Criterion Mark VII receiver, lost sound!

josumo1

josumo1

Active Member
Picked up a Criterion Mark VII receiver a while back and have been enjoying it with no issues since then. Last week I pressed the power on button and the lights came on and I heard the speaker protection relay kick in and no sound whatsoever! No static, nothing from any source. I cannot find any info at all about this unit. I checked inside and found only one fuse and it checked OK.
The unit is in beautiful condition and it sounds very good when it plays so I really don't want to give up on it. BTW I scrutinized all caps, resistors, etc. for leaks, burn marks and all looks good. Any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated!
 

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Can you show us a photo of the back panel? I am speculating there might be circuit breakers or fuses for the outputs (between output transistors and the speakers) that might be the culprits...(?)

I assume you checked simple things -- no inadvertent "tape monitor" switched on, fiddled with source selector knobs, and other switches and buttons, in case the controls have grown noisy due to oxidation? EDIT: Well, I can see the tape switches are set "correctly"; d'oh! :p

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FWIW, these were a lower-end line of components offered by Lafayette (LRE) towards the end of their existence. Their "Lafayette" branded hifi components were Japanese made; I believe the Criterion receivers were made in Taiwan (which was at least perceived as second-rate in those days). That said, I think that the VII was top of the "Criterion" line.

I will post a catalog scan later if it's of interest; it won't help you solve your problem, though :-(
These are seldom seen (especially the more expensive models) so I hope you can resuscitate it.
 
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Thanks for the quick reply! Here is a pic of the back panel and inside. BTW this unit has a made in Japan label on it! Also wouldn't it be unusual for fuses to blow on both channels at the same time?
 

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ahh, so I was totally off base*; sorry! :p

thanks for posting those -- I was hoping to espy something that might be worth checking out... but I am coming up blank :-(


* Not an uncommon occurrence, unfortunately!
 
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Does not sound very 2nd tier to me. I seem to remember the name as becoming their audio line nameplate and Lafayette being phased out bit, could be wrong. I believe the label first turned on their speakers.
 
Indeed - I misdiagnosed this whole line based on the lower-end models, Brian.
It's funny, though... because these were sold right alongside the LR-x0x0 receivers; you may be right about the nameplate (akin to Realistic morphing to Optimus not too many years later).
The Criterion VII was top of that line at 75 wpc; the same year (1979) the Lafayette-branded LR-9090 was, well, 90 wpc, and the LR-120 was... 120 wpc.


The LR-120 was a cover girl in 1979...

LRE 1979 cover by mhardy6647, on Flickr
 
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Like I said earlier, the Mark VII does sound good when it plays, but unfortunately I am at a standstill as far as finding out why the sound on both channels just quit without any prior symptoms!
 

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both channels quitting leads to a settings problem or a power supply issue ..it could be a problem from the source so try something else first
 
josumo1 said:
Like I said earlier, the Mark VII does sound good when it plays, but unfortunately I am at a standstill as far as finding out why the sound on both channels just quit without any prior symptoms!
Click to expand...

Hold on there, pardner. Please explain this in more detail.

I see a relay on the power amp board. This implies there is a way for the speakers to be disconnected in case of a problem. Its the square item on one side of the power amp board with the heat sinks.

So, the way I read the sentence above, the receiver will work when it is initially powered on and you can hear sound, correct? And then, after it has been running a bit - and without you touching any control - both channels stop producing sound, correct?

When this happens, do you hear a click from the receiver when the sound disappears?

If so, then please read the stickey entitled, DC Offset and You. Then report back here.

Cheers,

David
 
From the first post (emphasis added):

josumo1 said:
Picked up a Criterion Mark VII receiver a while back and have been enjoying it with no issues since then. Last week I pressed the power on button and the lights came on and I heard the speaker protection relay kick in and no sound whatsoever! No static, nothing from any source. I cannot find any info at all about this unit. I checked inside and found only one fuse and it checked OK.
The unit is in beautiful condition and it sounds very good when it plays so I really don't want to give up on it. BTW I scrutinized all caps, resistors, etc. for leaks, burn marks and all looks good. Any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated!
Click to expand...
 
Ah, thanks for the details - I missed that. If there's no sound at all but the relay clicks only once _and_ no more, then there's certainly no audio being passed.

Since it is happening on both channels, this would indicate a power supply problem or an interruption in the audio chain. The second item must be checked before a power supply is suspect.

Pre out/power in jumpers are the usual first item to check on the signal chain. We have had many, many threads where this proved to be the case.

Cheers,

David
 
I read somewhere on the 'net that Luxman made a couple receivers for Lafayette in the late 70's.

Is that possible?

The dial color, meter color, red indicator LED's, and fairly conservative face layout would seem to support that contention.

The Sharp cassette deck on that catalog cover suggests that Lafayette was gettin a little from everybody at one point.
 
it's certainly possible -- these receivers are quite uncommon IME.

I don't think the OP has jumper problems -- since there was a "step change" in the function of the receiver -- but that's also why I asked to see the back panel :) I don't see any red herrings there (I actually wondered if this receiver might've had circuit breakers for the speakers a la some harman/kardon components of the 1970s!).

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Is it possible for the speaker protection relay to be defective and still make the clicking sound when it engages? Also if only one of the filter caps were bad would both channels lose sound? Thanks to all who have replied.
 
it is possible for one of the relay contacts to be bad/dirty same as a switch might be .
one filter cap would affect both channels .
 
Thanks petehall347, I will check soldering on the 2 filter caps, maybe replace if I have the correct values lying around. I see the speaker protection relay and I want to open it to inspect the contacts, does the clear plastic cover just snap off or does it require some serious tugging? Thanks
 
It could be possible that the speaker relay has become stuck open. I think it is a good idea to open the relay and clean the contacts. If you can't get in, replace the relay?
 
Update: just put a new speaker protection relay in! Turned on power, all lights work, protection relay kicks in, no sound from any source, not even the slightest bit of static. Triple checked solder joints, wires, caps, etc. nothing looks suspicious. As I said in my first post, the unit worked perfectly one day, the next day, no sound!
 
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