I obtained a pioneer sx 650 from a buddy who was going to junk it. it was in pretty good condition, so i decided to use it as my bedroom system. it has been working great for about 6 months now, but just recently i've been having issues. I also just moved to a new house, but the receiver was in no way damaged during the ship. heres the problem:

I just switched over to 18gauge wire running to a pair of Fisher bookshelf speakers. I was using the fishers before, but with 24 gauge wire. I am only getting sound out of one speaker intermittently. The other one is playing consistently, but sounds like a pair of headphones at full volume from across the room. Very tinny. I tried the both the A and B speaker posts; same results. I'm not that familiar with the speaker posts, but I know its not rocket science to figure it out. I'm positive theres a connection being made. Any thoughts?

There are many things that could cause
the symptoms your describing. Going to 18 guage
wire was a good move and is not responsible for
the problem. Something you can do first is to rock
all of the controles and switches back and fourth several times
while the unit is playing. If you notice any change or
improvement it may be just a case of cleaning the controles.
Give this a try and let us know what happens.

It could be a long shot, but don't forget to rule out the speaker as the culprit. Switch the speakers left to right and see if the problem follows the speaker.

after trying a few combinations of different speakers, I believe that the problem lies within one of the speakers. I have no experience with the inner workings of speakers, but I pulled out the speaker post and made sure that the connections were still there. However, I'm sure the unit could benefit from a clean. Any other easily attainable cleaning products besides Caigs DeOxit? I can only find it online. So odd, it looks like a very clean unit...
For now, I'm running everything to one speaker with the balance adjusted and in mono. I want both speakers back! Thanks for the suggestions so far.

Originally posted by GSWarriors
after trying a few combinations of different speakers, I believe that the problem lies within one of the speakers. I have no experience with the inner workings of speakers, but I pulled out the speaker post and made sure that the connections were still there. However, I'm sure the unit could benefit from a clean. Any other easily attainable cleaning products besides Caigs DeOxit? I can only find it online. So odd, it looks like a very clean unit...
For now, I'm running everything to one speaker with the balance adjusted and in mono. I want both speakers back! Thanks for the suggestions so far.


Well sometimes you just have to
go a little bit out of the way to get something
good. Lets put it this way, using the wrong
type of cleaner can cause damage to controls.
And when your dealing with vintage equipment
this is not good. This is because unlike many of
the other components the controles are not
readily available. One other thing, if you do
clean the controles whatever you use don't
go over board with it. Too much can be as bad
as not enough.

If there's a Guitar Center near you, they now seem to carry Deoxit in the ProAudio section. At least, I've seen it on the shelf at my local store. Just a thought, no shipping or waiting, but you pay more and tax too for the privilege.

I've determined that the problem is not with the speakers, but with the receiver itself.

The right channel is cutting out when I play it in stereo. In mono, I get sound out of both, but the right channel is much lower. Also, as I raise the volume, theres a point when it sounds as if a relay is clicking on and off, and there is no sound from either channel.

I have yet to get some DeOxit, so I'm not sure if a good clean would fix it. I just haven't had the time between moving, shortage of funds, work, starting school again etc. Anyways, theres a guy in town that I trust with my gear, but that repair would cost about 60 bucks or so I'm guessing. Any suggestions before I go that route?

Thanks, I've learned plenty from everyone here so far.

Hello GSWariors,

I've had the same exact problem with the same symtoms with my Pioneer SX-650. Have you had any success? I haven't had a chance to open it up yet ... maybe this weekend. Do you have any suggestions? All the switches/controls appear to opperate normally and wires are new and okay. The receiver opperated perfectly before this cutting off/on started recently.

Any advice would be a help. Thanks

i bought one of these yeturday all the symptoms you've listed are exactly yhe same as mine. im gonna put my money on dirty control pots.

Is this when running FM? What antenna are you using. And yes do get some DeOxit D5 and Fader Lube to clean and then lubricate the pots. And all the switches. Make sure you let it dry over night before firing it up.
You might look at the top of the Vintage Forum for the DC off set and Bias thread and take some measurements.

Are you farther from the Radio stations now? after the move?

Sometimes the tape monitor switch can cause that problem. Try turning it on and off a few times when the sound cuts out. On my SX 950 I had the same problem. I used Deoxit on the switches and the problem went away.

Or the mono/stereo switch needs some cleaning with deoxit...