Yamaha RXV3900 problem

[admin_exported]

I had my 1st RXV 3900 for a week when it started with the following problem. The amp would switch off straight away after trying to switch it on and the only way to get it to work was to unplug from the mains and try again. It did this every morning for 3 days, i contacted my sound shop and they gave me a new one without quibble. Less than 2 weeks after getting my 2nd RXV 3900 the same problem occured. The manual states that this occurs when the safety circuitry is activated due to speaker wires touching or overheating. I redid my speaker wire connections but the problem still occured. I thought it was overheating so i took the amp out of the cabinet and placed it on a table with no speaker cable or interconnects, only connection was the power lead. Next morning the same problem occured. I took the amp to the sound shop and same problem occured in their sound room so it can't be faulty house wiring.

This makes me think i have ended up with amps from a bad batch.

I'm now waiting for my 3rd amp to arrive next week when the supplier open and hopefully an explaination.

I was wondering if anybody else has experienced the same problem with the RXV 3900 or any other Yamaha amps. I've owned 4 other Yamaha amps without any problems.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Could it be a faulty mains lead? I had an incredibly similar-sounding problem with a Yamaha amp, which was instantly solved by a change of mains cable....

 

[Anonymous]

Tried different mains lead but same problem. I even tried mains lead from power amp but same problem. Even tried different plug sockets in the house.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Doesn't sound good - i've passed this onto Yamaha for comment.

Now, Charl, do I remember you being based in South Africa?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Clare.

Correct, I'm from South Africa.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Just thought that was worth pointing out for Yamaha's benefit - there may be subtle model differences to the UK version.

 

[Anonymous]

Charl have you had a chance to properly test the v3900 & if so whats your opinion of it? Im very close to buying one myself . Initially had a look at the pioneer LX81 but was put off by some HDMI issues.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm very happy with the 3900's performance, haven't had any other problems with it. I wouldn't hesitate recommending it. I'm loving the network capabilities.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Clare,

Any feedback from Yamaha or is it still to soon to expect a reply from them?

Thanks

 

[Clare Newsome]

They're only back in the office today, but are on the case - certainly no reported problems in the UK, but they're going to check with Yamaha distributor in South Africa in case there've been batch issues. Will get back to you as soon as I hear more...

 

[Anonymous]

Great, thanks.

 

[Andy H]

I've just returned a DSPAX763 for a very similar problem. In the middle of a movie it would just shut down????????

Like you I double checked all the wiring etc. It wasn't overheating.

Changed brand and now have a Onkyo 806.

 

[Anonymous]

It is very frustrating, hopefully it can be sorted. I've owned 5 Yamaha amps in the last 4 years and this is the first amp that's given me a problem. If it can't be sorted i might consider changing brands. So far the local Yamaha dealer has been very accomodating even tho they haven't given me a reason for the problem. They are sending me a new amp. I'm hoping it's just a bad batch.

 

[Anonymous]

Yikes! Is this a common problem with the Yamahas that has been reported elsewhere? I'm sure it would have been reported somewhere in the forums if it is a widespread problem. Are you the only customer who has experienced this problem or has your dealer also been getting complaints from other customers as well?

What are the HDMI problems associated with the Pioneer 81 anyway?

 

[Anonymous]

I Googled the problem and found numerous amp models with similar problems, although some of the problems were caused by over heating and wrong wiring. The models in the search weren't any that i'd owned before and seemed like older models.

I'm sure it's not widespread, i'm the only RXV3900 owner in our town, i contacted other dealers in other towns and they haven't had similar problems.

The RXV 3900 is fairly new in South Africa so not to many have been sold.

 

[Anonymous]

Any luck in getting a reply from Yamaha?

Why are you upgrading from a 3800 to a 3900? Is there a significant difference in performance?

 

[Anonymous]

The Yamaha dealer in South Africa has been in contact with Japan, apparantly 15 units arrived in SA with the problem but no reason for the fault was given. They offered to repair my unit but i insisted on a new amp.

I upgraded from the 1800 to the 3800 cause i coudn't wait for the 3900 to arrive. Once the 3900 came avaliable the shop i bought from offered to give me what i paid for the 3800 and all i had to pay in was the extra on the 3900, so it was a case of wanting the latest.

The 3900 does upscale HDMI which 3800 doesn't do and the 3900 has some extras which the 3800 doesn't have.

 

[Anonymous]

What other extras are you referring to?

Wow, you must be a VIP customer for the shop to be able to offer you to just pay the difference for the upgrade. How long have you had the 3800 before upgrading to the 3900?

And I'm curious as to how they were able to identify the 15 units only. Does it mean that 15 customers returned their amps to Yamaha?

 

[Anonymous]

Differences i'm referring to, upscaling of HDMI, bluetooth capabilities, 2 HDMI outputs.

I had the RXV 3800 for 8 weeks. I've upgraded speakers and another amp before, just had to pay in the difference, i had the other amp and speakers for 6 months. I do spend a fair amount with them every year so i guess they like looking after me. I upgrade often and like trying out new gadgets.

Not sure how they arrived at the 15 amps, could be a specific batch. I never got a straight answer from them regarding this issue.

 

[Anonymous]

My Yamaha RXV1900 did something similar, went up in smoke while watching a DVD and refused to power up properly again - it lasted about 2 weeks in total. I have received a new replacement which I haven't had any issue with thus far.

 

[Anonymous]

When you say went up in smoke, do you mean that literally, i.e. your amp overheated while you were watching a DVD?

 

[Anonymous]

The new yamaha amps don't have built in fans like the older models. My RXV 1600 has a built in fan and it only kicked in when watching certain DVD's.

 

[Anonymous]

I hope that the change in design is due to the fact that the newer amps don't generate as much heat as the older amps and not because they are trying to cut costs!

Does your new 3900 generate a lot of heat compared to the older models? Due to space and ID constraints, my amp will be housed in a somewhat enclosed environment so I'm a bit worried that it might overheat. The best that I can do is to leave the cupboard doors open while it is in operation but that still only leaves about 2 inches of space on the top.

 

[Anonymous]

It does run hotter than my older amps. I will be installing a fan in my cabinet to cool things down a bit. I'm busy building a sound room which will be air conditioned, hopefully this will help as well.

My cabinet is open front and back, the space above the amp is 75mm.

 

[Anonymous]

What type of fan will that be that can fit into a cabinet?

Could your problems have been due to the amp overheating?