Audio Systems: home stereo speaker output, pioneer stereo, microsoft updates

Question
Hi. I have a pioneer stereo receiver. When I hook up my two main speakers to it, after a while, music or audio only comes out of one of the speakers or it ends up going in and out of one or the other. My rear or surround sound speakers are fine when listened to. I took my receiver to a place that works on audio equipment and they could not find an issue with my receiver. It does this with any speaker set that I hook up to the home receiver. Again, it is only the two main speakers, not the rear or surround speakers. Any clue as to what could be causing this unbalanced audio sound? Any input would be appreaciated. Thanks.

Answer
Dear Jimmie,

First, I apologize for taking so long to get you your response. I *thought* I'd replied to this on Monday, when I received it, because I'm going to write the same response again below. But I got one of those mysterious Microsoft "updates" the same day, and now of course nothing works quite like it did before...

My first reaction is that your Balance control has gone haywire, redirecting the sound randomly between the two main speakers. Have you tried using the Balance control when the sound starts acting up? What's happened?

You did the right thing in going to a shop. However, the key to your problem is "after a while". Audio shops turn the thing on, and if they don't hear the problem within 30 seconds, they conclude there's no problem and move on.

I suggest you do a couple of things. First, Google your make and model number. See if there are any chat threads that turn up which seem to be experiencing the same problem. Sometimes you'll end up with a particular name for the problem that will help the repair guys (yes, I'm afraid you're going back to the shop) listen beyond 30 seconds.

Second, contact Pioneer directly for a list of authorized repair facilities near you. Ordinarily, I don't recommend factory shops after the warranty has expired, but again they may have some experience with this sort of problem that might be beneficial to solving it.

Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!

Kindest regards,

Kevin