OT - Home theater help...troubleshooting

[Ozz]

So, it seems like we lost the center channel on our home theater system....

Past couple months, it has been dropping in and out and is now gone completely. It is most noticeable on sports broadcasts cuz you cannot hear the announcers....(this is somewhat refreshing, but annoying at the same time).

At first I thought it might be the broadcaster having difficulty, but tested it on a movie last night....the surround sound is there, but no dialogue sound.

The speaker is fine (tested that this morning)....

I am thinking that something in the receiver has broken or worn out to where it cannot send the signal to the center speaker, and is time for a replacement.

Does anyone have any other ideas I could try to test or fix, or is it time for a replacement?

If replacement, current one is a low/mid range Denon (10 yrs old - was about $350 back then).

Would love to hear some recommendations.

Speaker set up is wired into the house, so will not need wireless until those need to be replaced.

Thanks

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by Ozz

So, it seems like we lost the center channel on our home theater system....

Past couple months, it has been dropping in and out and is now gone completely. It is most noticeable on sports broadcasts cuz you cannot hear the announcers....(this is somewhat refreshing, but annoying at the same time).

At first I thought it might be the broadcaster having difficulty, but tested it on a movie last night....the surround sound is there, but no dialogue sound.

The speaker is fine (tested that this morning)....

I am thinking that something in the receiver has broken or worn out to where it cannot send the signal to the center speaker, and is time for a replacement.

Does anyone have any other ideas I could try to test or fix, or is it time for a replacement?

If replacement, current one is a low/mid range Denon (10 yrs old - was about $350 back then).

Would love to hear some recommendations.

Speaker set up is wired into the house, so will not need wireless until those need to be replaced.

Thanks

Being curious I googled and read a multi meter will test...

flip the meter to "AC". You should detect a fluctuating AC voltage when sound plays. Some amplifiers also put a DC bias on speaker circuits, you can check for that too by flipping the meter to "DC.

Otherwise...

Costco Yamaha is great (pick up the klipsch subwoofer for a steal too if you need one or two) and some may have a denon. I got one a few weeks ago to replace a dead much higher end Denon...relatively modern too. I can’t tell a difference though it’s GUI is lame for initial setup compared to the denon.

After that though it’s hidden and just works.

If you have some amazing subwoofers it may be worth spending more for a higher end brand/version of room correction though perhaps YPAO on the Yamaha is good now too. I did not read if so because I only use three front speakers right now.

[C40_guy]

I'd start with the basics. Go into the Denon setup and make sure that in the speaker settings, the subwoofer setting is correct.

Then I'd replace the speaker wire to the center speaker. It's possible it got crimped, or chewed by rodents, or that the binding posts have some corrosion on them. The Denon binding posts are fairly robust, but a bit of a PITA.

Then I'd (re)run the Denon Audyssey setup, which will optimize the system for your room. It will be obvious when you do whether the center speaker is getting any signal. (You may have already confirmed that it isn't).

I'd also force a firmware upgrade. Unlikely that will help, but...

Have you googled the model number and your failure mode?

BTW, I have four Denon receivers scattered around the house and think they offer a pretty good balance of performance, features and cost. (I bought all of mine used...)

[Ozz]

Speaker setup is a Definitive Technologies ProCinema 6D...

Not high end by any means, but works well enough for now. "Small and unobtrusive" were the orders given by the CEO when purchased....

Seems it would be nice to eventually build this out with some nicer speakers, but that is down the road a ways. CEO does not get excited about electronic gear, as it befuddles her and never works as she would like it to.....

I've always like Denon (car and home audio) but agree that the GUI is the worst....I had a really nice Yamaha back in my college days

Does everyone agree that the center speaker circuit in the receiver is fried? I thought about running the Audyssey setup again, but have no idea where the microphone is that it requires....been looking around, but no luck so far.

[MXLeader]

Most obvious first step is to check that your receiver has the correct settings for your desired home theater output configuration; still set at 5.1 or 7.1? No weird home theater audio processing inadvertently set?

