx-385 receiver. Now the Yamaha will turn on for a split second, then shut right down. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
Register to hide this ad
Mikepd723 said:
Hey all, brand new to this forum. Hoping for some help. I recently got into buying and selling vintage stereo equipment, trying to learn as I go. On 2 different occasions I have plugged a turntable into a receiver, each time resulting in receiver dying. First time I plugged a Garrard sp25-mkv turntable into a Pioneer sx-450, speakers make loud static, then Pioneer stopped doing anything except for powering on. Second I plugged a Fisher mt-6225 turntable into a Yamaha rx-385 receiver. Now the Yamaha will turn on for a split second, then shut right down. Any advice would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Very strange. Usually it would be somebody plugging an AUX type device into a phono input that would cause problems.

Question, when you plugged in the TT's, were the receivers powered on? Volume set above 0? Input switch set to phono?

I'd generally recommend turning the receiver off while futzing around with connections. If it's on, volume should be zero, and input selector should be somewhere else.

I suppose there's a chance that you overdrove the receiver while plugging stuff in. No other inputs work? The above will eliminate the chances of that happening.

You might check to see if either receiver has output fuses. If so, they should blow before the receiver does.

bs
 
Were the receivers in regular, working use beforehand?

Or had they been in storage or unused for a long time, and their first use in a while was your test with a turntable?
 
While I've never had it happen to me, every case I've seen had the amp on and volume up. While plugging in a high shorted signal was sent to the amp which hard clipped and either fried or blew the main fuse.

Keep the volume all the way down when plugging in components especially turntables.
 
Actually the receiver should be off when plugging in/unplugging any of it's connections. Really bad idea to have the receiver on while connecting or disconnecting, because that's definitely the type of thing that ruins otherwise good-condition equipment (it can damage speakers too). You can usually get away with it if the receiver is set on a different input or the volume is set to zero, but generally it's best to just leave it off to be safe.

It's a good habit to get into, at the very least, to shut stuff off when connecting. The day you go to disconnect your preamp from your power amp in your mega dollar system and forget to turn stuff off...:yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes:
 
Last edited:
bshorey said:
Very strange. Usually it would be somebody plugging an AUX type device into a phono input that would cause problems.

Question, when you plugged in the TT's, were the receivers powered on? Volume set above 0? Input switch set to phono?

I'd generally recommend turning the receiver off while futzing around with connections. If it's on, volume should be zero, and input selector should be somewhere else.

I suppose there's a chance that you overdrove the receiver while plugging stuff in. No other inputs work? The above will eliminate the chances of that happening.

You might check to see if either receiver has output fuses. If so, they should blow before the receiver does.

bs
Click to expand...
Thanks for the help. unfortunately they were both on at the time, not quite sure if they were switched to phono at the time, and volume, I had no clue. I've got a lot to learn. I will check for output fuses. On both the other inputs were working previous to that. Thanks again
 
Nightwisher said:
Actually the receiver should be off when plugging in/unplugging any of it's connections. Really bad idea to have the receiver on while connecting or disconnecting, because that's definitely the type of thing that ruins otherwise good-condition equipment (it can damage speakers too). You can usually get away with it if the receiver is set on a different input or the volume is set to zero, but generally it's best to just leave it off to be safe.

It's a good habit to get into, at the very least, to shut stuff off when connecting. The day you go to disconnect your preamp from your power amp in your mega dollar system and forget to turn stuff off...:yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes::yikes:
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot. Point definitely taken.
 
You also want the receivers (or amps) off when connecting or disconnecting speaker cables.
Also if using bare stranded speaker wire make sure there are no stray strands that can short out across the speaker terminals.
 
Absolutely off anytime messing with speaker connections. Can't tell you the amount of output transistors I've changed due to that. Couple times I did it myself.
 
DaveVoorhis said:
Were the receivers in regular, working use beforehand?

Or had they been in storage or unused for a long time, and their first use in a while was your test with a turntable?
Click to expand...
They were both tested all other functions and worked fine until the turntable got hooked up.
 
Mikepd723 said:
Hey all, brand new to this forum. Hoping for some help. I recently got into buying and selling vintage stereo equipment, trying to learn as I go. On 2 different occasions I have plugged a turntable into a receiver, each time resulting in receiver dying. First time I plugged a Garrard sp25-mkv turntable into a Pioneer sx-450, speakers make loud static, then Pioneer stopped doing anything except for powering on. Second I plugged a Fisher mt-6225 turntable into a Yamaha rx-385 receiver. Now the Yamaha will turn on for a split second, then shut right down. Any advice would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Check if there is power line voltage on either chassis or signal wire of TT. Measure it relative to known ground.
 
also - are you connecting the power cord from the TT into the switched or unswitched outlets on the back of the receiver? could this be important?
 
I'd still check the Pioneer for blown fuse(s). The Yamaha from the 1990s likely has a circuit breaker which will reset after a time. Older equipment often is fused.
 
Most of the "newer" pieces that I've had would be sent into security mode with something like what you've got going on. This has been signaled by a flashing light of some sort or another on my pieces. Proper sequencing of powering up and down (as I would guess you will want to turn your receiver off before powering down any of the components connected to it. I turn my amplifier on last and off first).

You may also want to do some research on a device that will slowly power up your receivers and future amp acquisitions. When something has not been used recently, suddenly slamming it with full power can trigger some issues that could have been avoided with a more gentle power-up (a variac of one sort or another).
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the input everyone. I had someone buy it as is for almost my original asking price. great lesson learned though. So can anyone tell me if a fisher 6225 linear drive turntable has to be shipped differently than other turntables? Typically I would take the platter off and pack it separately.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom