avr needs a tune up ?

K-daugh

Hi all, I have a 1999 sony str-de635 ...... Seems to be working great.....was wondering if there was any way to tell if it needed some work or a tune up..... Or if there were any upgrades I could do to it via screw driver/ soldering iron fairly easily.....plan on blowing it all out with some canned air and maybe hitting the back connections with some caig treatment ....but is there anything else I could do ....also I have never taken the top off so I'm not sure if there is any aging going on inside....any suggestions would help ....tHanks guys

K-daugh

anything guys???does anybody tune-up avr's .....or upgrade them i know this isn't really comparable to a nad or b and k but how do i tel what kind of shape its in ....and can i modify it at all or upgrade it or tue it up

mdaudioguy

There's nothing special about that avr that would make it worth more than $25 on the open market, so I wouldn't put more than a can of air in it.

tonyb

mdaudioguy wrote: »

There's nothing special about that avr that would make it worth more than $25 on the open market, so I wouldn't put more than a can of air in it.

Beat me to it.:D

Actually,I have the de835 running a pair of Tad bookies upstairs, nothing special,but once you get a real avr,you'll notice how lacking those older Sony models were.

TECHNOKID

K-daugh wrote: »

Hi all, I have a 1999 sony str-de635 ...... Seems to be working great.....was wondering if there was any way to tell if it needed some work or a tune up..... Or if there were any upgrades I could do to it via screw driver/ soldering iron fairly easily.....plan on blowing it all out with some canned air and maybe hitting the back connections with some caig treatment ....but is there anything else I could do ....also I have never taken the top off so I'm not sure if there is any aging going on inside....any suggestions would help ....tHanks guys

Potentially use deoxit on all your trim pots and switches otherwise the AVR isn't that old anyway. A good cleaning and use it till it dies (while saving money for a good Yamaha receiver ).

Cheers!
TK

Sherardp

tonyb wrote: »

Beat me to it.:D

Actually,I have the de835 running a pair of Tad bookies upstairs, nothing special,but once you get a real avr,you'll notice how lacking those older Sony models were.

Agreed, your missing out on improved sound quality. I'd consider an upgrade if you can spare the expense.

K-daugh

Agreed thanks guys .....and yes saving my money potentailly had an onkyo ht-rc180 but it fell thru but this is potentially where I'm as far as cost four five hundred ..... Thanks guys

K-daugh

I know my sony sucks!!!!! Every time I get the cash for something better ....something happens and I have to spend it somewhere else ....its a battle

tonyb

K-daugh wrote: »

I know my sony sucks!!!!! Every time I get the cash for something better ....something happens and I have to spend it somewhere else ....its a battle

Welcome to life friend. Get used to it,it only last for 30 or 40 years.:p:)

TECHNOKID

K-daugh wrote: »

I know my sony sucks!!!!! Every time I get the cash for something better ....something happens and I have to spend it somewhere else ....its a battle

You simply have to set your priorities straight :D

K-daugh

Exactly new receiver must come before everything even food .....even bills....priority number one,, receiver !!!!!!

TECHNOKID

K-daugh wrote: »

Exactly new receiver must come before everything even food .....even bills....priority number one,, receiver !!!!!!

Now your talking I gather you are not from the days (generation) of ''peace & love''

K-daugh

Hell no I'm twenty four .....married with two kids.....struggling to have a decent ht system .....I'm doin ok so far though m60 fronts m30 rears cs1 center mirage bps150i powered sub samsung 40"lcd 1080 p no blue ray and a shitbox avr ......please somebody donate a decent avr lol....my current avr or non-amplified system is blasphemy ....I should be shot !!!I'm a poser with a ten year old sony.....who do I think I am .....Damn sony products!!!!!

TECHNOKID

K-daugh wrote: »

Hell no I'm twenty four .....married with two kids.....struggling to have a decent ht system .....I'm doin ok so far though m60 fronts m30 rears cs1 center mirage bps150i powered sub samsung 40"lcd 1080 p no blue ray and a shitbox avr ......please somebody donate a decent avr lol....my current avr or non-amplified system is blasphemy ....I should be shot !!!I'm a poser with a ten year old sony.....who do I think I am .....Damn sony products!!!!!

Your post gave me a big laughter LOL

To be a little more serious, as I pointed out your receiver isn't actually that old and as I pointed out the only PM you might want to do is use deoxit to clean your trim pots (gets the dust of the run tracks). Give it a good test and if nothing else you are good to go.

Cheers!
TK

K-daugh

ok mr serious why don't you explain to an uneducated masshole what a trim pot is.....maybe post a pic ....i like pictures...pictures are goooood.....lol .....yeah kinda figured that, give it a stellar cleaning....and then run it ....run it HHHAAAAARRRRDDDDD.....and yes that "RRRR" is totally silent

On3s&Z3r0s

Pot is slang for potentiometer, which normal people would call a volume knob. Basically, if you have knobs for volume, balance, treble or bass adjustments you can buy a can of solvent called Deoxit at Radio Shack and spray it inside the knob (generally need to open the case to do this). Then you twist and turn the knob for 30 seconds and its supposed to remove the oxidation that can affect sound quality.

