My stereo rig wiring looks like a NJ road map
Ultimate stereo nightmare
I have a complex stereo system, having accumulated many various components through the years. I also have an impenetrable jumble of wires. Until now I’ve been able to deal with problems that arose. Now that I am elderly I can’t easily get down on the floor to assess things. I bought and installed new very expensive speaker cables (Audioquest Robin Hood), and subsequently found that my right channel was not working. After switching cables, the right channel was still not working. So the problem is somewhere in the system. I don’t know if it’s a loose cable or something else and have no way of tackling the jungle of wires to check it out.
I hired a company that claims they deal with these things, but there’s such complexity I don’t know whether they can deal with it.
131 responses Add your response
OP. Start by evaluating your preamp by doing this. Switch the input interconnects AND the output interconnects SIMULTANEOUSLY. Play some music. If the RIGHT channel is still not working then the problem is in your pre. If instead the LEFT channel is now not working then the problem is somewhere else. Best of luck. Bruce |
OP. I would next evaluate your amp if your pre IS working ok. Play some music by sending the signal directly into the amp (bypassing the pre) using a CD player, streamer, etc. and see if both channels are working. If the right channel is still not working switch the speaker wire and see if the problem lies in your amp or speaker wires. Bruce
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After seeing your system, here are some suggestions for the technician: 1. Remove the TV from the table top, 2. Put some plastic slider discs under the 4 table legs (found at home depot), 3. Use a couple of belts to wrap around the very bottom of the front table legs, 4. Grab the belts and SLOWLY pull the table away from the wall (may take 2 people), Note: Disconnect your speaker wire before moving the table (if possible). This should provide plenty of work room. Good luck!
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I have a really stupid suggestion and I am not in any way making any type of comment on one's intelligence or technical capability. I know a guy whose left channel went out on a brand new, not inexpensive, McIntosh setup. He was kinda pissed and laid into the dealer who kept telling him this isn't possible. My friend changed the cables from one channel to the other and confirmed the left one was not working. After a bunch of back and forth, the dealer paid a house call to see the problem for himself. He took the remote, pushed buttons to get to the channel balance function, saw it was 100% over to the right channel, rebalanced for both channels and WOW! music came out of both channels. Kind of embarrassing, to my friend 😯 Have you checked your channel balance function? May save you a house call cost 😏 |
If you lived in Connecticut, I would gladly come out to help. I stay away from Long Island due to all the traffic. I’m willing to bet a cable pulled away slightly from one of the pieces of equipment and won’t make contact. I get what you say about getting down on the floor. I got a new OLED TV last Saturday and once I got on the floor to monkey with the cables, I couldn’t get back up. I had to call my wife for assistance. |
1. Roll on your stomach, 2. Get on your knees with your hands on the floor underneath your shoulders, 3. Drag your right foot forward until it’s on the floor, 4. Be next to a table or dresser and put your arm on its top (you can also use your knee to boost yourself up). 5. Should be able to wrangle yourself up. P.S. I have an adjustable metal cane that comes in handy for this kind of activity. It’s all technique! |
All you need for the future is structured wiring. No matter how jumbled things become, you will not lose track. Get the professionals you hired to do this if you wish. For every cable, without exception: Place a label (with a label maker, a sturdy piece of heavy paper with handwriting, anything you like) at one end that identifies what is at the other end. Repeat for the other end. It is a PIA. But you only do it once. It is a brilliant approach, and the idea is not mine. It is an idea from network structured wiring for complex distributed wiring setups. Personally, if you are changing/upgrading equipment often, I would recommend making label names based on function. So, the label for a standalone re-clocker is re-clocker, not Brand-Product name. When you buy the new and better re clocker, the label can be unchnaged. I hope it goes without saying that the labels must be durable and easily removable without damage or residue. Good luck from another older creaky audiophool.
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Well, I think my audiophile days are over. I took the whole very complicated system apart and labeled the various wires the best I could. That’s the problem. At my age (83) things are not as exact as they should be and I probably screwed up somewhere. I’m afraid Humpty Dumpty is never going to be put back together again. Oh well, there’s always my headphones. |
I hear you on the age, also I have an amp I need to reach behind to turn on, so more bending and reaching. So I had a welder make a steel frame and I am using butcher block for the shelves (with rubber vibration absorbers), and here is the winner, high quality casters, so I can just spin it around when I need to. But by making it custom, putting in the cable management holes/holders/etc. I am hoping all this is much easier in the future. It is also custom sized to my gear. I am guessing when all said and done will cost $500-$600. |
These two things, and ear buds, are what I use.
And an iPhone and this for injecting a signal into the chain.
