Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Am very upset!

It took couple of minutes for it to shut off, the receiver itself never got hot at all, perhaps a little warm, but nothing that should shut off because of inpending thermal damage. Also I bought this from a non Onkyo autherized website =(. So that voids the warrenty I believe=(. Oh well, but I might send it in anyways, to have it looked over.

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It took couple of minutes for it to shut off, the receiver itself never got hot at all, perhaps a little warm, but nothing that should shut off because of inpending thermal damage.

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Ah... It sounds to me that the thermal shutdown circuit has likely been set too conservatively. Or, perhaps some of power transistors are not properly thermal-coupled to the heatsink. Who knows? Since the thermal sensor monitors the temperature of certain critical internal locations of the receiver (such as the surface of power transistors), the receiver case does not necessarily have to be "hot" before it kicks in. However, I do not think it is functioning properly if it shuts down when the case is only "a little warm."

At any rate, I believe that Onkyo has a legal obligation to repair/exchange a brand new unit that is not properly working, regardless of whatever BS they declare about "non-authorized" dealers. I would request a warranty repair.

companies are very strict on honoring the warrantry on products not purchased from an authorized dealer. some dont care, but some do you will have to check with onkyo. But if they do not honor non authorized products, dont hold your breath on the thought of sending it in for service under warranty.

I'd try getting Onkyo to fix it first, but if that fails, what is your budget for an amp/processor combo?

Marty,at first I was willing to consider that one of the speakers in one M80 was defective, but the fact that you tested them separately makes it extremely unlikely that both are defective. The 989 is a heavy-duty receiver which, operating properly, can handle the M80s despite the 6 ohm minimum fire safety precaution. Part of the requirements of the THX Ultra certification is the ability to drive a 3.6 ohm load. The 989 has no switch for lower than 8 ohms and needs none. Lesser receivers than the 989 have been reported as driving the M80s and other 4 ohm speakers successfully.

My conclusion from the fact that it takes a while to shut off is the same which sushi has suggested and you mentioned in your first post: the thermal protection circuitry on your 989 is set too low, despite what someone at Onkyo service might have told you about 4 ohms. If the fan didn't even go on there shouldn't have been a heat problem. It would have been interesting as an experiment to set the 989's sub crossover at 120hz rather than 80hz(assuming that you have the upgraded model), just to see if that would've reduced the load on the 989 enough.

So far as the "unauthorized dealer" goes, my understanding is that Onkyo isn't one of the more troublesome companies relating to honoring the written warranty. Also, in all states(and I believe all provinces)an unwritten implied warranty of fitness must be given effect under consumer law. In short, I think that your 989 is likely in need of service

Well I would like to add...

I have a Denon 1801 and HK 125. The HK is very sensitive to airflow and load. Very sensitive. Been to the shop 3 times (under warranty). The Denon runs the same setup with absolutely no problems. The specs from both are similar.

This was an eye-opener for me. I just assumed that if the speaker was within the ratings for the amp, everything was fine. Such is not the case. I know make sure I get a test first. I either can return the unit no questions, or take my speakers to the seller (and yes, I've hauled my M3ti's to several retailers - I can see the 80's being a bit more of a problem though).

whipdancer:

You should be fine with the Denon 1801 powering the M80s. Check out this post in which Ian describes the Axiom lab using the lesser Denon 1601 to drive the M80s:
http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=ST&Number=347&Search=true&Forum=All_Forums&Words=Ian&Match=Username&Searchpage=13&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=338 .