Onkyo HT-R550 Replacement

[darkblack]

Hi Guys.
Need your inputs here. Please assist.

I've been owning a 7.1 HTIB from Onkyo purchased in 2008 from the Onkyo dealer in Chennai. Now recently something went wrong with the receiver (HT-R550). There was small pop sound when powered on and it went into protection mode with lights blinking and then completely dead.

Promptly took it to Onkyo service in TTK road. They gave a very cold welcome to the receiver, constantly repeating that its is an old model and parts are not available. Now my take was, that the fault might be very small and parts might be available and asked them to admit it and take a look first.

I gave the receiver to them on 5th and its been almost a month now and every time I call and ask the status, the cookie cutter response given by them is its an old model its taking time. They don't even tell what has gone wrong and if they are waiting for parts or there are no parts etc. Incidentally the guy who sold this HTIB to me is the same guy who is taking care of the service now (Shunmugam). Its a shame that an expensive receiver does not have any support from Onkyo after hardly 9 years.

Question 1: Is there any good quality, reliable "non authorized" service center which can get the receiver fixed? If yes, I can ask Onkyo guys to return my receiver without doing any fixing.

Question 2: I really liked my receiver and for my requirement it served the purpose beautifully well and I would prefer it fixed. But worst case, considering the receiver is dead and can't be fixed, what other "Non onkyo" brand and model can I look at.

The system is 7.1 and I am not looking for any modern or latest tech or features more than what the receiver offered. Speakers are wooden speakers which came as part of the HTIB and I don't want to change the speakers. And the receiver must pair well with existing Onkyo speakers.

Spec of the receiver is at https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/onkyo/ht-r550.shtml


Please advice!

 

[VSTEREO]

Hi,

I am also from Chennai. I had Marantz AV receiver which was serving me very well for almost 8 years and went bad a year ago. As like you, I have taken the receiver to many service centers (authorized too) and trust me almost everyone told me "Sir, board fault", "Sir, no parts available", "Thambi, damage is heavy. Better buy new one. we will take it for 1000 rs" etc etc. There were not interested to repair and not even to tell what exactly the fault was.

So with the help of fellow DIYers here in this forum, I downloaded the service manual of the receiver, opened the system and found the cause of failure.To fix ? Again our forum member Mr. Suresh came forward and we are currently fixing it and it will start singing very soon.

Coming to your issue, if it goes standby, the reason could be many. Could be, processor failure or a simple faulty Power supply capacitors. In my case, it was a faulty Output Transistors (Darlington pair). If you like your receiver why don't you start opening the start exploring with the help of Service manual and people out here? Even I am not from Electronics background and not even know how to Solder properly but we will learn once we start doing things.

 

[elangoas]

Hi Guys.
Need your inputs here. Please assist.

I've been owning a 7.1 HTIB from Onkyo purchased in 2008 from the Onkyo dealer in Chennai. Now recently something went wrong with the receiver (HT-R550). There was small pop sound when powered on and it went into protection mode with lights blinking and then completely dead.

Promptly took it to Onkyo service in TTK road. They gave a very cold welcome to the receiver, constantly repeating that its is an old model and parts are not available. Now my take was, that the fault might be very small and parts might be available and asked them to admit it and take a look first.

I gave the receiver to them on 5th and its been almost a month now and every time I call and ask the status, the cookie cutter response given by them is its an old model its taking time. They don't even tell what has gone wrong and if they are waiting for parts or there are no parts etc. Incidentally the guy who sold this HTIB to me is the same guy who is taking care of the service now (Shunmugam). Its a shame that an expensive receiver does not have any support from Onkyo after hardly 9 years.

The fact is, they are not competent.. I have had a bad experience with Onkyo service..

The person you have mentioned must have sold 100 pieces of AVR and then promoted as "Service Manager".. I have a bitter experience with Onkyo because of his rude responses/attitude..Really amazed at his survival there..

Question 1: Is there any good quality, reliable "non authorized" service center which can get the receiver fixed? If yes, I can ask Onkyo guys to return my receiver without doing any fixing.

This is at your risk completely.. I had taken my Taga subwoofer to MZ Audio's authrosied service center, who also happen to service other AVR's too..

This guy is not like the one at the Onkyo service.. Speak to him & see if he can be of any help...

You must have already paid 3K as service deposit with Onkyo.. Not sure if you would get it back..If you would get it back, then good..

My guess is that if it a Non HDMI AVR, the fault must be simple and you should be able to re-instate it for less..Anyways, take your call, once you speak to person at Non authorized service center..

Question 2: I really liked my receiver and for my requirement it served the purpose beautifully well and I would prefer it fixed. But worst case, considering the receiver is dead and can't be fixed, what other "Non onkyo" brand and model can I look at.

Pioneer / Denon / Marantz / Yamaha..

