Sony STR-DA4300ES No Audio

radiodude62

New Member
I apologize if this is posted in the wrong forum, I’m new to Audiokarma. I have been an old tube audio tech for about 20 years, radios from the 30’s & 40’s, early television, tube guitar amps, etc.


My nephew wanted me to work on his Sony STR-DA4300ES so I told him to bring it on over. Originally this receiver was in “Protect” mode and wouldn’t even power up. I traced down a shorted power transistor and replaced that push-pull pair along with an emitter resistor and small coupling cap. After that repair, the receiver will power up and seems to be working except I get no sound output at all.


I checked the bias and it is perfect, there is no DC on any of the speaker terminals. I connected a set of known working speakers to every speaker output jack and I get no sound anywhere. I plugged in a set of headphones and still nothing. This receiver is pretty complicated compared to the things I am used to working on, in addition it has a very thick operating manual with lots of settings and options for sound output. I went through each menu hoping it was just a setting that had muted the speakers…… I found nothing. I tried to do a factory reset but the receiver comes up with an error code of F:33 which the manual says the receiver does not see speakers connected.


I’m not extremely experienced at working on these types of receivers. Can anyone give me a hint as to where to go next? I would appreciate some help from someone more experienced with these newer receivers. Thank you!
 
Welcome to AK. I hope you'll like it here, and stay a while? :thumbsup:

As to the Sony, what type of source are you trying to play? Analog or digital? I'd run the RCA outs from a CD player, and see if you get sound. Something that stays analog, and doesn't pass through any digital conversion. Engage the "2 Channel Analog Direct" button on the front panel (4th Silver button from the left). That will ensure the signal stays analog. That should help with troubleshooting.

Also, I see the AVR has Tape Monitor and 2nd Zone features too. Make sure they aren't turned on. Finally, the Sony has preamp outs. You could try an external amp. That could at least verify the preamp section is OK. On the same thought pattern, run your system into "Front" Multichannel RCA inputs. That would bypass some of the preamp functions, and allow a more direct signal to the amps. You might get sound that way, in order to verify your work.

Good luck, and I'll read through the manual, for other ideas.
 
I found this in the manual. Maybe it's the cause?

"No sound is output from the receiver and TV speaker while using the System Audio Control function.•
Make sure the TV is compatible with the System Audio Control function.•

If the TV does not have System Audio Control function, set the "HDMI Audio" settings in HDMI settings menu to-"TV+AMP" if you want to listen to the sound from the TV speaker and receIver. "AMP" if you want to listen to the sound from the receiver.•

You cannot listen to the sound of a component connected to the receiver while a TV is selected as the input on the receiver. - Change the input of the receiver to HDMI when you want to watch a program on a component connected to the receiver."
 
Other stuff from the manual, that might cause issues:

The "Speakers" select button has an off setting.

The "Zone" button might be engaged.

The "DMPort" button is engaged.

An "HDMI" source is selected.

Oh yea, check for sound with a pair of headphones.

Still reading...
 
SitmpyWan...... thank you so much for all the suggestions, I will try them tonight when I get a little extra time to work on this again. PeteHall, yes there is a factory reset procedure but when I try to execute the procedure, it errors out with a code of F:33 which the manual says is "Cannot detect speakers connected to A". But the speakers ARE connected to A.
 
Pete, yes the speakers and wires are good. I use them as my bench speakers. I know they are good because they are used frequently.
 
OK here's what I have tried so far.............

The "Speakers" select button has an off setting.
The speakers select has four settings...... off, speaker a, speaker b and speaker a+b.......... the speakers are set to speaker a

The "Zone" button might be engaged.
Zone 2 is set to off

The "DMPort" button is engaged.
DMPort is one of the inputs you can select with the input select knob, the input it set to FM Tuner. I show a stereo light at all the major FM's here in my area.

An "HDMI" source is selected.
Again, HDMI is an input selected by the input selection knob, the input is on FM Tuner.

Oh yea, check for sound with a pair of headphones.
I connected a set of headphones to the headphone jack, no audio!

Connect an amplifier to the pre-amp section.
I connected the pre-amp out to an external amplifier and I get sound which tells me the front end is working and the problem is in the amplifier section.

Perform a factory reset.
I was able to perform a successful factory reset, still no audio.

I double checked the speakers by using them on my external amplifier when I tested the pre-amp, so the wires and speakers are good.

I set the HDMI Audio settings in the HDMI Menu to TV+AMP and also AMP, no audio.

I ran an external FM Tuner into the "Front" multi-channel inputs, selected Multi-Channel (Speakers A) from the input menu ans still no audio.

I replaced a pair of shorted power transistors and a few smaller supporting components around them, a cap and resistor that both measured open. I'm starting the think those shorted transistors did more damage than just themselves. I'm done testing for the day. Thank you guys for the wonderful suggestions, it looks like I'm going to have to open it back up and do some more poking around.
 
you mentioned a fault code showing making me think there might be a service/test mode . ?
if it has this feature tread carefully as more damage can be caused from what i have read about these things .
 
OK here's what I have tried so far.............

Connect an amplifier to the pre-amp section.
I connected the pre-amp out to an external amplifier and I get sound which tells me the front end is working and the problem is in the amplifier section.

Well, 1 out of 7 ain't bad...??? :confused: But, at least you know the front end of the AVR is sound. Troubleshooting continues...! :(
 
I finally had time to work on this set again. I hate leaving these threads in an uncompleted state, as others may use them to learn. I have the receiver working, although it is nothing I fixed. I had replaced a shorted pair of output transistors and found I had no audio. I discovered the preamp was working but was getting nothing from either the speakers or the headphones. The power amp on this model is on the bottom next to the main board. I completely disassembled this set, looking for loose wires, obviously burnt components, scorching of the board and found nothing. I tested every component on the main board and found nothing out of spec. I cleaned every connector (an there are a lot of them in a set like this) as I reassembled this receiver. Carefully making sure every connection was clean and tight. When I powered it up, it worked. I wish I could tell a crazy story of running down a rogue voltage or chasing a current regulation issue, but I suppose it was just plain old fashioned luck that fixed this receiver. Anyway, I wanted to bring a conclusion to this thread and offer thanks to all suggestions from everyone. Happy Holidays to all!
 
A fine example of perseverance winning out! Well done. I hope your nephew will appreciate your efforts, and enjoy his new AVR? :D
 
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