00madz Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Hi guys So I have a Denon 4520 which has been playing up on me - the audio output will switch itself off with an audible click - sometimes it will almost immediately click back in (which can lead to some fairly rapid clicking on/off) other times i’ll need to mute then unmute the receiver to get it to cut back in. Seems to be maybe slightly related to the source as it will usually occur when skipping through the ads when watching tv from my media streamer (via hdmi). I live in the Port Macquarie region and don’t know anyone up here capable of repairing a unit like this, I had it down to a bloke in Newcastle who couldn’t find anything wrong, did a factory reset and it did work for a period but started playing up again, took it back to him and again that’s all he could come up with, but it doesn’t seem to really fix it for long and I think it might be more the transport/movement etc? It kind of sounds like a bad relay or something but obviously wouldn’t be anything like that! So it’s now sitting in my cupboard and I have no idea where to take it or how much more is worth spending on it - it still has a decent feature set - i’m not into atmos currently but make use of 3 zones. In the meantime I brought the trusty old Denon 3808A up from downstairs in the games room only to find it has started playing up now too - my right and centre channels are really crackly and don’t work properly until I turn the volume up quite a bit, then they cut in and are ok to turn back down once they’ve kind of warmed up a bit so i’ve got 2 crappy Denons now and I don’t think the 3808 is really worth fixing but it was meeting my needs downstairs. Can anyone suggest anything re the faults or recommend a good repair place in NSW, Do do you think it’s even worth fixing the 4520? Are either one worth anything to sell off with the current faults? I’m pretty disappointed in Denon right now, am I expecting too much based on the age of these? Currently I don’t think id buy another Denon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwt Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Hmm ; any chance your speaker cables are crossing intermittently causing a dc offset or similar power amp auto shutoff ? Maybe feed the 4520;s pre amp outs into the 3808 [or just some of its working channels] and see if you can isolate the problem to diagnose where the problem resides .. Does the problem occur if using sp dif instead ? Hdmi has to read the denons edid every few seconds to lock the signal properly .. May be worth trying another hi speed certified hdmi cable or a different port ... Good luck . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00madz Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) Yeah i’ll need to play around a bit more to try and narrow down the problem with the 4520 have tried a different hdmi cable but that’s as far as I went with it - my 3808 played up downstairs on different speakers/cables and input as well so suspect it’s unrelated unfortunately- would have been good if it was a simple wiring issue Edited March 31, 2019 by 00madz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btiltman Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 Try disconnecting all the speakers temporarily and use with headphones for a test session. If it still happens it's not a speaker wire issue. Have you got enough free space around and above the unit for cooling? (Maybe it's overheating?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00madz Posted July 8, 2019 Author Share Posted July 8, 2019 (edited) So update on this issue I'm having with the 4520 - appears unrelated to speakers, speaker wire etc. It's playing up as soon as I turn it on now, so don't think it's a heat issue. Here is a video of it doing its thing - hopefully someone knowledgeable can shed some light or can anyone recommend a good Denon repairer? I've wasted money on this already with someone who wasn't able to track the issue down although admittedly it's more consistently a problem now than it was as the time. Edited July 8, 2019 by 00madz Fix video link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopefullguy Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 (edited) you should be able to pick up another denon 3808 for $200 if that does what you want it to. the 5420 comes up 2nd hand but way over priced imo its always a hard decision to repair basically obsolete gear Edited July 8, 2019 by hopefullguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00madz Posted July 8, 2019 Author Share Posted July 8, 2019 I'm not much of a fan of our throw away society so that influences me a bit in the repair/replace equation but yeah it reaches a point of not being worth it. I got myself a second hand X4000 from a member on here to replace the 3808, but would be a shame to junk the 4520 - it's still meets all my needs when it's working, and it's only an intermittent issue so it's nothing too major - though that means nothing in terms of repairablity and cost. Given how quick receivers go out of date you'd like to think they last long enough to become obsolete. Very disappointed to have issues with 2 denons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quark Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 Sounds like a faulty relay - any decent tech should be able to fix it. Give the local distributors, Qualifi, a call for advice on a repairer near you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopefullguy Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 the 3808 is 11 years old and if you got use out of it everyday thats not too bad. well they were obsolete as soon as 4k/atmos/dtsx/2.2 etc etc came in haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 our 3808 is still going... with the 4520 reality is things can and do fail... just pop it into some place for a check and fix. be cheaper than getting something else of similar quality ... as suggested qualifi would be the go too. as long as was locally purchased... ie not a grey import...otherwise they might not want to know about it. their prerogative their top denon tech is nsw based I understand... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00madz Posted July 8, 2019 Author Share Posted July 8, 2019 Thanks for the tip guys have sent an enquiry through qualifi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00madz Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 Spoke to a repairer in Sydney - sounded very competent and a nice bloke, the bad news is it could cost in the order of $500 to fix. I've already spent a bit on it with previous repairer who wasn't able to fix, so not sure what to do now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quark Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 41 minutes ago, 00madz said: Spoke to a repairer in Sydney - sounded very competent and a nice bloke, the bad news is it could cost in the order of $500 to fix. I've already spent a bit on it with previous repairer who wasn't able to fix, so not sure what to do now.... At $500 probably not worth fixing. Probably time to go shopping unless you want to open it up and have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Fi Whipped Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 12 hours ago, 00madz said: Spoke to a repairer in Sydney - sounded very competent and a nice bloke, the bad news is it could cost in the order of $500 to fix. I've already spent a bit on it with previous repairer who wasn't able to fix, so not sure what to do now.... Maybe start looking for a cost effective replacement, plenty of cheap AVR options out there in the 2nd hand market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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