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@rvpiano Yeah, she works with Cinnamon down at the jiggle-joint during off hours ... |
The Morrow Audio cables are already labeled, the final end will be labeled “MA X” for analog RCA where the X is the version of cable….mine are MA4 cables. Digital cables will be “DIG X” for digital RCA cables. Remember that Morrow cables are also directional, with the labeled end being the final destination end. In the end it might be worth it to consider an integrated amp, that would clear up a bunch of clutter and simplify your set up…..something like a Hegel might be a good choice. Best of luck to you |
I've got a good feeling about your service call today with Jasmine. While it could be true that Jasime doesn't know her bass from her oboe about high end audio, it's also possible that Jasmine is an over-qualified electrical engineering student who likes to spend more time tweaking high performance audio systems than she does on social media. My guess is that by the end of the day you'll have a new best friend, and things will have gone so well that you'll need to "break something" on occassion to have excuse to have Jasmine pay you a visit. (Those Tritons don't make much bass when the power cords are unplugged). Hoping for the best possible outcome. If not, I live in Missouri and have been looking for an excuse to visit Long Island in the winter. |
At 74 with wonky knees I share your problem. I'd get a nice pillow, sit down with a nice alcohol free beverage. Put on your glasses, get a flashlight, grab some scale labels, and give it some time. Unhook & reconnect everything, labelling as you go along. It's tremendously gratifying once you identify and fix the problem. And make sure you have something to grab when you get up. Down dog in yoga practice is also a good solution to that particular problem. |
Awesome @rvpiano congrats and enjoy the music! |
Glad for the happy outcome! However, I will digress and tell a tale. Back in the day when I was a rider at least once or twice a year I'd run across this situation. There would be an old guy, probably my age now, whose bike had tipped over and he couldn't get it upright. Of course I'd always help out a rider in need. But they always had some big-assed bike -- Harley's, Aspencades, full dress BMW tourers, etc. In the back of my mind I would think "if you can't pick up your bike, then get a different bike". It's like Harold Francis Callahan once said, "a man's got to know his limitations". BTW, I don't ride anymore. |
What if the technician can't figure what you have going on! Having complex vinyl and streaming setup not sure they could figure out what I have going on, probably think I'm nuts. Easy access to rear of equipment critical, my setup spread far and wide, getting behind very difficult, have to articulate body in very uncomfortable positions at times. Kind of like working underneath cars, every time I'm under promise myself this is last time. Someday all my diy activities will end, having to rely on others to do all the things I've done over a lifetime will not be easy.
Old decrepit bones one thing, I may not even be able to power up my stereo at some point when cognitive decline becomes a reality. Good to hear she got it up and running. |
Hey @rvpiano, congratulations on getting your problem resolved. If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for her service. It's ok if you rather not share that . Also, I'm glad to come across your post. At least I feel I'm not the only one with messy cables problem. I have one of those component cabinets made by a company called BDI, and it's got wheels on the legs. I almost faint every time I have to go behind the cabinet to fix or make changes, I see a big pile of intertwined cables (power, interconnect, ethernet, trigger, speaker). There is nothing more I hate to do than going back there. I always tell my wife before hand to call 911 if I'm not out in 2 hours. 😀 Cheers! |
+1000000 to Jasmine!
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Electronic components don’t last forever. The reason for the massive heat sinks and fans to cool them down may offer a clue. Your effort to switch cables and determine the source of the malfunction is always first on the list. Sometimes it’s that simple, sometimes not. Assuming it’s not the source input, if it’s an integrated amp, you either have to send it in for repair or replace it. If not switch output channels to determine what component took a dump. As for me, I keep a low end, but respectable back-up integrated amp on hand just in case. Could be as simple as a tube just took a crap. Best of luck. |
@audioguy85 : the solution was posted several posts ago. If some could only read….
Besides, the OP is 83 years old. Which I doubt you read it. Have you ever been 83 years old? I have not , but I know close / family people at that age. Things slow down. A lot. |
@xcool I paid Jasmine’s company about $90. I gave her a tip of almost that much. |
...and try to artfully suffer, @dweller. Yeah,, this ’getting old’ bit can be annoying when on a cable chase. I’m way overdue for a major overhaul, but +/- I’ve been too pre-occupied for the distinct and discrete ’play’ of an audio reno.... I’ve got an employee named Jess(ica) that’s gone from 0 to 110% in a brief span of time, @rvpiano ...*G* You’ll know quickly if she’s up to the task. ;) Btw, I’ve easy access to the backs and try to keep the more ’busy’ ones’ higher. Less of that ’up/down’ routine, but not perfect... Updating, happy your Jas(mine) pulled the rabbit out of the hat...;) *mock sigh* I guess all that's left is to sit back and enjoy.....*G* |
That is a little misogynistic… I suppose it is OK to fantasise about a cute tech, but it is a bit purile, even for me.
^that^ was a kind and gentlemanly gesture @rvpiano
Maybe post who the company was, since they were competent? |
