Audio through receiver fades in and out

[Garypsu]

When feeding sound through my Sony STR-740 7.2 receiver, the volume varies - louder and lower. When listening through the TV speakers this doesn't happen. It also happens when streaming to the chromecast, so the problem isn't with the cable box. My FIOS cable goes to my DVR/cable box, then HDMI to the receiver, HDMI from the receiver to the TV. The receiver has pass through. The problem is intermittent. It happens with various sound field settings except for 2 channel stereo (so far). Bad receiver?

 

[jsmithepa]

The one time I've come across this symptom was because my receiver was using a "fake" surround codec (mode). The receiver constantly samples the original stereo signal and dynamically "construct" fake surround information to feed it to the surround speakers, apparently it does this job poorly, reason why I now these days don't use these fake surround modes. If I want my stereo source to play all speakers, I use the "replicate" mode, this simply replicate front speakers information to the rears and doesn't produce the annoyed effect as mentioned.

 

[Garypsu]

The one time I've come across this symptom was because my receiver was using a "fake" surround codec (mode). The receiver constantly samples the original stereo signal and dynamically "construct" fake surround information to feed it to the surround speakers, apparently it does this job poorly, reason why I now these days don't use these fake surround modes. If I want my stereo source to play all speakers, I use the "replicate" mode, this simply replicate front speakers information to the rears and doesn't produce the annoyed effect as mentioned.

Thanks, I understand. However, it didn't always have this problem. Started last year. In addition, I still have the problem if I select "Multi Stereo" - which is probably what you refer to as "replicate mode".

 

[jsmithepa]

In the olden days I would say solid states don't fail, but these days of throw-away electronics, I won't bet my life on it. If you know the signal you are feeding it works everywhere else and only does this when you fee to this receiver, logic dictates.....

One more thing, if the symptom is really cutting in and out instead of smooth fade in/out, this maybe caused by some amplifier using a relay and the relay is not making solid contact, needs to be replaced.

 

[Garypsu]

In the olden days I would say solid states don't fail, but these days of throw-away electronics, I won't bet my life on it. If you know the signal you are feeding it works everywhere else and only does this when you fee to this receiver, logic dictates.....

One more thing, if the symptom is really cutting in and out instead of smooth fade in/out, this maybe caused by some amplifier using a relay and the relay is not making solid contact, needs to be replaced.

When watching a TV program, it's basically the voice (dialog) that gets very low compared to the background sounds. Maybe a center channel issue or wire.

 

[Garypsu]

In the olden days I would say solid states don't fail, but these days of throw-away electronics, I won't bet my life on it. If you know the signal you are feeding it works everywhere else and only does this when you fee to this receiver, logic dictates.....

One more thing, if the symptom is really cutting in and out instead of smooth fade in/out, this maybe caused by some amplifier using a relay and the relay is not making solid contact, needs to be replaced.

Remarkably it appears to be an HDMI cable issue. After disconnecting and reconnecting, making sure that there was no tension on the cables causing them to wiggle, the problem went away. I'm amazed that there was no effect on the picture, only sound. I ordered longer cables from Amazon and cable guides to help avoid a future problem. Thanks for your responses.