I have a set of Acoustic Research AR$x speakers - yes they are old, but they still sound good, at least most of the time. They are connected to a Kenwood VR507 Receiver. When playing CDs, Vynyl LPs or Radio, I have no problem. However, when I try and play video, especially DVDs, if I increase the volume, the sound will cut out, and the receiver will power off.
Is this simply a problem of incomparability due to the age of the speakers? Could it be the speaker wires, which are quite old, and maybe not up to modern specs? Speaker specs (per manufacturer) are minimum amplifier 98wer 15 watts RMS, Impedance - 8 ohms. There is a High Frequency Level Adjustment on the back, could raising or lowering this make a difference?
The receiver has a "Cinema EQ" setting - will turning this on make a difference?
Incompatability with aged components would disqualify most of the trophy wives here in Dallas.
There should be no problem due to age if the speakers are in good working order. Most of the older AR's and similar speakers required refoaming of the woofer surrounds. The AR's were not the kindest load on an amplifier and my guess would be your receiver is feeling the strain of the crossover and less efficient design of the AR's. A better receiver would probably handle the load well. What did you use with the AR's when they were young? Probably something with far less power.
Obviously yes - the original amplifier, and the one that followed were stereo only - this is the first designed to be used s a home theater component. The speakers seem to be in excellent working order. Could a better cable connecting the speakers with the receiver help? - I am still using the same speaker wiring that I was using when the speakers were new.
I don't necessarily want to spend the money that Monster asks for their wiring, but there should be an equivalent at Radio Shack for far less. The question is - will it make any difference, and if so, what kind of wire should I be looking for?
Sorry, NK, but new wire will not help the receiver unless, as with the speakers, the current cabling is defective. If you're using thirty five year old zip cord, the chances the insulation has begun to break down are pretty good. So, it certainly wouldn't hurt to replace the speaker wire but I doubt that will solve your problem.
You can head to Home Depot and buy some 16 guage speaker wire off their bulk wire rack. Or, head to another section of the electrical department at HD and buy a 16 guage outdoor extension cord of the appropriate length. Whack off the ends and strip back the inner insulation. Use two of the conductors and cut back the third to the outer insulation. This should provide very good quality speaker cabling for less than twenty dollars.
Jan - see Kenwood's take on this problem from their web site:
My receiver shuts off sporadically. What would cause this? Your receiver is detecting a problem in the speaker wiring and is going into protection mode. If the receiver shuts off due to volume level, this can be caused by a poor connection, damaged speaker, insufficient gauge wire, or connecting multiple speakers to one speaker output. The connections at the receiver and speaker should be clean with the ends of the wire twisted tightly, preventing any strands from missing the terminal. Connecting two sets of wires together to add distance should be done with terminals and insulated to prevent the wires from touching each other. If using thin wire, replace completely with heavier gauge wire; do not add to the existing length. Be careful not to push the speaker wires in too far, this will cause the speaker terminals to grip the insulation and not the conductor. The speakers being used must have an impedance within the range listed next to the receiver's speaker outputs, normally between 6? - 16?. The impedance of your speaker should be listed behind the speaker itself.
If problems continue, disconnect the speaker wires from behind the receiver and power the receiver on. The receiver will shut off quickly if there is an internal short and would need to be serviced if this happens. If it stays on, try connecting the speakers one at a time. Replace any speaker that causes the receiver to shut off.
Given the age of my wiring, I would guess that this is the problem. Since I paid all of $25.00 for the receiver at a garage sale, a few dollars for speaker wires should not be too big an ivestment.
Certainly change out the cables, it can do no harm unless you cross a connection. I suspect, however, Kenwood is ignoring, or at least downplaying, their own advice. "The speakers being used must have an impedance within the range listed next to the receiver's speaker outputs, normally between 6? - 16?. The impedance of your speaker should be listed behind the speaker itself."
Speakers are not a constant impedance and many HT receivers have difficulty driving speakers with low impedance dips. I have no reference for the AR's at this time, but I suspect they are not a kind load for this receiver.
A nominal 8 Ohm speaker can dip below 4 Ohms and rise above 32 Ohms. Or it can make life easy on an amplifier and stay above six Ohms. Every speaker is different and I don't remember where the AR's bottomed out as far as impedance is concerned. Wherever it is the speakers are fairly inefficient and that will make life more difficult for the receiver. If the other receivers have worked well with these speakers and cable, that only leaves the new receiver as the variable.
