I’m getting a silent output from my vintage Pioneer receiver. Fist a sudden silence for about ten seconds. The turntable keeps spinning as usual. Then the sound starts up again with the click. Any ideas what’s causing this? It’s happens more then once but usually no more then once a day. I dread to think it’s the receiver. It’s a Pioneer SX980 in stunningly clean condition. Bought it about five years ago and I think it had been sitting in storage for decades before that. Should I get it serviced?
Well, it would most likely be the speaker output relay clicking, so there is circuit logic that determines if it is safe to close the relay and activate the speakers. There is the initial power on delay, usually just a RC filter on old gear like this, but probably some other conditions that will drop it back out, usually excessive DC voltage on the input or current in output stage. May be an indication it needs service. Are you using an external or internal phono stage? Does it happen when using other sources? Is it getting very hot?
It’s got an integrated phone stage. Two outputs. Should I switch outputs to phono 2? The receiver is not inordinately hot in the whole. Just this weird cutting out of sound, delay for ten seconds, then the click and sound is back.
There's just one phono stage inside, just an opamp, the switch just selects which of the two phono inputs you want to use. It could be a power problem just about anywhere, or some other leaky capacitor, the phono stage outputs are coupled with electrolytic capacitors that will go bad given enough time. And there are quite a few other potential failure points.
