To the OP: you attribute this to your failings of age and you forget that this isn’t uncommon if you are an audiophile. If you find it difficult to crawl around and sort out a cable mess or noise within your system, you need to find somebody who is technically inclined, respects good equipment, and has a detective’s ability to find the culprit.
I’m in a location now which is not gear heavy- most of the techs in Austin Tx are about repairing instrument amplification, not hifi. Some of them are afraid of dealing with hi-ticket stuff and won’t do home visits. You need to find the "right" person, wherever you are. I found a guy only a couple miles away who was extremely knowledgeable of pre-WWII tube gear and ’78s. I was totally comfortable having him work on my more modern tube gear and system, which clones the pre-War era-horns, SETS, main source is vinyl, which didn’t really exist until later. You can get it sorted.
The question is whether this is too much bother. You won’t get much return on selling to a dealer and buying new stuff- people seem OK with retail Internet. Man, it was the casbah when I was in acquisition mode, and I didn’t have to "hondle" or negotiate. Find the right competent dealer (rare) and they can help without gouging you.
Did you say where you are, geographically? I think even NYC, which was at one time heavy with audiophile retail, isn’t what it once was. You’ll need to do some research and talk to some peeps wherever you are to find a solution to the immediate problems and a long term solution.
My long term solution is: I die, the crap gets sold. Period. The records are probably worth as much as the gear, maybe more.
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I’m guessing everything was working before swapping cables. If this is correct, is it possible that you swapped cables while the system was powered up? If so, you could have damaged your amp or your speakers.
if you hook up your left cable to your right speaker, does it work?
Do you have access to another pair of speakers, it doesn’t matter what they are, you just want to see if both work.
If the new speakers work then it’s your old speaker. If it doesn’t work, borrow An amp and see if that works.
Trial and error.
As for easy access, put your gear on top of a taller table so you do t have to bend over the change or check things out
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+1 R69
Full access is a sign of an organized process.
Very helpful!!
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This sounds like a job for supervised kids or grand kids.😁
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1. The first thing I do is turn off amp & preamp and swap the amp phono cables at either end. Now listen again. If the problem stays in the right speaker its not the preamp
2. grit your teeth and swap the speaker leads at the amp. Now the amp L channel is driving the R speaker and vice versa. If the R speaker is still out its the speaker or the R speaker cable. If the L speaker is out its the amp R channel.
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I am very empathetic. Being an engineer with OCD this has caused me to be obsessive with cable management. Makes issues like yours much easier to manage.
I wish you luck.
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op
in our lifetimes of being audiophiles and music lovers, it is important to know when to simplify, move towards one box solutions
good luck on your troubleshooting
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@rvpiano Just occurred to me,what I do is put my phone or pad in back of my system in places I need to look at and take a picture. Allows me to enlarge it to look at things I need to see . My problem is vision, tricky to do but it can be done, hard part is keeping your hand stll long enough to get the pic. Best wishes.
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A growing problem in search of a solution. Could the equipment be engineered with this in mind?
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@rvpiano where are you located? Maybe someone who might live close might volunteer to visit and help.
FWIW I am still able to tackle things like this when it happens. But I did just switch from a fairly complex set of components to a much simpler all in one integrated amp a Cambridge Evo 150 with the intent to downsize and simplify but retain sound I want spend my time with. Worked out well! They call newer devices that provide good sound in a more compact and manageable package future fi. That is where things are headed. The times they are a changing
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I can really identify with your predicament @rvpiano . My knees a not what they once were and getting between the left or right speaker and the equipment rack is scary and painful. When one thing gets loose, and I need to start troubleshooting, it is not a happy time.
I hope the tech is able to identify and remedy the problem, which is probably something simple.
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@rvpiano Seems like in NYC there would be a number of audio clubs you could tap for help. If you were in So Cal Id gladly come and help on this weekend. Best of luck.
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Money usually works. Wish I could help… but we are clearly on opposite sides of the country.
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I live in the New York area (Long Island.)
The Johnny Rutan of AudioConnection in NJ is pretty well respected.
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My best guess is that it’s a loose or disconnected cable. No sign of a fuse blowing, but it’s possible.
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Might try to locate and check the fuse before calling in a crew to tell you the same.
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I live in the New York area (Long Island.)
I have engaged a technician who’s coming tomorrow morning.
I hope he doesn’t throw up his hands in horror!
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OP,
I get it. I really hate working on my home theater. But fortunately I had taken it apart years ago and labeled the interconnects.
Where do you live? There might be some not quite as old a codger nearby willing to help. For someone that understands audio… they will have enough familiarity to pretty quickly trace the problem. I live in Vancouver WA.
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Pull it all apart. Start from scratch and reconnect one component...maybe two components a day..to keep your lower back, feet, etc., from filing a complaint. When you plug one of the cables in and you get no sound, you've found your glitch. When you do all this, do it in a temporary, easily accessible spot where it won't prompt any emergency calls to the chiropractor. Take your time! In any case, it'll allow you to get to know your stereo again!
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You might also let us know what part of this earth you call home. There might be a kind-hearted soul that could help.
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rvpiano lets look at this logically when you installed the speaker cables did you move or change anything else? Also is it possible the active portion of your Tritons is coming into play somehow? Just spitballing here try thinking back on what you did and good luck! I'd also be happy to help if you were nearby.
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Use a mirror to look at the rear of the amp. You might see that the right RCA is pulled out!
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Surely you have an audio buddy nearby who would be willing to help you out. If I were near you, I’d certainly be willing to assist.
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Thank you for your replies.
I wish I could get to the back of the system. Unfortunately. It’s all sitting on the bottom of a very long TV table, so I have access only from the front. I would love to disassemble it all and start over, but all my cables are from one company (Morrow) and look exactly the same. A nightmare!
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Is your problem with the right channel not working true for all sources or just one?
If it's all sources, then your issue is somewhere with your amp/preamp. LIke if you moved your amp to change speaker cables, maybe your right channel interconnect to your amp from your preamp was pulled loose, assuming they are separates.
If it's one source only, then maybe your interconnect was pulled loose when you were tugging on the speaker cable to change them.
I don't think it is likely that you blew out an amp channel when you changed your speaker cables, but it might be worth checking if the interconnects are OK.
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Best eliminate one by one, only way to do it, may take time but would be good for a fresh start. +1 @russ69 as having full access to back of gear.
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With a complex system it's always best to have full access to the back of your gear. Best you can do now is try to hook up a minimum system configuration and see if you can get the lost channel back. Most likely a wonky RCA connector or cable.
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I agree with @kota1 . At some point, it’s better to simplify (and SimpliFi is a good resource). Do you really use all those components, or is it just "nice" to have them? When (if not now) does "can’t deal with all this" outweigh "nice"?
Well, whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck!
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Same boat here. Harder everyday.
But it is worth it to "refigure" everything out.
And make better notes to self.
If or when you figure it out, write it down, at least on the phone.
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I hate to say it, but I am feelings the aches & pains of aging myself.
You didn't list your equipment (separates or integrated, SS or tube, etc.) and this may be helpful to know.
But, I also hate to say this, I think you are going to have to unhook that "jumble" of cables, unjumble them, and start from scratch hooking them up and see if that right channel comes back.
I know that is not what you want to hear and hopefully some one will come up with something better for you.
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