Stereo problems

[morleyroarly]

Help! Strange problems with my stereo.

I can't get the amp to play audio from my laptop or iPod. I've tried two different cables on both laptop and iPod, on both phono and aux inputs. I turn on the music to a reasonable volume, and it sounds muddy at first, then the whole amp just turns itself off. This happens within the first 3 to 8 seconds of playback. If I keep it down at a low volume it plays for longer, but the minute I turn it to a higher (and not unreasonable) volume, it clicks off.

Any ideas what the heck is going on, what I might be doing wrong? I'm concerned this is probably an issue with the amp itself, argh.

Comments

[buckminster.livejournal.com]

sure sounds like an issue with the amp, like some piecy piece inside fails when you put too much power through it.

[jovino.livejournal.com]

Does the amp work when you are not using the aux input? Is the volume on the iPod and laptop turned up to at least over 75%?

If yes, then it is possible for one of the following conditions:
1) The Aux & Phono jacks have loose connections
2) There might be a short in your speakers or they might be blown all together, can you plug headphones into the amp and try it that way?
3) Try a third cable, and if you are using an adaptor plug, try a different one of those as well.


Also, don't use the phono input for line-level things. It has a pre-amp built in and you will over-drive your amplifier.

The reason your amp is clicking off is for protection to keep it from blowing out. Try not to keep doing this or else you may kill it entirely.

[morleyroarly.livejournal.com]

The amp works fine when I'm not using aux. It works on tuner and on CD input (from a 100 disc changer).
The volume on the iPod and laptop is at 100%.

It's not the speakers, as they work fine on other inputs.

I'll go out and get a new cable and try that - perhaps I just have two shoddy cables. I'm not using an adaptor plug - I'm using minijack-to-stereo cables.

[jovino.livejournal.com]

If the CD input works fine, try plugging the pod and lappy into that input. If it doesn't work, it's most likely the cable.