Receiver makes crackling/popping sounds from speakers when powered on

I have a Marantz NR1501 that has been pulling HT duty in my living room since 2012. I bought it second hand from and older gentleman who I believe was the original owner. The street release date of the NR1501 was August 1, 2009.

Over the past 4-6 months, it started developing a problem at start up...it produces a crackling/popping sound from all 5 surround speakers AND the subwoofer. It used to last only for a minute or two when completely cold, then progressively it has gotten worse lasting up to 10 minutes even when the unit has only been off for about 15 minutes (still warm). :thumbsdn: Side note; the crackling/popping can be controlled by the volume knob.

So, for the past 3 months, I have left the unit powered ON 24/7 as to avoid the noises form the speakers...which has worked for the most part. Every once in a while, a single pop/crackle comes through one or two of the speakers, bu that's it. It seems to be working normally, besides occasionally dropping out Dolby Digital 5.1 EX soundtracks during playback on Netflix.

--> I'm curious as to what might be causing this problem? :scratch2: I've tried some searching and read that some think it may be a bad solder joint. If that's a good starting point, I'd be willing to open it up and re-flow some solder, although it would be very time consuming. Any ideas??

Ok, I'll bite. Reflowling the solder on the innards does sound like a decent plan but I'm not sure that will fix it. It is intriguing that the crackle is coming out of all 5 speakers. Anyway, I would first concentrate on the power supply board/area and see if that does the trick. It's possible, I guess.

But, before that, I would make sure that my 120v wall outlet was in good shape, wires are snug and the same with the breaker that supplies that circuit. Then I would scratch my head and try to think if anything else in the house might be causing the trouble. Fluorescent lamps, variable voltage thingies that go to ceiling fans and the like or anything else that might be creating hash on the 120v supply.

Maybe even try plugging your receiver into a UPS (battery backup).

Get some contact cleaner and make sure your audio and video inputs to the receiver are clean/tight.

Try that stuff first then dig inside your receiver and good luck.

Murray

Thanks for the reply!

I did some more research and think I found a solution to the issue. It seems quite a few others with this same model receiver were having the same issue, including some more that I wasn't experiencing. Thanks to this thread here, specifically post #354, 356, 358 & 359.

I soldered a new cap in just like the picture in post #358. The receiver was off for at least 4 hours. I connected all the wires and powered it back up...not one single crackle or pop and it sounds great again! I'm real happy that it worked and that I can turn it on and off again. I'd recommend this fix for anyone else having the same issue with this model.

Pretty cool that you were able to find someone with the same issue and a solution. Glad you got it fixed.

Murray

I am dropping off my Rotel RX1050 with a similar problem since I am far from and Electronics DIYer.

Almost the same issue. Power on and all is fine. After 5 minutes, crackling from left speaker only. Then after about 10 minutes, all is good again.

Hyfi said:

I am dropping off my Rotel RX1050 with a similar problem since I am far from and Electronics DIYer.

Almost the same issue. Power on and all is fine. After 5 minutes, crackling from left speaker only. Then after about 10 minutes, all is good again.

Click to expand...

Hopefully it's an easy fix like mine was.

Diggin' the avatar...love me some Les Claypool!