Does your receiver have a discrete center channel amplifier? If so, is there a replaceable fuse on the back of the receiver that may have blown?

Next, I'd check the center channel speaker wire connection at the receiver. Connect a separate center channel speaker wire from the receiver to speaker as a test.

That said, I lost most of my Yamaha receiver functionality a few years ago due to a voltage spike and replaced my speakers and subwoofer with a soundbar/sub combo and had been very happy. Now that I've fully bought into the Apple ecosystem with an Apple TV, I changed out the soundbar/sub for two paired Apple Homepods in Home Theater mode. I Love the simplicity of the setup most of all. The sound clarity is excellent and don't miss the extra bass of the subwoofer or discrete rear channels.

[zap]

Receivers can be fixed though it is not cost effective if the original one was $350 and you are looking for something new that is comparatively priced.

Current receivers may* have better components and room correction programs.

*HDMI issues remain....or maybe worse now.

You might want to look into soundbars......ditching the receiver and at least your lcr speakers. You might be able to incorporate your existing sr/sl/br/bl speakers.

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by Ozz

Speaker setup is a Definitive Technologies ProCinema 6D...

Not high end by any means, but works well enough for now. "Small and unobtrusive" were the orders given by the CEO when purchased....

Seems it would be nice to eventually build this out with some nicer speakers, but that is down the road a ways. CEO does not get excited about electronic gear, as it befuddles her and never works as she would like it to.....

I've always like Denon (car and home audio) but agree that the GUI is the worst....I had a really nice Yamaha back in my college days

Does everyone agree that the center speaker circuit in the receiver is fried? I thought about running the Audyssey setup again, but have no idea where the microphone is that it requires....been looking around, but no luck so far.

Try to woo her with a full kef ls50 setup. They are small and unobtrusive and come in pretty colors. They need some serious current though to shine.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Ozz

I've always like Denon (car and home audio) but agree that the GUI is the worst....I had a really nice Yamaha back in my college days

I either use the Denon IOS app or the tv on screen menu system. Trying to use the little onboard LCD screen for navigating is not fun.

[Matt92037]

This. It could be the discrete amp for the center died. If you need a new receiver the Yamaha at Costco punches way above its price suggests. I recently had to replace a 10 year Pioneer Elite which was $1,400 new and the Yamaha gives up nothing to the Pioneer.

Originally Posted by MXLeader

Does your receiver have a discrete center channel amplifier? If so, is there a replaceable fuse on the back of the receiver that may have blown?

.

[choke]

Originally Posted by Ozz

Does everyone agree that the center speaker circuit in the receiver is fried?

As some others have said, the first thing that I'd do (after checking settings) is to run a new wire from the receiver to the speaker. You said that the wiring is in the house so there could be a problem with it somewhere.

[Ozz]

Success!

Adjusted some of the settings (not sure exactly what I did) but the sound is back! I changed a setting from Dobly ProLogic II to Dolby Digital....not exactly sure what this means but seems to have worked.

Probably still want to get a new receiver at some point (to take advantage of new services and possible wireless speakers) but this makes it not such an urgent issue.....especially since inventories and selection are so low right now.

[Hindmost]

Good news! What is your media source? I find some streaming and over the air sources do strange things with the amp sound settings.

[zap]

Originally Posted by Ozz

Success!

Adjusted some of the settings (not sure exactly what I did) but the sound is back! I changed a setting from Dobly ProLogic II to Dolby Digital....not exactly sure what this means but seems to have worked.

Good that you have the ctr working again. Dolby ProLogic 2 also uses the ctr speaker so......hopefully the elves will take a long break.

[Ken Robb]

Until you get a functional center channel switching your receiver to Stereo or expanded stereo will give you usable/enjoyable sound.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by Hindmost

Good news! What is your media source? I find some streaming and over the air sources do strange things with the amp sound settings.

Media sources are cable TV and Disney+ via Amazon Fire TV cube...

Mostly noticed problem (as mentioned) watching NFL football....no announcers. It was interesting to just hear the surround sounds though...weird stuff coming from the stadium....