The system is 7.1 and I am not looking for any modern or latest tech or features more than what the receiver offered. Speakers are wooden speakers which came as part of the HTIB and I don't want to change the speakers. And the receiver must pair well with existing Onkyo speakers. Please advice!

If you are not keen on uptodate features, you can consider getting an used AVR from our FM here, who are upgrading..

 

[darkblack]

Hi Elango. Thanks for this. But the contact info of the service center did not come through. ( The image). Thanks

 

[elangoas]

Hi Elango. Thanks for this. But the contact info of the service center did not come through. ( The image). Thanks

Here is the link for exact location - Home Theater Systems, Home Theater Dealers, Cheap Home Theaters, Dedicated Home Theaters, Dealers for PIONEER, YAMAHA, MARANTZ, DENON, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

Contact # 97864 55577

 

[darkblack]

Here is the link for exact location - Home Theater Systems, Home Theater Dealers, Cheap Home Theaters, Dedicated Home Theaters, Dealers for PIONEER, YAMAHA, MARANTZ, DENON, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

Contact # 97864 55577

Thanks. Will give a try

 

[darkblack]

Hi,

I am also from Chennai. I had Marantz AV receiver which was serving me very well for almost 8 years and went bad a year ago. As like you, I have taken the receiver to many service centers (authorized too) and trust me almost everyone told me "Sir, board fault", "Sir, no parts available", "Thambi, damage is heavy. Better buy new one. we will take it for 1000 rs" etc etc. There were not interested to repair and not even to tell what exactly the fault was.

So with the help of fellow DIYers here in this forum, I downloaded the service manual of the receiver, opened the system and found the cause of failure.To fix ? Again our forum member Mr. Suresh came forward and we are currently fixing it and it will start singing very soon.

Coming to your issue, if it goes standby, the reason could be many. Could be, processor failure or a simple faulty Power supply capacitors. In my case, it was a faulty Output Transistors (Darlington pair). If you like your receiver why don't you start opening the start exploring with the help of Service manual and people out here? Even I am not from Electronics background and not even know how to Solder properly but we will learn once we start doing things.

Thanks a lot V. I would love to try this. I have a bucket list of diy items to be done around the house already and never managed to figure out time to do this. With pressure mounting from my kids to have the ht up and running soon, it's either professionally fix it or get a new one.

 

[darkblack]

Pioneer / Denon / Marantz / Yamaha..

Guys. From your personal experience which of these offers better service in India and services their older models for a longer time.

Recently my 2008 Sonly lcd also went kaput. I approached Sony and they saw the tv and said that they can't service this anymore. But they offered 25% off their any of their current model of TVs.(any size) and I thought that was a good gesture.

 

[efernand1]

Hi

All the mentioned brands offer good service...for some...it depends on their mood and time....for some the experience has been smooth.....so in short there is no guarantee

Most are moving towards Yamaha.....I use a Marantz....

What i would suggest is to first understand and list down what you want in the AVR....latest AVRs have the latest features which you may or may not use....

For example the current latest series in Marantz is SR6012 which has a host of functions and features....i am happy with the SR6008...which serves my purpose.

Once you have decided, take an audition of each of these brands with the same music content / movie clip and decide...try your best to see if you can get the demos using the same kind of speakers....this will give you a reference review of pros and cons...

According to your requirements, budget, take the plunge...

In terms of TV...lot of festivals in India so huge discounts will keep coming.....no TV brand offers the best quality product and nowadays TVs tend to fail after 1-2 or 3 years of use.....

Advise is dont spend much on a TV as it will konk off one day...warranty offered is too less....you will need to pay for more....in some cases even though under warranty, some brands service center will say sorry sir no parts, can offer a upgrade TV at a nominal cost....this is one of the ways to boost sales....be careful....

 

[elangoas]

Guys. From your personal experience which of these offers better service in India and services their older models for a longer time.

Most of the mentioned brands, it is either a hit or miss case with service.. But Onkyo doesn't have an impressive records of service here..

Recently my 2008 Sonly lcd also went kaput. I approached Sony and they saw the tv and said that they can't service this anymore. But they offered 25% off their any of their current model of TVs.(any size) and I thought that was a good gesture.

25% off is on MRP on the box.. But the Market offer price is always lesser than MRP than any model.. So not a good discount IMO..

My Dec 2013 46 inch Sony LCD-CFL TV (58K) developed panel issues right after the extended warranty ( Additional 7.5K) got expired (3 yrs from date of purchase).. So in total i paid 65.5K for TV.. Sony asked me 40K to replace the panel..

But after few conversations, they agreed to discount the panel cost on the MRP of the new TV of similar size.. That time the newer model 48 inch cost 85K (MRP), while market offer price is 75 ~ 77K.. I refrained doing it..