CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Philx]

This receiver has a problem with the design of its DSP which leads to repeated no sound failures. One former owner did a fair bit of research on the problem and reached the following conclusion:

“The Main DSP board was designed poorly and placed inappropriately. Two of
the main processing chips are very, very close to a hotspot on the main
MOSFET amp heatsinks. Therefore as the unit heats and cools, the non
attached end of the DSP board (think of the part of a computer PCI or AGP
card that is furthest away from the anchor screw) flexes. Over time (faster
if you're running it with less than perfect ventilation) the chip in
question works its way loose from the solder and breaks or has intermittent
contact.” Source: http://www.avsforum.com/t/493832/pioneer-elite-vsx-2x-problems


Does anyone know of this problem and if so is there any reason to think any kind of longer term solution is possible. I have had mine repaired several years ago as follows based on a Pioneer service bulletin but it now has no sound:

"replacement of the old Pioneer ROM located at location IC 9374 with the
part PD6381A; also relocation of two 0 Ohm resistors,
located at R9372 and R9371, to locations R9374 and R9373"

That repair is described in the following thread which includes a picture of the DSP showing the relevant parts and their location (NB one needs to click on the picture in the thread to get it to a reasonable size).

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=270339

I am looking for advice from those on the board who understand circuit boards a lot better that I do which is admittedly a pretty low bar. The options I have identified are:

1) Send the receiver back for repair and hope for a low estimate.
2) Sell it for parts if that is possible; any ideas on the price I might get if there is any market?
3) Somehow re use the amp section possibly to drive a turntable ( no idea if this is possible or desirable)?
4) Swallow hard and take it to the recycle centre

Here is another thread on this matter for anyone who is interested:

http://www.fixya.com/support/t41033-audio_problems_pioneer_elite_vsx_29tx