Honestly, I only ever do this if I hear a little static when I adjust the knobs (static is a good sign of oxidation), but that's usually on gear that's older than your Sony. But, the deoxit can't hurt, and you can buy it in a little pack that includes a similar product called deoxit gold. The gold is made to be sprayed on the RCA jacks and other things that make electrical contact. (Don't spray it in the optical Toslink jack. ) I spray that on pretty much everything I buy old or new just for grins.<--- nvr mind

tonyb

K-daugh wrote: »

Hell no I'm twenty four .....married with two kids.....struggling to have a decent ht system .....I'm doin ok so far though m60 fronts m30 rears cs1 center mirage bps150i powered sub samsung 40"lcd 1080 p no blue ray and a shitbox avr ......please somebody donate a decent avr lol....my current avr or non-amplified system is blasphemy ....I should be shot !!!I'm a poser with a ten year old sony.....who do I think I am .....Damn sony products!!!!!

24 ?? Hell son,I've got underwear older than that. Think I have them on now...sniff,sniff...yep,sure do.:D
Don't frett over your situation,we've all been there. If I was in your shoes, a decent receiver with pre outs is first. Lots of refurb HK avr's can be had for a few hundies. Then I would hook up some M70's in the front,upgrade that center,and sub eventually. Look on your local craigslist for used stuff as you'll get a better bang for your buck. Also some pretty good deals fly by our own for sale section here at club polk. Go out in the garage,gather all the crap you don't need or use,have a garage sale,get the wife involved with her stuff, all the kid stuff they don't play with anymore, and before you know it a new receiver will grace your living room.

TECHNOKID

K-daugh wrote: »

ok mr serious why don't you explain to an uneducated masshole what a trim pot is.....maybe post a pic ....i like pictures...pictures are goooood.....lol .....yeah kinda figured that, give it a stellar cleaning....and then run it ....run it HHHAAAAARRRRDDDDD.....and yes that "RRRR" is totally silent

Sorry, my bad and just in case, PM = preventive maintenance. On3s&Z3r0s gave you a good run-explanation. I was in the impression the receiver hasn't been used in a while, am I correct? If so, a good reason to clean all controls (volume, balance, treble, any sliders and as mentionned your RCA connectors if you see any oxidation). As pointed out you this with the receiver top cover off which is a good time to do it since you have mentioned you would dust the inside.

plan on blowing it all out with some canned air and maybe hitting the back connections with some caig treatment ....but is there anything else I could do ....also I have never taken the top off so I'm not sure if there is any aging going on inside....any suggestions would help ....

By the way, if you can borrow a compressor for the internal dusting, it would be a lot less expensive than those cans and would also do a much better job. I had my compressor set at 60 psi in my shop and that was ideal to clean the guts of electronic gears. Amazing the amount of dust some 10 to 30 years old gear can collect :eek:

Cheers!
TK

cnh

TECHNOKID wrote: »

Sorry, my bad and just in case, PM = preventive maintenance. On3s&Z3r0s gave you a good run-explanation. I was in the impression the receiver hasn't been used in a while, am I correct? If so, a good reason to clean all controls (volume, balance, treble, any sliders and as mentionned your RCA connectors if you see any oxidation). As pointed out you this with the receiver top cover off which is a good time to do it since you have mentioned you would dust the inside.

By the way, if you can borrow a compressor for the internal dusting, it would be a lot less expensive than those cans and would also do a much better job. I had my compressor set at 60 psi in my shop and that was ideal to clean the guts of electronic gears. Amazing the amount of dust some 10 to 30 years old gear can collect :eek:

Cheers!
TK

An interesting proposition!

cnh

cnh

K-daugh wrote: »

Hell no I'm twenty four .....married with two kids.....struggling to have a decent ht system .....I'm doin ok so far though m60 fronts m30 rears cs1 center mirage bps150i powered sub samsung 40"lcd 1080 p no blue ray and a shitbox avr ......please somebody donate a decent avr lol....my current avr or non-amplified system is blasphemy ....I should be shot !!!I'm a poser with a ten year old sony.....who do I think I am .....Damn sony products!!!!!

24 and you have 2 kids already? Wow! I guess some of us are slow. I didn't have my first child till I was in my early 40s, married at 38. First and last marriage! Ah age! Wisdom...well, who really knows?

In any case, you seem to be doing much better than I did, system-wise, for your age. When I was 24 I had an AIWA boombox and an OK set of headphones! At 29 I bought my first 'real' set of bookshelves in grad school and a pettite Pioneer integrated along with a 3 head AIWA cassette deck. My first real system....followed by a Sony CDP a year later! I didn't have much in the way of income there.


cnh

K-daugh

thanks all....and yeah im doing pretty good.....yes i have acess to a compressor.....and yes i use my avr every day for cable television watching......everything has to be surround sound in my book!!!!!!!!but there was like a six year period where i had no clue about surround sound and only used my avr with two bookshelfs as a tuner /cd player.....these were my younger years (electronics were irrelevent) ....so now surround sound and ht and electronics are MY LIFE ......I NEED TO HAVE THEM......i wake up at 2 am and post threads......yes this is addicting ......thanks everyone.....CHEERS